Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 12 Chapter 11 Verse 20

Canto 12: The Age of Deterioration | Chapter 11: Summary Description of the Mahāpuruṣa

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 12.11.20

anapāyinī bhagavatī

śṛīḥ sākṣād ātmano hareḥ

viṣvakṣenas tantra-mūrtir

viditaḥ pārṣadādhipaḥ

nandādayo 'ṣṭau dvāḥ-sthāś ca

te 'ṇimādyā harer guṇāḥ

SYNONYMS

anapāyinī — inseparable; bhagavatī — the goddess of fortune; śrīḥ — Śrī; sākṣāt — directly; ātmanaḥ — of the internal nature; hareḥ — of Lord Hari; viṣvaksenaḥ — Viṣvaksena; tantra-mūrtiḥ — as the personification of the tantra scriptures; viditaḥ — is known; pārṣada-adhipaḥ — the chief of His personal associates; nanda-ādayaḥ — Nanda and the others; aṣṭau — the eight; dvāḥ-sthāḥ — doorkeepers; ca — and; te — they; aṇimā-ādyāḥ — aṇimā and the other mystic perfections; hareḥ — of the Supreme Lord; guṇāḥ — the qualities.

TRANSLATION

The goddess of fortune, Śrī, who never leaves the Lord's side, appears with Him in this world as the representation of His internal potency. Viṣvaksena, the chief among His personal associates, is known to be the personification of the Pañcarātra and other tantras. And the Lord's eight doorkeepers, headed by Nanda, are His mystic perfections, beginning with aṇimā.

PURPORT

According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, the goddess of fortune is the original source of all material opulence. Material nature is directly controlled by the Lord's inferior energy, Mahā-māyā, whereas the goddess of fortune is His internal, superior energy. Still, the opulence of the Lord's inferior nature has its source in the supreme spiritual opulence of the goddess of fortune. As stated in Śrī Hayaśīrṣa Pañcarātra:

paramātmā harir devas

tac-chaktiḥ śrīr ihoditā

śrīr devī prakṛtiḥ proktā

keśavaḥ puruṣaḥ smṛtaḥ

na viṣṇunā vinā devī

na hariḥ padmajāḿ vinā

"The Supreme Soul is Lord Hari, and His potency is known in this world as Śrī. Goddess Śrī is known as prakṛti, and the Supreme Lord Keśava is known as the puruṣa. The divine goddess is never present without Him, nor does He ever appear without her."

Also, Śrī Viṣṇu Purāṇa (1.8.15) states:

nityaiva sā jagan-mātā

viṣṇoḥ śrīr anapāyinī

yathā sarva-gato viṣṇus

tathaiveyaḿ dvijottamāḥ

"She is the eternal mother of the universe, the goddess of fortune of Lord Viṣṇu, and she is never separated from Him. In the same way that Lord Viṣṇu is present everywhere, so is she, O best of brāhmaṇas."

Also in Viṣṇu Purāṇa (1.9.140):

evaḿ yathā jagat-svāmī

deva-devo janārdanaḥ

avatāraḿ karoty eva

tathā śrīs tat-sahāyinī

"Thus, in the same way that the Lord of the universe, the God of gods, Janārdana, descends to this world, so His consort, the goddess of fortune, does also."

The pure spiritual status of the goddess of fortune is described in the Skanda Purāṇa:

aparaḿ tv akṣaraḿ yā sā

prakṛtir jaḍa-rūpikā

śrīḥ parā prakṛtiḥ proktā

cetanā viṣṇu-saḿśrayā

taḿ akṣaraḿ paraḿ prāhuḥ

parataḥ param akṣaram

harir evākhila-guṇo 'py

akṣara-trayam īritam

"The inferior infallible entity is that nature who manifests as the material world. The goddess of fortune, on the other hand, is known as the superior nature. She is pure consciousness and is under the direct shelter of Lord Viṣṇu. While she is said to be the superior infallible entity, that infallible entity who is greater than the greatest is Lord Hari Himself, the original possessor of all transcendental qualities. In this way, three distinct infallible entities are described."

Thus, although the inferior energy of the Lord is infallible in her function, her power to manifest temporary illusory opulences exists by the grace of the internal energy, the goddess of fortune, who is the personal consort of the Supreme Lord.

The Padma Purāṇa (256.9-21) lists eighteen doorkeepers of the Lord: Nanda, Sunanda, Jaya, Vijaya, Caṇḍa, Pracaṇḍa, Bhadra, Subhadra, Dhātā, Vidhātā, Kumuda, Kumudākṣa, Pundarīkṣa, Vāmana, Śańkukarṇa, Sarvanetra, Sumukha and Supratiṣṭhita.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
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