FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.30

स एवेदं ससर्जाग्रे भगवानात्ममायया । सदसद्रूपया चासौ गुणमयागुणो विभु: ॥ ३० ॥
sa evedaṁ sasarjāgre
[sa evedam sasarjaagre]
bhagavān ātma-māyayā
[bhagavaan aatma-maayayaa]
sad-asad-rūpayā cāsau
[sad-asad-roopayaa chaasau]
guṇamayāguṇo vibhuḥ
[gunamayaaguno vibhuh]
Word-for-word
saḥ — that eva — certainly idam — this sasarja — created agre — before bhagavān — the Personality of Godhead ātma-māyayā — by His personal potency sat — the cause asat — the effect rūpayā — by forms ca — and asau — the same Lord guṇa-maya — in the modes of material nature aguṇaḥ — transcendental vibhuḥ — the Absolute.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sa evedaṁ sasarjāgre
saḥ
that
eva
certainly
idam
this
sasarja
created
agre
before
bhagavān ātma-māyayā
bhagavān
the Personality of Godhead
ātma-māyayā
by His personal potency
sad-asad-rūpayā cāsau
sat
the cause
asat
the effect
rūpayā
by forms
ca
and
asau
the same Lord
guṇamayāguṇo vibhuḥ
guṇa-maya
in the modes of material nature
aguṇaḥ
transcendental
vibhuḥ
the Absolute.
In the beginning of the material creation, that Absolute Personality of Godhead [Vāsudeva], in His transcendental position, created the energies of cause and effect by His own internal energy.
Purport

The position of the Lord is always transcendental because the causal and effectual energies required for the creation of the material world were also created by Him. He is unaffected, therefore, by the qualities of the material modes. His existence, form, activities and paraphernalia all existed before the material creation.* He is all-spiritual and has nothing to do with the qualities of the material world, which are qualitatively distinct from the spiritual qualities of the Lord.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
The powerful Lord alone, devoid of material guṇas, previously created this universe by his material energy composed of material guṇas and endowed with cause and effect.
Commentary

The creator of all those who are recommended for worship such as Pitṛs, Śiva and Brahmā is Vāsudeva alone. Thus he is worthy of worship. The Lord is without guṇas, but he creates the universe using matter composed of guṇas and material cause and effect (sad-asad-rūpayā).

Related lectures
Personal Guidance
The material universe begins from Vāsudeva's own internal energy — not from accident or rival force. Even the laws of cause and effect are downstream of Him. Nothing we encounter is outside His arrangement.
Reflection Questions
  • Where do I act as if some part of my life is operating outside the Lord's arrangement?
  • How would I respond to today's frustration if I remembered its cause is downstream of Him?
📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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