Ten Subjects Described In Srimad-Bhagavatam

[Guest guest]

Ten Subjects Described In Srimad-Bhagavatam

Adi 2.91-92 Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Is the Supreme Personality of Godhead

 

TEXT

atra sargo visargas ca

sthanam posanam utayah

manvantaresanukatha

nirodho muktir asrayah

dasamasya visuddhy-artham

navanam iha laksanam

varnayanti mahatmanah

srutenarthena canjasa

SYNONYMS

atra--in Srimad-Bhagavatam; sargah--the creation of the ingredients of the

universe; visargah--the creations of Brahma; ca--and; sthanam--the maintenance

of the creation; posanam--the favoring of the Lord's devotees;

utayah--impetuses for activity; manu-antara--prescribed duties given by the

Manus; isa-anukathah--a description of the incarnations of the Lord;

nirodhah--the winding up of creation; muktih--liberation; asrayah--the ultimate

shelter, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; dasamasya--of the tenth (the

asraya); visuddhi-artham--for the purpose of perfect knowledge; navanam--of the

nine; iha--here; laksanam--the nature; varnayanti--describe; maha-atmanah--the

great souls; srutena--by prayer; arthena--by explanation; ca--and;

anjasa--direct.

TRANSLATION

" 'Here [in Srimad-Bhagavatam] ten subjects are described: (1) the creation of

the ingredients of the cosmos, (2) the creations of Brahma, (3) the maintenance

of the creation, (4) special favor given to the faithful, (5) impetuses for

activity, (6) prescribed duties for law-abiding men, (7) a description of the

incarnations of the Lord, (8) the winding up of the creation, (9) liberation

from gross and subtle material existence, and (10) the ultimate shelter, the

Supreme Personality of Godhead. The tenth item is the shelter of all the

others. To distinguish this ultimate shelter from the other nine subjects, the

mahajanas have described these nine, directly or indirectly, through prayers or

direct explanations.'

 

PURPORT

These verses from Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.10.1-2) list the ten subject matters

dealt with in the text of the Bhagavatam. Of these, the tenth is the substance,

and the other nine are categories derived from the substance. These ten subjects

are listed as follows:

(1) Sarga--the first creation by Visnu, the bringing forth of the five gross

material elements, the five objects of sense perception, the ten senses, the

mind, the intelligence, the false ego and the total material energy, or

universal form.

(2) Visarga--the secondary creation, or the work of Brahma in producing the

moving and unmoving bodies in the universe (brahmanda).

(3) Sthana--the maintenance of the universe by the Personality of Godhead,

Visnu. Visnu's function is more important and His glory greater than Brahma's

and Lord Siva's, for although Brahma is the creator and Lord Siva the

destroyer, Visnu is the maintainer.

(4) Posana--special care and protection for devotees by the Lord. As a king

maintains his kingdom and subjects but nevertheless gives special attention to

the members of his family, so the Personality of Godhead gives special care to

His devotees who are souls completely surrendered to Him.

(5) Uti--the urge for creation, or initiative power, that is the cause of all

inventions, according to the necessities of time, space and objects.

(6) Manvantara--the regulative principles for living beings who desire to

achieve perfection in human life. The rules of Manu, as described in the

Manu-samhita, guide the way to such perfection.

(7) Isanukatha: scriptural information regarding the Personality of Godhead, His

incarnations on earth and the activities of His devotees. Scriptures dealing

with these subjects are essential for progressive human life.

(8) Nirodha: the winding up of all energies employed in creation. Such potencies

are emanations from the Personality of Godhead who eternally lies in the Karana

Ocean. The cosmic creations, manifested with His breath, are again dissolved in

due course.

(9) Mukti: liberation of the conditioned souls encaged by the gross and subtle

coverings of body and mind. When freed from all material affection, the soul,

giving up the gross and subtle material bodies, can attain the spiritual sky in

his original spiritual body and engage in transcendental loving service to the

Lord in Vaikunthaloka or Krsnaloka. When the soul is situated in his original

constitutional position of existence, he is said to be liberated. It is

possible to engage in transcendental loving service to the Lord and become

jivan-mukta, a liberated soul, even while in the material body.

(10) Asraya: the Transcendence, the summum bonum, from whom everything emanates,

upon whom everything rests and in whom everything merges after annihilation. He

is the source and support of all. The asraya is also called the Supreme

Brahman, as in the Vedanta-sutra (athato brahma-jijnasa, janmady asya yatah).

Srimad-Bhagavatam especially describes this Supreme Brahman as the asraya. Sri

Krsna is this asraya, and therefore the greatest necessity of life is to study

the science of Krsna.

Srimad-Bhagavatam accepts Sri Krsna as the shelter of all manifestations because

Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the ultimate source of

everything, the supreme goal of all.

Two different principles are to be considered herein--namely asraya, the object

providing shelter, and asrita, the dependents requiring shelter. The asrita

exist under the original principle, the asraya. The first nine categories,

described in the first nine cantos of Srimad-Bhagavatam, from creation to

liberation--including the purusa-avataras; the incarnations; the marginal

energy, or living entities; and the external energy, or material world--are all

asrita. The prayers of Srimad-Bhagavatam, however, aim for the asraya-tattva,

the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna. The great souls expert in

describing Srimad-Bhagavatam have very diligently delineated the other nine

categories, sometimes by direct narrations and sometimes by indirect narrations

such as stories. The real purpose of doing this is to know perfectly the

Absolute Transcendence, Sri Krsna, for the entire creation, both material and

spiritual, rests on the body of Sri Krsna.