Chapter 11 - Verse 43 — Ancient Knowledge

For,

पिताऽसि लोकस्य चराचरस्य
त्वमस्य पूज्यश्च गुरुर्गरीयान् ।
न त्वत्समोऽस्त्यभ्यधिकः कुतोऽन्यो
लोकत्रयेऽप्यप्रतिमप्रभावः ॥ ४३ ॥

pitā’si lokasya carācarasya
tvamasya pūjyaśca gururgarīyān .
na tvatsamo’styabhyadhikaḥ kuto’nyo
lokatraye’pyapratimaprabhāvaḥ .. 43 ..

Thou art the Father of this world, moving and unmoving. Thou art to be adored by this (world), Thou the Greatest Guru; (for) Thy equal exists not; whence another, superior to Thee, in the three worlds, O Being of unequalled greatness?

Read the commentary

Thy equal exists not : for there cannot be two Īśvaras or Lords; if there were more than one Īśvara, the world could not get on as it now does.* When even Thy equal exists not, how can there exist a being superior to Thee?

When one Isvara desires to create, another may desire to destroy. There is no guarantee that all the different Isvaras would be of one mind; and as they would all be independent of each other, the effort of one Isvara in one direction would be neutralised by that of another in the opposite direction. The world could not exist as it exists now.—(A).