sa bibhrat pauruá¹£aá¹ dhÄma
bhrÄjamÄno yathÄ raviḥ
durÄsado 'tidurdhará¹£o
bhÅ«tÄnÄá¹ sambabhÅ«va ha
saḥ - he (Vasudeva); bibhrat - carried; pauruá¹£am - pertaining to the Supreme Person; dhÄma - the spiritual effulgence; bhrÄjamÄnaḥ - illuminating; yathÄ - as; raviḥ - the sunshine; durÄsadaḥ - very difficult even to look at, difficult to understand by sensory perception; ati-durdhará¹£aḥ - approachable with great difficulty; bhÅ«tÄnÄm - of all living entities; sambabhÅ«va - so he became; ha - positively.
While carrying the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead within the core of his heart, Vasudeva bore the Lord’s transcendentally illuminating effulgence, and thus he became as bright as the sun. He was therefore very difficult to see or approach through sensory perception. Indeed, he was unapproachable and unperceivable even for such formidable men as Kaá¹sa, and not only for Kaá¹sa but for all living entities.
The word dhÄma is significant. DhÄma refers to the place where the Supreme Personality of Godhead resides. In the beginning of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (1.1.1) it is said, dhÄmnÄ svena sadÄ nirasta-kuhakaá¹ satyaá¹ paraá¹ dhÄ«mahi. In the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is no influence of material energy (dhÄmnÄ svena sadÄ nirasta-kuhakam). Any place where the Supreme Personality of Godhead is present by His name, form, qualities or paraphernalia immediately becomes a dhÄma. For example, we speak of Vá¹›ndÄvana-dhÄma, DvÄrakÄ-dhÄma and MathurÄ-dhÄma because in these places the name, fame, qualities and paraphernalia of the Supreme Godhead are always present. Similarly, if one is empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to do something, the core of his heart becomes a dhÄma, and thus he becomes so extraordinarily powerful that not only his enemies but also people in general are astonished to observe his activities. Because he is unapproachable, his enemies are simply struck with wonder, as explained here by the words durÄsado ’tidurdharsaḥ.
The words pauruá¹£aá¹ dhÄma have been explained by various ÄcÄryas. ÅšrÄ« VÄ«rarÄghava Ä€cÄrya says that these words refer to the effulgence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vijayadhvaja says that they signify viṣṇu-tejas, and Åšukadeva says bhagavat-svarÅ«pa. The Vaiṣṇava-toá¹£aṇī says that these words indicate the influence of the Supreme Lord’s effulgence, and ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ« ṬhÄkura says that they signify the appearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
