The Haṁsa-avatāra Answers the Questions of the Sons of Brahmā

Verse 40 (SB 11.13.40)

SB 11.13.39

SB 11.13.41

SB 11.13.40 • मूल श्लोक

मां भजन्ति गुणा: सर्वे निर्गुणं निरपेक्षकम् । सुहृदं प्रियमात्मानं साम्यासङ्गादयोऽगुणा: ॥ ४० ॥

Transliteration

māṁ bhajanti guṇāḥ sarve nirguṇaṁ nirapekṣakam suhṛdaṁ priyam ātmānaṁ sāmyāsaṅgādayo ’guṇāḥ

Synonyms (Word-for-Word)

mām — Me; bhajanti — serve and take shelter of; guṇāḥ — qualities; sarve — all; nirguṇam — free from the modes of nature; nirapekṣakam — detached; su-hṛdam — the well-wisher; priyam — the most dear; ātmānam — the Supersoul; sāmya — being equally situated everywhere; asaṅga — detachment; ādayaḥ — and so on; aguṇāḥ — free from the transformation of the material modes.

Translation

“All superior transcendental qualities, such as being beyond the modes of nature, detached, the well-wisher, the most dear, the Supersoul, equally situated everywhere, and free from material entanglement — all such qualities, free from the transformations of material qualities, find their shelter and worshipable object in Me.”

Bhaktivedanta Purport

By Śrīla Prabhupāda

Because in the previous verse Lord Kṛṣṇa explained His exalted nature, the sons of Brahmā might have slightly doubted the Lord’s position, thinking that they had detected some pride within the Lord’s mind. Therefore, they may have doubted the instructions they had just received from Lord Haṁsa. Anticipating any such reluctance, the Lord immediately clarifies the situation in the present verse. The Lord explains that, unlike ordinary living entities even up to the standard of Brahmā, the Lord’s transcendental body is not different from His eternal Self and has no material qualities such as false egotism. The Lord’s transcendental form is eternal, full of knowledge and bliss, and is thus nirguṇam, beyond the modes of nature. Because the Lord completely ignores the so-called enjoyment offered by the illusory energy, He is called nirapekṣakam, and being the best well-wisher of His devotees, He is called suhṛdam. Priyam indicates that the Lord is the supreme lovable object and that He establishes wonderful affectionate relationships with His devotees. Sāmya indicates that the Lord is neutral and detached in all material situations. These and other exalted qualities find their shelter and worshipable object in the Lord, who does not take material designations into consideration but awards His mercy to anyone who takes shelter of Him. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.16.26-30) mother Bhūmi, the predominating deity of the earth, gives a list of some of the Lord’s transcendental qualities, and even more are found in The Nectar of Devotion. Actually, the Lord’s qualities are unlimited, but a small sample is given here simply to establish the Lord’s transcendental position. Śrīla Madhvācārya has quoted from the Kāla-saṁhitā as follows. “The demigods are not actually perfectly endowed with transcendental qualities. Indeed, their opulences are limited, and therefore they worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, who is simultaneously free of all material qualities and completely endowed with all transcendental qualities, which exist in His personal body.”