janmÄdy asya yato 'nvayÄd itarataÅ› cÄrtheá¹£v abhijñaḥ sva-rÄá¹­
tene brahma há¹›dÄ ya Ädi-kavaye muhyanti yat sÅ«rayaḥ
tejo-vÄri-má¹›dÄá¹ yathÄ vinimayo yatra tri-sargo 'mṛṣÄ
dhÄmnÄ svena sadÄ nirasta-kuhakaá¹ satyaá¹ paraá¹ dhÄ«mahi

 janma-Ädi - creation, maintenance and dissolution; asya - of this (the universe); yataḥ - from whom; anvayÄt - directly from the spiritual connection; itarataḥ - indirectly from the lack of material contact; ca - also; artheá¹£u - in all affairs; abhijñaḥ - perfectly cognizant; sva-rÄá¹­ - independent; tene - imparted; brahma - the Absolute Truth; há¹›dÄ - through the heart; yaḥ - who; Ädi-kavaye - unto Lord BrahmÄ; muhyanti - are bewildered; yat - in whom; sÅ«rayaḥ - great personalities like Lord BrahmÄ and other demigods or great brÄhmaṇas; tejaḥ-vÄri-má¹›dÄm - of fire, water and earth; yathÄ - as; vinimayaḥ - the exchange; yatra - in whom; tri-sargaḥ - the material creation of three modes; amá¹›á¹£Ä - factual; dhÄmnÄ - with the abode; svena - His own personal; sadÄ - always; nirasta-kuhakam - devoid of all illusion; satyam - the truth; param - absolute; dhÄ«mahi - let us meditate upon.


Text

“ ‘O my Lord, ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of BrahmÄjÄ«, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth.’ â€

Purport

This is the opening invocation of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (1.1.1).