Text 14
śaśvat svarūpa-mahasaiva nipīta-bheda-
mohāya bodha-dhiṣaṇāya namaḥ parasmai
viśvodbhava-sthiti-layeṣu nimitta-līlā-
rāsāya te nama idaṁ cakṛmeśvarāya
śaśvat — eternally; svarūpa — transcendental form; mahasā — by the glories; eva — certainly; nipīta — distinguished; bheda — differentiation; mohāya — unto the illusory conception; bodha — self-knowledge; dhiṣaṇāya — intelligence; namaḥ — obeisances; parasmai — unto the Transcendence; viśva-udbhava — creation of the cosmic manifestation; sthiti — maintenance; layeṣu — also destruction; nimitta — for the matter of; līlā — by such pastimes; rāsāya — for enjoyment; te — unto You; namaḥ — obeisances; idam — this; cakṛma — do I perform; īśvarāya — unto the Supreme.
Let me offer my obeisances unto the Supreme Transcendence, who is eternally distinguished by His internal potency. His indistinguishable impersonal feature is realized by intelligence for self-realization. I offer my obeisances unto Him who by His pastimes enjoys the creation, maintenance and dissolution of the cosmic manifestation.
The Supreme Lord is eternally distinguished from the living entities by His internal potency, although He is also understood in His impersonal feature by self-realized intelligence. Devotees of the Lord, therefore, offer all respectful obeisances unto the impersonal feature of the Lord. The word rāsa is significant herein. The rāsa dance is performed by Lord Kṛṣṇa in the company of the cowherd damsels at Vṛndāvana, and the Personality of Godhead Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu is also engaged in rāsa enjoyment with His external potency, by which He creates, maintains and dissolves the entire material manifestation. Indirectly, Lord Brahmā offers his respectful obeisances unto Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is factually ever engaged in rāsa enjoyment with the gopīs, as confirmed in the Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad in the following words: parārdhānte so ’budhyata gopa-veśo me puruṣaḥ purastād āvirbabhūva. The distinction between the Lord and the living entity is definitely experienced when there is sufficient intelligence to understand His internal potency, as distinguished from the external potency by which He makes possible the material manifestation.