Having collected together the meaning of all the praises of the Vedas, Sukadeva makes us again remember the facts. He, glancing (utpreksakah) upon this world (asya) and awakening the karmas of the materialistic jivas sleeping next to maya, having created the intelligence, mind, senses and prana, in order for them to attain the fruits of their karma, in order for them to enjoy, in order that the jnanis can attain their goal of merging, as a result of jnana, and in order that the devotee can attain a position as an associate of the Lord in prema as a result of bhakti, thinks of where he can send each jiva in the material realm. Sukadeva next speaks of existence in the three aspects of time. The Lord exists at the beginning middle and end of this unverse. That means he existed before the universe, during its existence, and will exist after its destruction. Aham evasam evagre nanyat sad asat param Pascad aham yad etac ca yo visisthyeta so’smy aham. Brahma, it is I, the Personality of Godhead, who was existing before the creation, when there was nothing but Myself. Nor was there the material nature, the cause of this creation. That which you see now is also I, the Personality of Godhead, and after annihilation what remains will also be I, the Personality of Godhead. (SB 2.9.32) Next Sukadeva speaks of the Lord’s being the cause of all and the controller of all. He is the cause and the controller (isvarah) of this whole material world,composed of maya (avyakta) and the jiva. Because they are his energies and because his energies are not different from their source the saktiman, he is also maya and the jiva. This indicates that he is the material cause of the world and jivas, their efficient cause and their controller. Next he speaks of the entrance of the Lord in the world and the secondary creation there. He, having created this world, created the bodies (purah) of the devas, men, animals and others through the agency of Brahma (rsina) and controls them by his expansion as the paramatma, who, like a rsi, is not contaminated by the world. (the word rsi therefore has two functions here. ) Then he speaks of the jiva’s escape from the world, by bhakti. The jiva, embraced by ignorance (anusayi), surrenders to this Lord. According to Sridhara Swami, the word anusayi indicates that the jiva lies down paying dandavats again and again (anu sayi) to the Lord. The jiva gives up maya (ajam) who creates all the objects of this world. It could be argued that even the devotee who has surrendered to the Lord still has a material body. Therefore Sukadeva says that the jiva is like a sleeping person who gives up identification with his own body (kualayam). Though that body still exists, he is not aware of it. This means that the devotee, giving up his ignorance, gives up his identification with his material body. It should be understood however that sometimes this giving up of ignorance is a cause of not surrendering to the Lord (as in the case of impersonalists), and that at other times without doing sadhana, the jiva escapes from the world. That Lord removes the ignorance of the jiva (nirasta yoni) even in isolation from a cause (without sadhana for liberation). Yam iha niriksya hata gatah svarupam (SB 1.9.39) Killed seeing his form, they became liberated. From these words of Bhisma, one sees liberation even in the case of no sadhana for liberation as in the case of many such as baka, aghu and kesi. Krsna is indicated by this particular quality. Certainly giving up all fear of all the various persons producing poisonous philosophies generated by their karma, one should continuously constantly meditate upon Hari, of the qualities described above, Krsna, who steals the mind of the person endowed with prema by his particular sweetness. The person is described: He bhakta dvary ayam cancad baladhi rauti vo manak Prasadam labhatam yasmad visistah sveva nathati O devotees, this person, of unsteady, dull mind, is offering praises at the door. You should let him have a little mercy since he is expert and quickly does the soliciting. The word cancal baladhi can also mean "wagging tail," since valadhih means tail according to Amara Kosa. Thus the meaning would be as follows. O devotees this creature wagging its tail is barking at the door. You should please give him some food, since he appears to be special dog asking for help. There is imbedded in the last line the authors name, "visvanatha." This is how visvanatha has given the meaning of the word. Or the meaning can be: This is the derivation of the meaning of Visvanatha: one who begs in a special way. Or the meaning can be: This, then is the method of achieving the association of the Lord of the universe. O the meaning can be: Thus Visvantha has described the verses of the personified Vedas.

