FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.6.16

త్వత్త: పుమాన్ సమధిగమ్య యయాస్య వీర్యం ధత్తే మహాన్తమివ గర్భమమోఘవీర్య: । సోఽయం తయానుగత ఆత్మన ఆణ్డకోశం హైమం ససర్జ బహిరావరణైరుపేతమ్ ॥ ౧౬ ॥
tvattaḥ pumān samadhigamya yayāsya vīryaṁ
[tvattah pumaan samadhigamya yayaasya veeryam]
dhatte mahāntam iva garbham amogha-vīryaḥ
[dhatte mahaantam iva garbham amogha-veeryah]
so ’yaṁ tayānugata ātmana āṇḍa-kośaṁ
[so ’yam tayaanugata aatmana aanda-kosham]
haimaṁ sasarja bahir āvaraṇair upetam
[haimam sasarja bahir aavaranair upetam]
Word-for-word
tvattaḥ — from You pumān — the puruṣa-avatāra, Mahā-Viṣṇu samadhigamya — obtaining yayā — along with which (material nature) asya — of this creation vīryam — the potential seed dhatte — He impregnates mahāntam — the mahat-tattva, the raw amalgamation of matter iva garbham — like an ordinary fetus amogha-vīryaḥ — He whose semen is never wasted saḥ ayam — that same (mahat-tattva) tayā — with the material nature anugataḥ — joined ātmanaḥ — from itself āṇḍa-kośam — the primeval egg of the universe haimam — golden sasarja — produced bahiḥ — on its outside āvaraṇaiḥ — with several coverings upetam — endowed.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tvattaḥ pumān samadhigamya yayāsya vīryaṁ
tvattaḥ
from You
pumān
the puruṣa-avatāra, Mahā-Viṣṇu
samadhigamya
obtaining
yayā
along with which (material nature)
asya
of this creation
vīryam
the potential seed
dhatte mahāntam iva garbham amogha-vīryaḥ
dhatte
He impregnates
mahāntam
the mahat-tattva, the raw amalgamation of matter
iva garbham
like an ordinary fetus
amogha-vīryaḥ
He whose semen is never wasted
so ’yaṁ tayānugata ātmana āṇḍa-kośaṁ
saḥ ayam
that same (mahat-tattva)
haimaṁ sasarja bahir āvaraṇair upetam
tayā
with the material nature
anugataḥ
joined
ātmanaḥ
from itself
āṇḍa-kośam
the primeval egg of the universe
haimam
golden
sasarja
produced
bahiḥ
on its outside
āvaraṇaiḥ
with several coverings
upetam
endowed.
My dear Lord, the original puruṣa-avatāra, Mahā-Viṣṇu, acquires His creative potency from You. Thus with infallible energy He impregnates material nature, producing the mahat-tattva. Then the mahat-tattva, the amalgamated material energy, endowed with the potency of the Lord, produces from itself the primeval golden egg of the universe, which is covered by various layers of material elements.
Purport

