Srimad Bhagavatam – 2.1.34~36 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | Apr 08, 2026
Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine
namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracharine
nirvishesha-shunyavadi-pashchatya-desha-tarine
jaya sri-krishna-chaitanya
prabhu nityananda
sri-adwaita gadadhara
shrivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Reading from Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 2 Chapter 1 Verse 34.
ŚB 2.1.34
ईशस्य केशान् विदुरम्बुवाहान्
वासस्तु सन्ध्यां कुरुवर्य भूम्न: ।
अव्यक्तमाहुर्हृदयं मनश्च
स चन्द्रमा: सर्वविकारकोश: ॥ ३४ ॥
īśasya keśān vidur ambuvāhān
vāsas tu sandhyāṁ kuru-varya bhūmnaḥ
avyaktam āhur hṛdayaṁ manaś ca
sa candramāḥ sarva-vikāra-kośaḥ
Synonyms
īśasya — of the supreme controller; keśān — hairs on the head; viduḥ — you may know it from me; ambu-vāhān — the clouds which carry water; vāsaḥ tu — the dress; sandhyām — termination of day and night; kuru-varya — O best of the Kurus; bhūmnaḥ — of the Almighty; avyaktam — the prime cause of material creation; āhuḥ — it is said; hṛdayam — intelligence; manaḥ ca — and the mind; saḥ — He; candramāḥ — the moon; sarva-vikāra-kośaḥ — the reservoir of all changes.
Translation
O best amongst the Kurus, the clouds which carry water are the hairs on His head, the terminations of days or nights are His dress, and the supreme cause of material creation is His intelligence. His mind is the moon, the reservoir of all changes.
ŚB 2.1.35
विज्ञानशक्तिं महिमामनन्ति
सर्वात्मनोऽन्त:करणं गिरित्रम् ।
अश्वाश्वतर्युष्ट्रगजा नखानि
सर्वे मृगा: पशव: श्रोणिदेशे ॥ ३५ ॥
vijñāna-śaktiṁ mahim āmananti
sarvātmano ’ntaḥ-karaṇaṁ giritram
aśvāśvatary-uṣṭra-gajā nakhāni
sarve mṛgāḥ paśavaḥ śroṇi-deśe
Synonyms
vijñāna-śaktim — consciousness; mahim — the principle of matter; āmananti — they call it so; sarva-ātmanaḥ — of the omnipresent; antaḥ-karaṇam — ego; giritram — Rudra (Śiva); aśva — horse; aśvatari — mule; uṣṭra — camel; gajāḥ — elephant; nakhāni — nails; sarve — all other; mṛgāḥ — stags; paśavaḥ — quadrupeds; śroṇi-deśe — on the region of the belt.
Translation
The principle of matter [mahat-tattva] is the consciousness of the omnipresent Lord, as asserted by the experts, and Rudradeva is His ego. The horse, mule, camel and elephant are His nails, and wild animals and all quadrupeds are situated in the belt zone of the Lord.
ŚB 2.1.36
वयांसि तद्व्याकरणं विचित्रं
मनुर्मनीषा मनुजो निवास: ।
गन्धर्वविद्याधरचारणाप्सर:
स्वरस्मृतीरसुरानीकवीर्य: ॥ ३६ ॥
vayāṁsi tad-vyākaraṇaṁ vicitraṁ
manur manīṣā manujo nivāsaḥ
gandharva-vidyādhara-cāraṇāpsaraḥ
svara-smṛtīr asurānīka-vīryaḥ
Synonyms
vayāṁsi — varieties of birds; tat-vyākaraṇam — vocables; vicitram — artistic; manuḥ — the father of mankind; manīṣā — thoughts; manujaḥ — mankind (the sons of Manu); nivāsaḥ — residence; gandharva — the human beings named Gandharvas; vidyādhara — the Vidyādharas; cāraṇa — the Cāraṇas; apsaraḥ — the angels; svara — musical rhythm; smṛtīḥ — remembrance; asura-anīka — the demoniac soldiers; vīryaḥ — prowess.