The Lord is the supreme witness in all three phases of time. He is the antaryāmī of the Kāraṇa Ocean and by his two śaktis, jīva and māyā, he becomes the material cause (upādāna) of creation with consciousness (mahat-tattva). This is called sarga. He is the creator, maintainer and destroyer of the total universe. Entering into it, he becomes the antaryāmī of the total universe (Garbhodakaśāyī). This is his pastime of entering the universe. He makes the individual bodies by means of Brahmā (ṛṣiṇā). He is thus the creator of visarga. He regulates the bodies as antaryāmī of the individual soul (Kṣīrodakaśāyī). Having shown the Lord’s svarūpa-śakti as the instigator of the powers of māyā, Śukadeva now shows him as the destroyer of māyā. Becoming absorbed in the Lord, the jīva covered by upādhis (anuśayī) rejects ignorance, a function of māyā (ajām). This shows the Lord’s pastime of liberating jīvas. Having indicated the Lord through the powers of his svarūpa-śakti, represented by secondary characteristics, Śukadeva then directly indicates the Lord in the last line. One should meditate on the Lord with his famous svarūpa (harim), who throws māyā far away permanently by his pure svarūpa, the shelter of his pure, powerful śaktis (kaivalyena), simply by being absorbed in the Lord. The Lord who has these qualities, is suitable for bhakti with meditation since he has the purest svarūpa, the purest śaktis, and the highest mercy, which is bestowed on the jīvas for their benefit. By rejecting māyā after describing its powers, by establishing the Lord in the forefront with his pure śaktis, by indicating bhakti as the sādhana represented by meditation, by reliance on the teachings of the Veda, this verse has the same meaning as the ancient prayers of the śrutis. One should also see its details. It also has the same meaning as the first verse of the Bhāgavatam. The following also has the same meaning. atra sargo visargaś ca sthānaṁ poṣaṇam ūtayaḥ manvantareśānukathā nirodho muktir āśrayaḥ In this Purāṇa there are ten topics: creation, secondary creation, protection, mercy of the Lord, material activities, the conduct of the Manus, stories of the Lord, destruction of the universe, liberation and the ultimate shelter. SB 2.10.1

One should worship the Lord with prema. He teaches people out of devotion or great mercy, uttering a statement of the meaning of the śrutis’ prayers. The Lord is the observer of the universe (utprekṣaka). This means he is the cause. He is the lord of the jīvas and pradhāna. This means he is the supreme Lord. After creating the universe he enters it. This shows his intrinsic mercy. Surrendering to him the jīva escapes māyā. This shows the lord’s affection for his devotee. The Lord eradicates ignorance of the jīvas so that they can experience the happiness of liberation (kaivalya-nirasta-yonim). Or he is the continually manifested cause or shelter of prema bhakti. It is inferred that he gives the spiritual abode. He is all attractive with the highest beauty (harim). In the sequences gradually superior qualities for meditation are mentioned. One should always think of this form or one should always worship this form with prema. In prema one naturally thinks of the Lord at all times (dhyāyet). Or by constant meditation on the Lord one will attain prema. Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Tenth Canto, Eighty-seventh Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "The Prayers of the Personified Vedas." 10.88: Lord Śiva Saved from Vṛkāsura verses: Summary, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18-19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25-26, 27-28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38-39, 40 Chapter Summary This chapter describes how it is that the devotees of Viṣṇu obtain liberation, while the devotees of other deities obtain material opulences. Lord Viṣṇu possesses all opulences, while Lord Śiva lives in poverty. Yet the devotees of Viṣṇu are generally poverty-stricken, while Śiva's attain abundant wealth. When Mahārāja Parīkṣit asked Śukadeva Gosvāmī to explain this puzzling fact, the sage replied as follows: "Lord Śiva manifests as false ego in three varieties, according to the three modes of nature. From this false ego arise the five physical elements and the other transformations of material nature, totaling sixteen. When a devotee of Lord Śiva worships his manifestation in any of these elements, the devotee obtains all sorts of corresponding enjoyable opulences. But because Lord Śrī Hari is transcendental to the modes of material nature, His devotees also become transcendental." At the end of the performance of his Aśvamedha sacrifices, King Yudhiṣṭhira had asked this same question of Lord Kṛṣṇa, who replied, "When I feel special compassion for someone, I gradually deprive him of his wealth. Then the poverty-stricken man's children, wife and other relations all abandon him. When he again tries to acquire wealth in order to win back his family's favor, I mercifully frustrate him so that he becomes disgusted with fruitive work and befriends My devotees. And at that time I bestow upon him My extraordinary grace; then he can become freed from the bondage of material life and attain to the kingdom of God, Vaikuṇṭha." Lord Brahmā, Lord Viṣṇu and Lord Śiva can each bestow or withhold favors, but whereas Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva are satisfied or angered very quickly, Lord Viṣṇu is not. In this regard the Vedic literature relates the following account: Once the demon Vṛka asked Nārada which god was most quickly pleased, and Nārada answered that Lord Śiva was. Thus Vṛkāsura went to the holy place of Kedāranātha and began worshiping Lord Śiva by offering pieces of his own flesh as oblations into the fire. But Śiva did not appear. So Vṛka decided to commit suicide by cutting off his head. Just at the critical moment, Lord Śiva appeared from the sacrificial fire and stopped him, offering the demon whatever boon he chose. Vṛka said, "May death come to whomever I touch upon the head with my hand." Lord Śiva was obliged to fulfill this request, and at once the wicked Vṛka tried to test the benediction by putting his hand on the lord's head. Terrified, Śiva fled for his life, running as far as heaven and the outer limits of the mortal world. Finally the lord reached the planet of Śvetadvīpa, where Lord Viṣṇu resides. Seeing the desperate Śiva from afar, the Lord disguised Himself as a young student and went before Vṛkāsura. In a sweet voice he addressed the demon: "My dear Vṛka, please rest awhile and tell Us what you intend to do." Vṛka was charmed by the Lord's words and revealed everything that had happened. The Lord said, "Ever since Lord Śiva was cursed by Prajāpati Dakṣa, he has become just like a carnivorous hobgoblin. So you shouldn't trust his word. Better to test his benediction by putting your hand on your own head." Bewildered by these words, the foolish demon touched his own head, which immediately shattered and fell to the ground. Cries of "Victory!" "Obeisances!" and "Well done!" were heard from the sky, and the demigods, sages, celestial forefathers and Gandharvas all congratulated the Supreme Lord by raining down flowers upon Him.