Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 10 Chapter 46 Verse 31

Canto 10: The Summum Bonum | Chapter 46: Uddhava Visits Vṛndāvana

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.46.31

etau hi viśvasya ca bīja-yonī

rāmo mukundaḥ puruṣaḥ pradhānam

anvīya bhūteṣu vilakṣaṇasya

jñānasya ceśāta imau purāṇau

SYNONYMS

etau — these two; hi — indeed; viśvasya — of the universe; ca — and; bīja — the seed; yonī — and the womb; rāmaḥ — Lord Balarāma; mukundaḥ — Lord Kṛṣṇa; puruṣaḥ — the creating Lord; pradhānam — His creative energy; anvīya — entering; bhūteṣu — within all living beings; vilakṣaṇasya — confused or perceiving; jñānasya — knowledge; ca — and; īśāte — control; imau — They; purāṇau — primeval.

TRANSLATION

These two Lords, Mukunda and Balarāma, are each the seed and womb of the universe, the creator and His creative potency. They enter the hearts of living beings and control their conditioned awareness. They are the primeval Supreme.

PURPORT

The word vilakṣaṇa means either "distinctly perceiving" or "confused," depending on how the prefix vi- is understood in context. In the case of enlightened souls, vilakṣaṇa means "perceiving the correct distinction between the body and the soul" and thus Lord Kṛṣṇa, as indicated by the word īśāte, guides the spiritually advancing soul. The other meaning of vilakṣaṇa — "confused" or "bewildered" — clearly applies to those who have not understood the difference between the soul and the body, or the distinction between the individual soul and the Supreme Soul. Such bewildered living beings do not go back home, back to Godhead, to the eternal spiritual world, but rather achieve temporary destinations according to the laws of nature.

It is understood from all Vaiṣṇava literature that Śrī Rāma, Balarāma, here accompanying Lord Kṛṣṇa, is nondifferent from Him, being His plenary expansion. The Lord is one, yet He expands Himself, and thus Lord Balarāma in no way compromises the principle of monotheism.

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