Puruṣam means person, but the Vedic mantra begins, apāṇi-pāda: "Person, but has no leg and no hand." There are two kinds of statements: that He is person, puruṣa, mahānta, the greatest person, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is a person; but apāṇi-pāda, but He has no legs and no hands. So how is that? A person has no legs and no hands, and still He accepts whatever we offer?
Just like Kṛṣṇa says, tad aham aśnāmi, bhaktyā upahṛtam aśnāmi: "Anyone who offers Me anything," patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyam (BG 9.26), "with devotion," bhaktyā . . . The very word is bhaktyā. That means Kṛṣṇa is transcendental person, and the Vedic mantra confirms. When the Vedic mantra says apāṇi-pāda, "no hands, no legs," that is not imperson. "Person, but His hands and legs are not like us," that is apāṇi-pāda.
Caitanya Mahāprabhu explains that. Apāṇi-pāda śruti varje prākṛta pāṇi-caraṇa (CC Madhya 6.150): "When the Vedic mantra says that 'The Absolute Truth has no legs and no hands,' that means that the Personality of Godhead's hands and legs are not material." That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's explanation.
- apāṇi-pāda śruti, veda-mantra
- varje prakṛta pāṇi-caraṇa
- na kahe śīghra cale kare sarva grahaṇa
- (CC Madhya 6.150)
"And although the Vedic mantra says that 'The Absolute Truth has no legs, no hands,' still, it confirms that 'He can accept whatever you offer, and He can walk more speedily than anyone.' Then He walks; at the same time, He has no legs. And He accepts your offering; He has no hands." What does it mean?
Apparently it is contradictory. If He has no leg, then how He can walk more speedily than anyone? These are Vedic mantra. "Nobody can capture Him, He is walking so speedily." But if He has no leg, how He is walking? But that, Caitanya Mahāprabhu explains that varje prākṛta pāṇi-caraṇa: "This means that the Supreme Personality of Godhead has no material body."
In the Kūrma Purāṇa it is said that the Supreme Personality, the Para-brahman, has no distinction between His body and self. There is no . . . absolute means there is no duality, as we have got duality—"I am," the soul, and this body, they are different. Therefore śāstra says, yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātu ke (SB 10.84.13): "If anyone accepts this body as self . . ." This body is made of three dhātus: kapha, pitta, vāyu. I am not this.