# SB 3.6.8 > एष ह्यशेषसत्त्वानामात्मांशः परमात्मनः । > आद्योऽवतारो यत्रासौ भूतग्रामो विभाव्यते ॥८॥ ## Text > eṣa hy aśeṣa-sattvānām > ātmāṁśaḥ paramātmanaḥ > ādyo 'vatāro yatrāsau > bhūta-grāmo vibhāvyate ## Synonyms *eṣaḥ*—this; *hi*—certainly; *aśeṣa*—unlimited; *sattvānām*—living entities; *ātmā*—Self; *aṁśaḥ*—part; *parama*-*ātmanaḥ*—of the Supersoul; *ādyaḥ*—the first; *avatāraḥ*—incarnation; *yatra*—whereupon; *asau*—all those; *bhūta*-*grāmaḥ*—the aggregate creations; *vibhāvyate*—flourish. ## Translation **The gigantic universal form of the Supreme Lord is the first incarnation and plenary portion of the Supersoul. He is the Self of an unlimited number of living entities, and in Him rests the aggregate creation, which thus flourishes.** ## Purport The Supreme Lord expands Himself in two ways, by personal plenary expansions and separated minute expansions. The personal plenary expansions are *viṣṇu-tattvas,* and the separated expansions are living entities. Since the living entities are very small, they are sometimes described as the marginal energy of the Lord. But the mystic *yogīs* consider the living entities and the Supersoul, Paramātmā, to be one and the same. It is, however, a minor point of controversy; after all, everything created rests on the gigantic *virāṭ* or universal form of the Lord.