Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.7.43

gandharvā ūcuḥ

aḿśāḿśās te deva marīcy-ādaya ete

brahmendrādyā deva-gaṇā rudra-purogāḥ

krīḍā-bhāṇḍaḿ viśvam idaḿ yasya vibhūman

tasmai nityaḿ nātha namas te karavāma

SYNONYMS

gandharvāḥ — the Gandharvas; ūcuḥ — said; aḿśa-aḿśāḥ — parts and parcels of Your body; te — Your; deva — dear Lord; marīci-ādayaḥ — Marīci and the great sages; ete — these; brahma-indra-ādyāḥ — headed by Brahmā and Indra; deva-gaṇāḥ — the demigods; rudra-purogāḥ — having Lord Śiva as the chief; krīḍā-bhāṇḍam — a plaything; viśvam — the whole creation; idam — this; yasya — of whom; vibhūman — the Supreme Almighty Great; tasmai — unto Him; nityam — always; nātha — O Lord; namaḥ — respectful obeisances; te — unto You; karavāma — we offer.

TRANSLATION

The Gandharvas said: Dear Lord, all the demigods, including Lord Śiva, Lord Brahmā, Indra and Marīci and the great sages, are all only differentiated parts and parcels of Your body. You are the Supreme Almighty Great; the whole creation is just like a plaything for You. We always accept You as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and we offer our respectful obeisances unto You.

PURPORT

In the Brahma-saḿhitā it is said that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There may be many gods, from Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Indra and Candra down to the rulers of the lower planetary systems, the presidents, ministers, chairmen and kings. In fact, anyone can think that he is God. That is the false, puffed-up conviction of material life. Actually Viṣṇu is the Supreme Lord, but there is even one above Viṣṇu, for Viṣṇu is also the plenary portion of a part of Kṛṣṇa. In this verse this is referred to by the word aḿśāḿśāḥ, which refers to part and parcel of a part and parcel. There are similar verses in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta which indicate that the Supreme Lord's parts and parcels again expand into other parts and parcels. As described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there are many manifestations of Viṣṇu and many manifestations of living entities. Viṣṇu manifestations are called svāḿśa, partial manifestations, and the living entities are called vibhinnāḿśa. The demigods like Brahmā and Indra have been promoted to such exalted positions by pious activities and austerities, but actually Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa, is the master of everyone. ln the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said, ekale īśvara kṛṣṇa, āra saba bhṛtya. This means that Kṛṣṇa alone is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and all others, even the viṣṇu-tattva and certainly the living entities, are His servitors. Baladeva is the immediate expansion of Kṛṣṇa. He also engages in the service of Kṛṣṇa, and certainly the ordinary living entities are serving. Everyone is created, constitutionally, for serving Kṛṣṇa. Here the Gandharvas acknowledge that although the demigods may represent themselves as the Supreme, actually they are not supreme. Real supremacy belongs to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam is the statement of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: "Kṛṣṇa is the only Supreme Lord." Worship of Kṛṣṇa alone, therefore, includes worship of all the parts and parcels, just as watering the root of a tree also waters all the branches, twigs, leaves and flowers.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness