The Universal Beginning
This opening verse establishes the scale of the Divine. It moves from the vastness of the entire "Universe" (Visvam) to the intimate reality that He is the "Soul" (Bhutatma) within us.
विश्वं विष्णुर्वषट्कारो भूतभव्यभवत्प्रभुः ।
भूतकृद्भूतभृद्भावो भूतात्मा भूतभावनः ॥
Transliteration viśvaṃ viṣṇur vaṣaṭkāro bhūtabhavyabhavatprabhuḥ | bhūtakṛdbhūtabhṛdbhāvo bhūtātmā bhūtabhāvanaḥ || The Meaning * Viśvaṃ: He who is the Universe itself. * Viṣṇuḥ: He who pervades everything. * Vaṣaṭkāraḥ: He for whom the sacrificial invocations are made. * Bhūta-bhavya-bhavat-prabhuḥ: The Lord of the past, the future, and the present. * Bhūtakṛt: The creator of all beings. * Bhūtabhṛt: The sustainer of all beings. * Bhāvaḥ: He who exists eternally. * Bhūtātmā: The very soul of every living creature. * Bhūtabhāvanaḥ: The one who causes all beings to grow and prosper.
The Essence This opening verse establishes the scale of the Divine. It moves from the vastness of the entire "Universe" (Visvam) to the intimate reality that He is the "Soul" (Bhutatma) within us. It reminds us that the same power that created the cosmos is currently sustaining us and will be there in our future.
