2.21
tam imam aham ajam sarira-bhajam
hrdi hrdi dhisthitam atma-kalpitanam
prati-drsam iva naikadharkam ekam
samadhigato ’smi vidhuta-bheda-mohah
SYNONYMS
tam—Him; imam—this; aham—I; ajam—the unborn; sarira-bhajam—of the conditioned souls endowed with bodies; hrdi hrdi—in each of the hearts; dhisthitam—situated; atma—by themselves; kalpitanam—which are imagined; prati-drsam—for every eye; iva—like; na eka-dha—not in one way; arkam—the sun; ekam—one; samadhigatah—one who has obtained; asmi—I am; vidhuta—removed; bheda-mohah—whose misconception of duality.
TRANSLATION (Grandfather Bhisma said:) “As the one sun appears differently situated to different seers, so also do You, the unborn, appear differently represented as the Paramatma in every living being.
But when a seer knows himself to be one of Your own servitors, no longer does he maintain such duality.
Thus I am now able to comprehend Your eternal forms, knowing well the Paramatma to be only Your plenary portion.”
PURPORT
This verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.9.42) was spoken by Bhismadeva, the grandfather of the Kurus, when he was lying on a bed of arrows at the last stage of his life.
Arjuna, Krsna and numberless friends, admirers, relatives and sages had gathered on the scene as Maharaja Yudhisthira took moral and religious instructions from the dying Bhisma.
Just as the final moment arrived for him, Bhisma spoke this verse while looking at Lord Krsna.
Just as the one sun is the object of vision of many different persons, so the one partial representation of Lord Krsna who lives in the heart of every living entity as the Paramatma is a variously perceived object.
One who comes intimately in touch with Lord Krsna by engaging in His eternal service sees the Supersoul as the localized partial representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Bhisma knew the Supersoul to be a partial expansion of Lord Krsna, whom he understood to be the supreme unborn transcendental form.