Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana Book 3 Chapter 8:25-33

Book 3: Chapter 8

Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana: Book 3: Chapter 8: Verses 25-33 Brahma's manifestation His person, which contained all the three worlds, was its own compeer both in length and breadth; even though it added grace to the wonderful divine ornaments and robes themselves, yet He had chosen to adorn it with the same. He graciously showed (by placing them in a prominent position) His wish-yielding lotus-feet to devotees that worshipped Him through faultless processes for the gratification of their own desire-lotus-feet whose petals in the shape of toes could be distinctly seen (though closely united with one another) through the rays of their moon-like nails. Nay, He greeted His worshippers with His countenance, which was endowed with a beautiful nose and graceful eyebrows and lit up with a smile that was enough to relieve the agony of the whole world, and which was graced with brilliant ear-rings and reflected the ruddy lustre of His lips, that resembled a ripe Bimba fruit. His buttocks were adorned with a loin-cloth yellow as thefilaments of a Kadamba flower, as well as with a girdle; while His bosom, dear son, was marked with a golden streak and graced with its favourite necklace, which was invaluable. In the shape of the fourteen worlds He is like a sandal tree, the king of trees, with His pair of stout arms,adorned with most precious armlets and the best of gems, for its numberless boughs, with its root unknown (because it has no root other than itself) and with the hoods of Sesa (the lord of serpents) coiled about its trunk. (Lying in the midst of the ocean) the Lord further looked like a mountain surrounded by water. Even as a 'mountain affords shelter to both animate and inanimate beings, the Lord is the resting-place of the whole animate and inanimate creation. Even as a mountain is friendly (hospitable) to large serpents, the Lord is a friend of Sesa (the lord of serpents). The thousands of diadems that adorned the hoods of Sesa appeared like so many peaks of gold; while the diamond called Kaustubha that shone on the bosom of the Lord looked like a gem emerging from the heart of a mountain. Brahma now had a clear view of Sri Hari, who wore round His neck a wreath of sylvan flowers, that represented His glory and was graced by the Vedas that had taken the form of bees to hymn His praises. He was inaccessible even to the sun, the moon, the air and fire, and could hardly be approached (by His enemies), being closely guarded by His weapons (like Sudarsana and others) who were truth, consciousness and bliss personified (i.e., had divine forms of their own), and ever paraded round Him. That very moment, Brahma, the would-be creator of the world, who was intent on evolving the universe, beheld (in his heart along with the Lord) the lotus which had shot forth from His navel, the water (that surrounded Him), the blast (that was blowing), the sky (that hung over his head like a canopy) as well as himself (seated on the lotus) and nothing other than these. Dominated as he was by the quality of Rajas (the principle of activity), he desired to undertake the work of evolving the creation; but when he saw only the aforesaid meterial for the same, he fixed his mind on the Lord, whose ways are unknown to anyone, and thus began to extol Him who is the only one deserving of praise, intent as he was on creation. Thus ends the eighth discourse in Book Three of the great and glorious Bhagavata-Purana, otherwise known as the Paramahamsa-Samhita.