स आश्रयः परं ब्रह्म परमात्मेति शब्द्यते ॥७॥
ÄbhÄsaÅ› ca nirodhaÅ› ca
yato 'sty adhyavasīyate
sa ÄÅ›rayaḥ paraá¹ brahma
paramÄtmeti Å›abdyate
ÄbhÄsaḥ - the cosmic manifestation; ca - and; nirodhaḥ - and its winding up; ca - also; yataḥ - from the source; asti - is; adhyavasÄ«yate - become manifested; saḥ - He; ÄÅ›rayaḥ - reservoir; param - the Supreme; brahma - Being; paramÄtmÄ - the Supersoul; iti - thus; Å›abdyate - called.
The supreme one who is celebrated as the Supreme Being or the Supreme Soul is the supreme source of the cosmic manifestation as well as its reservoir and winding up. Thus He is the Supreme Fountainhead, the Absolute Truth.
Synonyms for the supreme source of all energies, as explained in the very beginning of the ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, are janmÄdy asya yataḥ, vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaá¹ yaj jñÄnam advayam/ brahmeti paramÄtmeti bhagavÄn iti Å›abdyate, called Parambrahma, ParamÄtmÄ or BhagavÄn. The word iti used here in this verse completes the synonyms and thus indicates BhagavÄn. This will be further explained in the later verses, but this BhagavÄn ultimately means Lord Kṛṣṇa because the ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam has already accepted the Supreme Personality of Godhead as Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavÄn svayam. The original source of all energies, or the summum bonum, is the Absolute Truth, which is called Parambrahma, etc., and BhagavÄn is the last word of the Absolute Truth. But even with the synonyms for BhagavÄn, such as NÄrÄyaṇa, Viṣṇu and Puruá¹£a, the last word is Kṛṣṇa, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ: ahaá¹ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaá¹ pravartate, etc. Besides that, the ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam is the representation of Lord Kṛṣṇa as a sound incarnation of the Lord.
kṛṣṇe sva-dhÄmopagate
dharma-jñÄnÄdibhiḥ saha
kalau naá¹£á¹a-dṛśÄm eá¹£aḥ
purÄṇÄrko ’dhunoditaḥ
(BhÄg. 1.3.43)
Thus by general conclusion Lord Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate source of all energies, and the word kṛṣṇa means that. And to explain Kṛṣṇa or the science of Kṛṣṇa, the ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam has been prepared. In the First Canto of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam this truth is indicated in the questions and answers by SÅ«ta GosvÄmÄ« and great sages like Åšaunaka, and in the First and Second Chapters of the canto this is explained. In the Third Chapter this subject is more explicit, and in the Fourth Chapter even more explicit. In the Second Canto the Absolute Truth as the Personality of Godhead is further emphasized, and the indication is the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa. The summary of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam in four verses, as we have already discussed, is succinct. This Supreme Personality of Godhead in the ultimate issue is confirmed by BrahmÄ in his Brahma-saá¹hitÄ as Ä«Å›varaḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-Änanda-vigrahaḥ. So it is concluded in the Third Canto of the ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam. The complete subject matter is elaborately explained in the Tenth and Eleventh Cantos of the ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam. In the matter of the changes of the Manus or manvantaras, such as the SvÄyambhuva-manvantara and CÄká¹£uá¹£a-manvantara, as they are discussed in the Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Cantos of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, Lord Kṛṣṇa is indicated. In the Eighth Canto the Vaivasvata-manvantara explains the same subject indirectly, and in the Ninth Canto the same purport is there. In the Twelfth Canto the same is further explained, specifically regarding the different incarnations of the Lord. Thus it is concluded by studying the complete ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam that Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate summum bonum, or the ultimate source of all energy. And according to the grades of worshipers, the indications of the nomenclature may be differently explained as NÄrÄyaṇa, BrahmÄ, ParamÄtmÄ, etc.
