Verse 13.15

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 13.15:

सर्वेन्द्रिय-गुणाभासं सर्वेन्द्रिय-विवर्जितम् ।
असक्तं सर्व-भृच् चैव निर्गुणं गुण-भोक्तृ च ॥ १५ ॥

sarvendriya-guṇābhāsaṃ sarvendriya-vivarjitam |
asaktaṃ sarva-bhṛc caiva nirguṇaṃ guṇa-bhoktṛ ca || 15 ||

sarva-indriya–of all senses; guṇa–their functions; ābhāsam–the illuminator; sarva-indriya-vivarjitam–He is devoid of mundane senses; asaktam–He is detached; sarva-bhṛt–He is the maintainer of all beings; ca–yet; eva–indeed; nirguṇam–He is without material qualities; guṇa-bhoktṛ–He is the enjoyer of the six divine qualities; ca–yet.

That knowable Person is the illuminator of all the senses and their functions, yet He is devoid of mundane senses. Although detached, He is the maintainer of all living beings, and although devoid of material qualities, He is the enjoyer of six transcendental opulences.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

(By Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura; the innermost intention of the commentary named ‘the shower of essential meanings’)

Moreover, brahma manifests all the sense objects. The Śrutis say, “tac cakṣuṣaś cakṣuḥ–He is the eye of the eye” (Kena Upaniṣad 1.2) and “sarvendriyair guṇaih–He manifests the functions of the senses such as sound.” Yet He is sarvendriya-vivarjitam, which means that He has no material senses [rather, He has transcendental senses]. The Śrutis also say, “apāṇi-pādo javano grahītā–although He does not have material senses, such as hands and feet, He accepts, moves and sees” (Svetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.19).

Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.8) also states “parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca–it is heard that brahma has various types of transcendental potencies.” Those potencies are jñāna (knowledge), bala (strength) and kriya (action), and they are naturally inherent within Him. His famous form as described in the Śrutis is the source of all energy.

He is devoid of attachment to the mundane plane, and He maintains everyone in His expansion as Śrī Viṣṇu. He has a unique transcendental form, which is free from the material modes of nature such as the mode of goodness, and He is guṇa-bhoktṛ‚ the enjoyer of the guṇas. He is addressed as bhaga because He is the enjoyer of six types of transcendental opulences.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

(By Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja; the explanation that illuminates the commentary named Sārārtha-varṣiṇī)

That brahma is the source of the function of the senses and is also the source of the sense objects. It is also seen in the Śrutis, “tac cakṣuṣaś cakṣuḥ–He is the eye of the eye” (Kena Upaniṣad 1.2). He is devoid of material senses; He has transcendental senses.

Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (3.19) also states:

apāṇi-pādo javano grahītā paśyaty acakṣuḥ sa śṛṇoty akarṇaḥ

Although Bhagavān does not have material hands, feet, etc., He accepts offerings, He sees and He walks. Even without material eyes and ears, He sees and listens. In other words, He has transcendental hands, feet, eyes, ears, etc.

Therefore, brahma is not nirviśeṣa, devoid of qualities, but He is saviśeṣa, possessing transcendental features. He is devoid of material qualities, yet He is endowed with six types of transcendental opulences, and He is the enjoyer of them.