FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.5.6

नाहं वेद परं ह्यस्मिन्नापरं न समं विभो । नामरूपगुणैर्भाव्यं सदसत् किञ्चिदन्यत: ॥ ६ ॥
nāhaṁ veda paraṁ hy asmin
[naaham veda param hy asmin]
nāparaṁ na samaṁ vibho
[naaparam na samam vibho]
nāma-rūpa-guṇair bhāvyaṁ
[naama-roopa-gunair bhaavyam]
sad-asat kiñcid anyataḥ
[sad-asat kinchid anyatah]
na — do not aham — myself veda — know param — superior hi — for asmin — in this world na — neither aparam — inferior na — nor samam — equal vibho — O great one nāma — name rūpa — characteristics guṇaiḥ — by qualification bhāvyam — all that is created sat — eternal asat — temporary kiñcit — or anything like that anyataḥ — from any other source.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
nāhaṁ veda paraṁ hy asmin
na
do not
aham
myself
veda
know
param
superior
hi
for
asmin
in this world
nāparaṁ na samaṁ vibho
na
neither
aparam
inferior
na
nor
samam
equal
vibho
O great one
nāma-rūpa-guṇair bhāvyaṁ
nāma
name
rūpa
characteristics
guṇaiḥ
by qualification
bhāvyam
all that is created
sad-asat kiñcid anyataḥ
sat
eternal
asat
temporary
kiñcit
or anything like that
anyataḥ
from any other source.
Whatever we can understand by the nomenclature, characteristics and features of a particular thing — superior, inferior or equal, eternal or temporary — is not created from any source other than that of Your Lordship, thou so great.

The manifested world is full of varieties of created beings in 8,400,000 species of life, and some of them are superior and inferior to others. In human society the human being is considered to be the superior living being, and amongst the human beings there are also different varieties: good, bad, equal, etc. But Nārada Muni took for granted that none of them has any source of generation besides his father, Brahmājī. Therefore he wanted to know all about them from Lord Brahmā.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
O Lord! I do not know from where else everything can arise whether it is superior, inferior or medium, produced with name, form and qualities, gross or subtle.
Commentary

Whatever is superior, inferior or medium in this world, created (bhāvyam) with names such as human, forms such as two legged forms, and qualities such as white color, whatever is gross and subtle (sad-asat), I do not know from where else it can come. I think that everything comes from you alone.

Every kind of being — superior, inferior, equal, lasting, fleeting — traces back to one Source. The endless variety of beings doesn't disprove a single origin; it expresses one. Diversity and unity are not opposites.
Reflection Questions
  • Do I see the variety of beings around me as evidence of one Source, or as fragments without connection?
  • How would my treatment of others change if I held them all as expressions of one origin?
📝 My note

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