Translation
Varieties of birds are indications of His masterful artistic sense. Manu, the father of mankind, is the emblem of His standard intelligence, and humanity is His residence. The celestial species of human beings, like the Gandharvas, Vidyādharas, Cāraṇas and angels, all represent His musical rhythm, and the demoniac soldiers are representations of His wonderful prowess.
Purport
The aesthetic sense of the Lord is manifested in the artistic, colorful creation of varieties of birds like the peacock, parrot and cuckoo. The celestial species of human beings, like the Gandharvas and Vidyādharas, can sing wonderfully and can entice even the minds of the heavenly demigods. Their musical rhythm represents the musical sense of the Lord. How then can He be impersonal? His musical taste, artistic sense and standard intelligence, which is never fallible, are different signs of His supreme personality. The Manu-saṁhitā is the standard lawbook for humanity, and every human being is advised to follow this great book of social knowledge. Human society is the residential quarters for the Lord. This means that the human being is meant for God realization and association with God. This life is a chance for the conditioned soul to regain his eternal God consciousness and thus fulfill the mission of life. Mahārāja Prahlāda is the right type of representative of the Lord in the family of asuras. None of the living beings is away from the Lord’s gigantic body. Each and every one has a particular duty in relation to the supreme body. Disruption in the matter of discharging the specific duty assigned to each and every living being is the cause of disharmony between one living being and another, but when the relation is reestablished in relation with the Supreme Lord, there is complete unity between all living beings, even up to the limit of the wild animals and human society. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu displayed this living unity in the jungle of Madhya Pradesh, where even the tigers, elephants and many other ferocious animals perfectly cooperated in glorifying the Supreme Lord. That is the way to peace and amity all over the world.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So here we have a continuation of the description of the Virat Purusha or the Universal form. And as I said, this is symbolic. The Lord does not have clouds as his actual hair, Krishna has His own hair. But it is relating the form of the Lord to things of this material world which we are familiar with. So everybody knows what clouds are. So clouds are up in the sky, high up. Similarly, clouds are moving around. And in the same way, the hair on your head is at the top of your body and it is moving around. So in this way, various aspects of the Universal form are related to more gross things in this world. So this universal form also has intelligence and mind and false ego etc. And of course, these are a little bit difficult to represent, so they have Devatas representing them. So we see that the moon deity is associated with the mind of the Universal form. And the ahankara of the Universal form is associated with Shiva. So in this way, all the different parts of the Universal form’s body are related to things of this world.
And Srila Prabhupada points out in the purport, the whole point of this is to show that these things must cooperate together so that the body can operate properly. So the hand should act as a hand and grasp things, the foot should act to walk. And the eyes should act to see. So what creates the order within the body? And the answer is ultimately Supreme Lord. So as the Universal form operates because of the presence of Paramatma, so the whole material world operates because of the presence of the Lord. And the example of this Virat Rupa is given to show that everything has its particular function. So there is a description of Patala as his feet and Satya Loka in the head. And all the other planetary systems, different parts of the body. So this illustrates that some planets are higher, some are lower. And of course it shows that the upper planets are Sattvic and the lower ones are Tamasic. And every particular organ and part of the body has its particular function. And if everything is functioning properly, the eye is seeing and the foot is walking etc., then that Virat Purusha can move about nicely.
Similarly, all the elements of the material world, all the planetary systems and all the living entities in the material world have their particular place and they operate nicely. Of course, we also see that sometimes disorder takes place. Just as in your body, sometimes the stomach doesn’t operate properly or the heart doesn’t operate properly. So there is opportunity for disorder also. And the disorder is caused by the Asuras. So the Asuras try to disturb the whole order. Their places are in the lower planetary system, they try to get up to Svargaloka. And this creates big disturbance in the universe. But we know that the Asuras exist from the beginning of Brahma’s life. They last until the end of Brahma’s life. So therefore, throughout this universe, in all the days of Brahma, there is going to be some disturbance. Of course, the Lord arranges the universe so the disturbance is corrected.
