Text 4] Divisions of the Creation 387

TRANSLATION

Suta Gosvami said: O son of Bhrgu, the great sage Maitreya Muni, thus
hearing from Vidura, felt very much enlivened. Everything was in his
heart, and thus he began to reply to the questions one after another.

PURPORT

The phrase s#tah uvaca (“Sita Gosvami said”) appears to indicate a
break in the discourse between | Maharaja Parikgit and Sukadeva Gosvami.
While Sukadeva Gosvami was speaking to Maharaja Parikgit, Suta Gosvami
was only one member of a large audience. But Suta Gosvami was speaking
to the sages of Naimisdranya, headed by the sage Saunaka, a descendant
of Sukadeva Gosvami. This does not, however, make any substantial
difference in the topics under discussion.

TEXT 4

aia sara
faftenstt an aa Ret arad 77: |
ARAATAAMT AME WTA: |v Il

maitreya wvaca
virtiico "pi tatha cakre
divyam varsa-salam lapah
almany almanam avesya
yathaha bhagavan ajah

maitreyah uvaca—the great sage Maitreya said: virificah—Brahma; api—
also; tatha—in that manner; cakre—performed; divyam—celestial; varsa-
Salam—one hundred years; lapah—penances; dlmani—unto the Lord;
almanam—his own self; avesya—engaging; yalha aha—as it was spoken;
bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; ajah—the unborn.

TRANSLATION

The greatly learned sage Maitreya said: 0 Vidura, Brahma thus engaged
himself in penances for one hundred celestial years, as advised by the
Personality of Godhead, and applied himself in devotional service to the
Lord.

PURPORT

That Brahma engaged himself for the Personality of Godhead, Narayana,
means that he engaged himself in the service of the Lord; that is the
