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ŚB 11.22.29

Devanagari

श्रीभगवानुवाच
प्रकृति: पुरुषश्चेति विकल्प: पुरुषर्षभ ।
एष वैकारिक: सर्गो गुणव्यतिकरात्मक: ॥ २९ ॥

Text

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
prakṛtiḥ puruṣaś ceti
vikalpaḥ puruṣarṣabha
eṣa vaikārikaḥ sargo
guṇa-vyatikarātmakaḥ

Synonyms

śrī-bhagavān uvāca — the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; prakṛtiḥ — nature; puruṣaḥ — the enjoyer, living entity; ca — and; iti — thus; vikalpaḥ — complete distinction; puruṣa-ṛṣabha — O best among men; eṣaḥ — this; vaikārikaḥ — subject to transformation; sargaḥ — creation; guṇa — of the modes of nature; vyatikara — the agitation; ātmakaḥ — based upon.

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O best among men, material nature and its enjoyer are clearly distinct. This manifest creation undergoes constant transformation, being founded upon the agitation of the modes of nature.

Purport

The word puruṣa indicates the living entity and also the Supreme Lord, who is the supreme living entity. Material nature, subject to transformation, is full of duality, whereas the Lord is one and absolute. Material nature is dependent on its creator, maintainer and annihilator; the Lord, however, is completely self-reliant and independent. In the same way, material nature is unconscious and dull, lacking self-awareness, whereas the Supreme Lord is self-sufficient omniscience. The individual living entity shares the eternality, bliss and knowledge of the Personality of Godhead and is also completely distinct from material nature.

The word sarga here refers to the material amalgamation of the body, which covers the living entity. The material body undergoes constant transformation and is thus clearly different from the living entity, who is eternally the same. In the transcendental kingdom of God there is no conflict or agitation caused by creation, maintenance and destruction as exhibited in the material world. There all variety is resolved in the transcendental loving experience of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the natural constitutional position of the soul.