Text 20] The Marriage of Kardama Muni and Devahuti 881

yatah—from whom; abhavat—emanated; visvam—creation; idam—this;
vicitram—wonderful; samsthdsyvate—will dissolve; yatra—in whom; ca—and;
vd—or; avatisthate—presently exists; prajd-patindm—of the prajdpatis;
patih—the Lord; esah—this; mahyam—to me; param—highest; pramanam—
authority; bhagavan—Supreme Lord; anantah—unlimited.

TRANSLATION

The highest authority for me is the unlimited Supreme Personality of
Godhead, from whom this wonderful creation emanates and in whom its
sustenance and dissolution rest. He is the origin of all prajapatis, the per-
sonalities meant to produce living entities in this world.

PURPORT

Kardama Muni was ordered by his father, Prajapati, to produce children.
In the beginning of creation the prajapatis were meant to produce the
large population which was to reside in the planets of the gigantic
universe. But Kardama Muni said that although his father was Prajapati,
who desired him to produce children, actually his origin was the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Visnu, because Visnu is the origin of everything;
He is the actual creator of this universe, He is the actual maintainer, and
when everything is annihilated, it rests in Him only. That is the conclusion
of Srimad-Bhagavatam. For creation, maintenance and annihilation there
are the three deities Brahma, Visnu and Maheévara (Siva), but Brahma and
Maheévara are qualitative expansions of Visnu. Visnu is the central figure.
Visnu, therefore, takes charge of maintenance. No one can maintain the
whole creation but Him. There are innumerable entities, and they have
innumerable demands; no one but Visnu can fulfill the innumerable de-
mands of all the innumerable living entities. Brahma is ordered to create,
and Siva is ordered to annihilate. The middle function, maintenance,
is taken charge of by Visnu. Kardama Muni knew very well, by his
power in progressive spiritual life, that Visnu, the Personality of God-
head, was his worshipable Deity. Whatever Visnu desired was his duty,
and nothing else. He was not prepared to beget a number of children. He
would beget only one child, who would help the mission of Visnu. As
stated in Bhagavad-gita, whenever there is a discrepancy in the discharge
of religious principles, the Lord descends on the surface of the earth to
protect religious principles and to annihilate the miscreants.

Marrying and begetting a child is considered to liquidate one’s debts to
the family in which one is born. There are many debts which are imposed
