Verse 8

niyatih sa rama-devi tat-priya tad-vasam tada

tal-lingam bhagavan sambhur jyotirupah sanatanah

ya yonih sapara saktih kama-bijah mahadd-hareh

Translation:

(That indirect association with Maya is being described.) The Personification of the Transcendental Potency of the Lord, Ramadevi, is Destiny, Beloved Consort of the Supreme Lord. At creation, the appearance of the effulgence of the Portion of Krishna’s Plenary Portion is Bhagavan Sambhu, the manifest male organ of the Divinity—the reflection of the Eternal Effulgence. Subject to the Potency of Destiny, that male symbol is the portion of the Absolute responsible for the generation of the material world. The reproductive potency that evolves from Destiny appears as the female organ, the embodiment of Maya, the inferior potency. The union of these organs brings forth the existence of the Mahat-tattva, which is only a reflection of the Supreme Lord Hari’s Original Seed of Desire (Kama-bija).

Purport:

Being endowed with the creative desire, the Plenary Expansion of Krishna, Sankarsana, takes the initiative in bringing about the creation of the mundane world. Taking the Form of the first Predominative Descent (Purusavatara), He reclines on the Causal Waters and casts a glance at Maya.

That glance is instrumental in the cause of the creation. The twilight image of that reflected effulgence of the Almighty is effectively the organ of generation, Sambhu, which unites with the reproductive paraphernalia of Maya, the shadow of the Rama Potency. Then, the reflection of the Original Seed of Desire, Kama-bija, emerges as the Mahat-tattva, the great or universal seminal principle, and engages in the creative function. The initial manifestation of the desire created by Maha-Visnu is known as Hiranmaya Mahat-tattva; it is the mental principle of readiness for universal creation.

The inner conception here is that assuming both the instrumental and efficient causes (nimitta-upadana), the Will of the Predominator or Purusa creates. The instrumental cause is personified as Maya, who represents the female reproductive organ; the efficient cause is personified as Sambhu, who represents the male generative organ; and Maha-Visnu is the Predominator, or the Inaugurator by His Will.

The primordial ingredients or substance (Pradhana) is efficient, while the female receptacle principle (Prakrti) is Maya; and the Willing Factor that unites them is the Manifestor of the illusory mundane world, the Predominator (Purusa), who is a Plenary Expansion of Krishna. These three form the Agency of universal creation.

The Original Seed of Desire, Kama-bija, that exists in Goloka, is Pure Transcendental Cognition, and the seed of desire that exists in the material world is a manifestation of the shadow potency personified as Kali and other forms. Despite being the prototype of Maya, the Original Seed of Desire is infinitely distant from Maya; the mundane seed of desire is an illusory reflection. The process of Sambhu’s birth is described in verses ten and fifteen. [8]

Verse 9

linga-yony-atmika jata ima mahesvari prajah

Translation:

The world’s entire progeny in Maya’s kingdom is the embodiment of the sexual union of male and female organs.

Purport :

The Sovereignty of the Supreme Personality of Godhead covers the entire four quadrants of the Infinite Majesty of God. Lamentation, death and apprehension are absent in the three quadrants of the Lord’s Majesty that are the Divine Abodes of Vaikuntha, Goloka, etc. In this illusory world, all beings from gods to men, etc., along with all their planes of existence, are under the reign of Maya; here, all that be is efficiently and instrumentally generated, that is, born of sexual union. With all the discoveries of material science, everything knowable is of sexual origin. Trees, plants and even insentient beings are all produced of the union of male and female.

It deserves mention here that although the allusion to male and female organs presupposes a kind of vulgarity, in a scientific context the exposition based on the principle of sexuality is most appropriate and excellent for its profoundness in illustrating elementary principles. The vulgarity felt is nothing more than a concept of social formality, but science and transcendental science cannot compromise the element of truth with mere social formality.

So the application is indispensable in expounding on the primordial principle of the material world, that is, the illusory seed of desire. The predominating potency or masculine active potency and the female potency or predominated active potency are all that is to be understood by the use of such terms herein.

Verse 10

saktiman purusah so ‘yam linga-rupi mahesvarah

tasminn-avir abhul-linge mahavisnur jagat-patih

Translation:

Mahesvara Sambhu, the male principle of the efficient cause representing the primal male organ, is united with the instrumental cause represented by his Maya potency. Maha-Visnu, the Lord of the universe, partially advents within him by the casting of His glance. [10]

Purport:

Sri Narayana, nondifferent from Krishna, presides in the Paravyoma, the area of the Spiritual World predominated by majesty and reverence. Maha-Sankarsana is one of Sri Narayana’s Quadruple Expansions or Catur-vyuha, so even He is a Plenary Portion of Krishna’s Narayana Form. By His Spiritual Potency, Maha-Sankarsana’s Plenary Expansion eternally reclines on the Viraja river, which is situated at the point midway between the Transcendental World and the mundane world; and at the time of universal creation He casts a glance at the distant shadow Maya potency.

At that moment, the reflection of the Intrinsic Form of Godhead in the Form of His Divine glance—Sambhu, the lord of the Pradhana or primordial material elements, the energy of which is personified by his Rudra form—unites with the mundane instrumental cause, Maya; but he is unable to act without being empowered by Maha-Visnu, who represents the direct Divine Power of Krishna. Therefore, the material seminal element (Mahat-tattva) can come forth only when Krishna’s Plenary Expansion, that is—the Primal Avatara Maha-Visnu who is a Plenary Portion of Maha-Sankarsana, who is a Plenary Expansion of Krishna—sanctions the mutual function of Siva’s Maya potency and the efficient causal primordial material elements.

With Maha-Visnu’s sanction, the Siva potency progressively creates ego (ahankara) and the five basic elements (panca-bhuta) of ether, etc., the subtle form of their attributes (sense objects, tanmatra), and the mundane senses of the (conditioned) soul. The individual souls or jivas emanate as particles of the rays of the Effulgence of Maha-Visnu. This will be elucidated later in this commentary.

Verse 11

sahasra-sirsa purusah sahasraksah sahasra-pat

sahasra-bahur visvatma sahasramsah sahasra-suh

Translation:

That Lord of the universe, Maha-Visnu, possesses thousands upon thousands of Faces, thousands upon thousands of Eyes, thousands upon thousands of Feet, thousands upon thousands of Arms, thousands upon thousands of Incarnations in thousands upon thousands of Plenary Expansions; He is the Soul of the universe and the Creator of thousands upon thousands of living beings.

Purport:

Maha-Visnu, the Object of worship of the hymns of all the Vedas, is endowed with Infinite Senses and Potencies, and He is the Original Avatara from whom all other Avataras descend.