Srimad Bhagavatam. Canto 3: The Status Quo

Chapter 13: The Appearance of Lord Varaha. Text 26

तेषां सतां वेदवितानमूर्ति
र्ब्रह्मावधार्यात्मगुणानुवादम् ।
विनद्य भूयो विबुधोदयाय
गजेन्द्रलीलो जलमाविवेश ॥२६॥

teá¹£Äá¹ satÄá¹ veda-vitÄna-mÅ«rtir
brahmÄvadhÄryÄtma-guṇÄnuvÄdam
vinadya bhÅ«yo vibudhodayÄya
gajendra-lÄ«lo jalam ÄviveÅ›a

 teá¹£Äm - of them; satÄm - of the great devotees; veda - all knowledge; vitÄna-mÅ«rtiḥ - the form of expansion; brahma - Vedic sound; avadhÄrya - knowing it well; Ätma - of Himself; guṇa-anuvÄdam - transcendental glorification; vinadya - resounding; bhÅ«yaḥ - again; vibudha - of the transcendentally learned; udayÄya - for the elevation or benefit; gajendra-lÄ«laḥ - playing like an elephant; jalam - the water; ÄviveÅ›a - entered.


Text

Playing like an elephant, He entered into the water after roaring again in reply to the Vedic prayers by the great devotees. The Lord is the object of the Vedic prayers, and thus He understood that the devotees’ prayers were meant for Him.

Purport

The form of the Lord in any shape is always transcendental and full of knowledge and mercy. The Lord is the destroyer of all material contamination because His form is personified Vedic knowledge. All the Vedas worship the transcendental form of the Lord. In the Vedic mantras the devotees request the Lord to remove the glaring effulgence because it covers His real face. That is the version of the Īśopaniá¹£ad. The Lord has no material form, but His form is always understood in terms of the Vedas. The Vedas are said to be the breath of the Lord, and that breath was inhaled by BrahmÄ, the original student of the Vedas. The breathing from the nostril of BrahmÄ caused the appearance of Lord Boar, and therefore the boar incarnation of the Lord is the personified Vedas. The glorification of the incarnation by the sages on the higher planets consisted of factual Vedic hymns. Whenever there is glorification of the Lord, it is to be understood that Vedic mantras are being rightly vibrated. The Lord was therefore pleased when such Vedic mantras were chanted, and to encourage His pure devotees, He roared once more and entered the water to rescue the submerged earth.