So generally, the Devatas are able to defeat the demons. In extraordinary cases, they call upon the Supreme Lord, Supreme Lord comes as avatar and He rectifies the situation. So in this way, the whole universe operates like the Virat Purusha with the certain type of harmony. If disturbance takes place, then there is corrective measures. So, in this way, the Universal form continues to exist for the whole of Brahma’s life. But it’s all material, it’s all destructible. And just as Brahma ultimately dies, so the Universal form also disappears. All of this is by the will of the Supreme Lord. So when everything is destroyed, Universal form disappears, when the Lord creates all the universes, Universal form again appears. So this is not a perfect form. It is temporary. It is created and destroyed by the Supreme Lord. But it illustrates certain facts for us.
And thus, Krishna showed the universal form to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. And what was Arjuna’s reaction? He was astonished. He was astonished by the power of that form. He was astonished that this universe was a manifestation of Krishna. He was also fearful. Why was he fearful? Krishna showed that this Universal form was devouring everything. In other words, the whole material world is destructible. Of course, this is not the response of someone who is on the spiritual level, he understands this. But Arjuna was given a certain type of consciousness and vision so he could appreciate this universe and its power and its fearful nature. And finally, what did Arjuna do? He says, ‘I don’t like this vision, take it away.’ He says ‘show me your peaceful form.’ And when Krishna showed the Spiritual form of the Lord, he was very satisfied. So similarly, we should appreciate the Universal form because it represents how the Lord controls the material world. But we should also understand that this material world is completely destructible. And thus, our goal should be to get beyond the material world completely. And what is the solution? The solution is to realize the spiritual form of the Lord.
Just as the material world takes a form as the Virat Purusha so there is actually a spiritual form of the Lord. So that Spiritual form has eyes and nose and mouth and ears and hands and feet and hair. But everything is spiritual, eternal. It is not fearful, but full of bliss. So the devotees of the Lord aspire for that form. The yogis, they can aspire for an intermediate form. This Universal form is a type of form for immature Yogis. And the mature Yogis meditate upon Paramatma, i.e. the spiritual form of the Lord. So that is much superior obviously, it is eternal, it is Spiritual. Still, we distinguish this form of Paramatma from Bhagavan. Of course, the form may look exactly the same.
The form of Paramatma has four arms, holding Sankha, Chakra, Gada, Padma, etc., blue in colour, crown on his head; in Vaikuntha, Vishnu looks very same, same person. So the form is the same, the function is different. Consequently, the manifestation of qualities is different. What is Paramatma’s function? Supervise material world. So, Supreme Lord witnesses everything, distributes powers to Devatas, etc., to carry out karma, etc. So something like the function of the Universal form, but actually Spiritual form. The form of Vishnu in Vaikuntha, Bhagavan looks the same, but functions completely different. He has nothing to do with the material world. So what does he do all the time. So, he has pastimes with Lakshmi, pastimes with all the devotees in Vaikuntha. So, this gives rise to manifestation of more intimate qualities and great bliss. So, who attains this Paramatma? The devotees. Mature Yogis can realize Paramatma. Devotees of the Lord attain Bhagavan. What is the difference? One of course is, goal. The Yogis desire knowledge and liberation. The devotees desire service and Prema. So according to their desire, the Lord rewards them.
So, in this way, we have various forms of the Lord described in Srimad Bhagavatam. All have value, but we should also understand hierarchy, some are lower forms, some are higher forms.
Hare Krsna!