In the previous verses the supremacy of the Personality of Godhead has been established in relation to the living entity and material nature. In this verse it is clearly stated that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the source of the greatest Viṣṇu incarnation, Mahā-Viṣṇu, and that Mahā-Viṣṇu acquires His creative potency from Lord Kṛṣṇa. It would therefore be foolish to surmise that Lord Kṛṣṇa is an expansion of Viṣṇu. In this regard the opinion of the demigods, headed by Brahmā, can be taken as final.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
The original puruṣa-avatāra, Mahā-Viṣṇu, obtains his powers from you and establishes mahat-tattva, the womb of the universe, through māyā. Then the mahat-tattva, obedient to māyā, produces from itself the golden shell of the universe with its coverings. The Lord is superior to the jīva. He is also superior to Mahāviṣṇu who glances over prakṛti. Mahāviṣṇu obtains his power from you. By māyā he supports mahaṭ-tattva (vīryam), which is like the womb of the universe. Mahat-tattva, obedient to māyā, creates the universe from itself.
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Even Mahā-Viṣṇu, who fathers every universe, draws His creative potency from Kṛṣṇa — so trace every power you wield back to its true source.
Practical Applications
  • Before starting any creative work today, pause and explicitly acknowledge Kṛṣṇa as the source of the potency you are about to deploy.
  • When you feel proud of something you produced — a project, an idea, even a child raised well — name the borrowed energy behind it and offer the credit upward.
  • Refuse the modern reflex that says "I made this" and replace it with "this was made through me" at least once today, in writing or aloud.
Reflection Questions
  • If even Mahā-Viṣṇu's universe-impregnating potency is borrowed from Kṛṣṇa, what tiny scrap of my own ability am I still secretly claiming as self-generated?
  • Where in my life have I confused being a conduit of Kṛṣṇa's energy with being its origin, and what has that confusion cost me?
For Each Age Group
youth
  • Before an exam or audition, instead of pumping yourself up with "I've got this," quietly acknowledge that the intelligence and stamina you're about to use are on loan from Kṛṣṇa.
  • When a post or project of yours goes viral or gets praised by friends, resist the dopamine rush of ownership and tell at least one person where the real credit belongs.
  • When you compare yourself to a peer who seems more gifted, remember that their potency is borrowed too — envy makes no sense toward a fellow conduit.
householder
  • When a deal closes, a project ships, or a child does something that makes you proud, name Kṛṣṇa as the source of that potency before you accept any congratulations.
  • In family financial decisions, act with full effort and infallible diligence, but speak and plan as a steward of Kṛṣṇa's energy rather than as its owner.
  • Teach your children, by your phrasing at the dinner table, that abilities are received and offered — not manufactured and possessed.
senior
  • Look back on the career or family you built and consciously re-assign the credit — out loud, to a younger relative or student — to the Lord who lent you the potency.
  • As physical and mental powers wane, take it not as loss but as the natural withdrawal of borrowed energies, and use that clarity to deepen surrender.
  • Mentor someone younger by showing them, in your own example, what it looks like to wield potency without claiming it — the legacy that outlasts the body.
Common Pitfalls
  • Treating "Kṛṣṇa is the source" as a slogan recited after the work, rather than a conviction held while doing it.
  • Sliding into impersonalism — speaking of "the source" or "the universal energy" instead of the personal Kṛṣṇa from whom Mahā-Viṣṇu Himself receives potency.
  • Demoting Kṛṣṇa to one Viṣṇu among many, when this verse establishes Him as the source of even the greatest Viṣṇu expansion.
Discussion Prompts
  • Share one ability you have privately considered "yours" — and discuss what changes if you take seriously that even Mahā-Viṣṇu's potency is borrowed.
  • Where does it become genuinely difficult to say Kṛṣṇa is the source — in art, in parenting, in earning a living — and why does that specific arena resist the teaching?
  • If Brahmā and the demigods themselves had to settle the question of Kṛṣṇa's supremacy, what does that say about our confidence in settling it from our own reasoning?
Role Play

A talented colleague has just won a major award and is being publicly celebrated as a "self-made" creative force. They corner you afterwards and ask, sincerely, whether you think they earned it. Speak to them as a fellow practitioner who has internalized this verse — neither flattering them nor lecturing them — and help them see the borrowed potency without diminishing their effort.

Objections & Responses
  • If every potency ultimately traces back to Kṛṣṇa, then my effort is meaningless — I'm just a puppet, and there's no real reason to strive.
    The verse does not erase the agent; it locates the agent correctly. Mahā-Viṣṇu still acts, still impregnates material nature, still produces the mahat-tattva — but with amogha-vīrya, infallible potency, precisely because it is sourced in Kṛṣṇa. Your effort matters more, not less, when you stop pretending it is self-powered.
  • Why insist Kṛṣṇa is the source of Mahā-Viṣṇu? Most traditions treat Viṣṇu as supreme and Kṛṣṇa as one of His avatāras.
    This verse states the reverse plainly: Mahā-Viṣṇu acquires His creative potency from Kṛṣṇa. Prabhupāda notes that the opinion of the demigods headed by Brahmā can be taken as final on this point. The Gauḍīya line is not inventing a hierarchy; it is reading the śāstra as it stands.
📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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