Text 2] The Glories of Lord Ananta 411

false conception, in which one thinks himself the supreme enjoyer, is a
kind of illusion. It is described elsewhere in Srimad- Bhagavatam
(5.5.8): janasya moho *yam aharh mameti. As explained in the above
verse, Lord Sankarsana is the predominating Deity of this false concep-

tion. Krsna confirms this in Bhagavad-gita (15.15):

sarvasya céham hrdi sannivisto
mattah smrtir jidnam apohanam ca

“IT am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance,
knowledge and forgetfulness.” The Lord is situated in everyone’s heart
as Sankarsana, and when a demon thinks himself one with the Supreme
Lord, the Lord keeps him in that darkness. Although such a demoniac
living entity is only an insignificant part of the Supreme Lord, he forgets
his true position and thinks he is the Supreme Lord. Because this forget-
fulness is created by Sankarsana, He is sometimes called tamasi. The
name tdmasi does not indicate that He has a material body. He is always
transcendental, but because He is the Supersoul of Lord Siva, who must
perform tamasic activities, Sankarsana is sometimes called tamasi.

TEXT 2

we | vafrmes | amacisdeaqa: aealara | oafaera
aati «fran fags zt wea 8 I

yasyedarn ksiti-mandalam bhagavato ‘nanta-mirteh sahasra-Ssirasa
ekasminn eva Sirsani dhriyamanam siddhartha iva laksyate.

yasya—of whom; idam—this; ksiti-mandalam—universe:
bhagavatah—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ananta-mirteh —
in the form of Anantadeva; sahasra-sirasah—who has thousands of
hoods; ekasmin—on one; eva—only; sirsani—hood; dhriyamdnam—is
being sustained; siddharthah iva—and like a white mustard seed; laksy-
ate—is seen.

TRANSLATION

Sukadeva Gosvami continued: This great universe, situated on

one of Lord Anantadeva’s thousands of hoods, appears just like a