Q & A :
1.) Hare Krishna. Maharaj, thank you for the wonderful class. This question is not related to this class Maharaj, but it is related to Harinama. Sometimes when devotees do Harinama in temple or go outside for Harinama, so, the situation is like this, you can please guide us. Someone may be very good in singing and he is a regular practitioner, normal devotee, he is chanting following four regulative principles, other things are there, but he sings very nicely, sweet and it is very pleasurable to everyone. And there are some devotees who are very senior, have developed taste in holy name but somehow their singing and the mrdanga, kartal, it is not in tune, the rhythm doesn’t goes nice, therefore not very pleasurable to the devotees So, in this situation, Maharaj, who should sing, which is more, what you say l, beneficial to the devotees and what should be done Maharaj?
Well, what is beneficial? So, the holy name is holy, however one hears, it Is beneficial for anybody. And of course, ultimately if a person with more devotion chants the holy name, more effect. So, in that way, we can say, the more advanced devotees who do Nama Sankirtana is more beneficial for the public. However, those who are not advanced in devotion or have no advancement in devotional service, may be more attracted to the external aspects. And therefore, they may appreciate if a person sings nicely. So, if we more willingly hear that, then the more advanced devotee, you could not sing in tune [Laughs]. So, both are effective. But for different types of people.
2.) Maharaj, in the context of Paramatma realization compared to Bhagavan realization, we also know that the realization of Krishna and that too Krishna of Vrindavan is the highest.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: What’s the question?
Devotee: In terms of comparison Maharaj, Paramatma realization, Bhagavan realization. Even within Bhagavan realization, the highest is of Krishna. Even within Krishna, Krishna of Vrindavan is the highest. So, I wanted to hear about that Maharaj in terms of Krishna realization.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So, all forms of Bhagavan is one, there’s not many Bhagavans. God is one. But He can be realized in different ways. He can be realized as – Brahman, Paramatma or Bhagavan. And as Bhagavan, He can have many forms as Varaha, Narasimha and Hayagriva and Rama and Krishna. And each of these forms will display particular qualities, some are stronger than others. Some forms of the Lord show minimum of qualities. So, Vyasadeva or Kapiladeva, they just give knowledge. But we find forms like Varaha lifts the whole of Bhu-mandala out of the Garbhodaka ocean, displays lot of powers. So though the Lord is one, in these different forms, the Lord shows different amount of powers and different amounts of pastimes. Based on that, then we can classify those who show less powers, those who show more powers. But we should not think, this form is better than that form. They are all one Bhagavan. And a particular devotee, if he is attracted to one form, he can be completely satisfied with that form, so that is the best for that particular devotee. In any case, Rupa Goswami, when classifying the different levels and qualities, etc, at the top he puts Narasimha Deva, Rama and then Krishna.
So, all the forms of Bhagavan are one, but Krishna manifests the most qualities in that particular form. And, particularly in His Vrindavan form, Krishna manifests four unique qualities. And these are qualities of madhurya or sweetness. And they do not manifest to significant degree in the other forms. And, even in the Dwaraka Krishna, sweetness manifests to a lesser degree than in Vrindavan form. So, objectively speaking, we put Krishna at the top, showing most manifestation of qualities, particularly in His Vrindavan form. And, what is the result? Those devotees who worship and realize that form of Krishna in Vrindavan, also manifest and experience the highest bliss. So, in that sense, we put this Vrindavan Krishna at the top. In terms of His manifestation of qualities and experience of the devotees’ bliss. And, even in Vrindavan, we can also grade the bliss according to the different rasas. At the top, we put madhurya rasa.
But, we cannot expect everybody to appreciate that madhurya rasa of Krishna with the Gopis, nor can we even expect everyone to appreciate Krishna when they appreciate Narasimha Deva or Rama or Varaha or Vishnu. Each jiva is an individual. Each jiva is slightly different from the others. And, each jiva will have his experience of bliss in a different way from others. And thus, a jiva worships and realizes a certain form of God like Ramachandra or Varaha. He is completely satisfied and blissful with that realization and service. And, we cannot criticize him and say, you are foolish, why you are not worshipping Krishna? So, we can broadcast about Krishna and state the facts, if people are attracted, fine.
3.) Maharaj, see, it is mentioned in Srimad Bhagavatam that 1st canto, 1s chapter, 2nd verse, this Bhagavatam is for those who are nirmatsarāṇāṁ, nirmatsarā, completely free from enviousness for the devotees. But, here we see the explanation of virata rupa. But, what is the role of virata rupa in the life of the devotees? Because, devotees are not interested in virata rupa at all.
Of course, we can also ask the same question, why the devotee should read about Maha Vishnu, Garbhodakasayi Vishnu, Kshirodakasayi Vishnu, who are Paramatma forms. Why not just have Bhagavan forms? And, of course, then we can say, why all these Bhagavan forms, just Krishna [Laughs]? The whole goal of Bhagavatam is to glorify Krishna. Here we have so many volumes glorifying other forms of the Lord and the virata purusha. Part of the reason, of course, is because the Bhagavatam is also explaining ten topics like sarga and visarga, sthana, uti, etc. And, in relation to sarga and visarga, then we have these descriptions of the universal form and glance of Maha Vishnu, etc. So, of course, these are typical symptoms of a purana to discuss ten topics. But in Bhagavatam, the whole purpose is to show that all these topics, nine topics, are related to the tenth topic, asraya, which is Krishna. So, we should relate ultimately everything, including the virata rupa, to Krishna.
4.) Maharaj, in that Paramatma form, how Paramatma is walking around in this universe?
How He’s walking?
Devotee: Yeah.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Well, Paramatma pervades everything. He doesn’t really have to walk. Of course, we say He walks, but He does not walk. So, He can be present just by thought.
5.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Maharaj, this question, follow-up question to Shyam Balarama Prabhu’s question is, can we consider this manifestation description of virata rupa as an expression of compassion? Because not everybody is fully qualified, and those who are less qualified, at least they have an entry point from where they can actually progress further. So, we see that as a compassion of Sukadeva Goswami to the yogis in the audience and Bhagavatam in general to anybody who approaches Bhagavatam.
Yeah. So, as in the Bhagavad Gita, we have a whole chapter on the universal form also, another chapter on the vibhutis. And in both cases, this is for less advanced people. But, we find that, that form is very attractive to many people. So, we’ll see many illustrations of virata rupa. And many people, not devotees, but others reading Bhagavad Gita, they don’t like philosophy much, when they get to the virata rupa, oh, they’re very impressed [Laughs]. And, of course, the whole idea is there to say that all of this is just one spark of the Lord’s splendor. In other words, creation and destruction of the material world, on one hand, for us, the material world looks very grand or inconceivable. For the Lord, it’s nothing.
6.) So, Maharaj, also as you said that, those who are at a lower level, so virat-rupa can inspire surrender in them, if they come to a point of understanding this appreciation of virata rupa and then how it is actually coming from the Supreme Lord. So, with that awe and reverence, there are more chances that they actually surrender. How it inspires that awe, inspires surrender.
So, at least if a person appreciates the virat-rupa, he appreciates that behind this material world there is some power. But, after appreciating that power, he may go in different directions. One is impersonal Brahman. The other would be the personal form of Paramatma or Bhagavan.
7.) Krishna has many names. If we mention particular name like Govinda, then His rupa, guna, lila will be the same for different devotees?
So, Krishna has many different names. Many of these different names are particular to particular pastimes. For instance, Govardhanadhari is particularly for lifting Govardhana Hill. However, names like Govinda or Gopala or Shyamasundara are very general and they could be associated with many of Krishna’s pastimes. Of course, all the names are absolute. So, through any of the names, one can realize Krishna’s form, pastime, qualities and rasa. So, how these different details manifest will be the goal and expectations of that particular devotee. Hare Krishna.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!! Nitai Gaura premanande Hari Haribol!!!