The Objective of the Purana: Awakening Discrimination of Supreme Purusa

The microcosm operates through a harmonious working of the three entities of kala (time) [Siva], manas (brain) [Brahma] and purusa (spiritual personality) [Visnu]. But, for such harmony to occur out of such disparate-natured entities, there must be some master-mind to ‘string together the trinity,’ as Madhavadeva says in the Nama Ghosa. That master-entity, the lord of all the controlling entities (devas), is the supreme purusa, Lord Krsna himself.
It is to arouse discrimination of supreme purusa alone that the (anatomical) narrative of the Puranas is formulated in the first place. The entire Purana—its every chapter and verse—is designed with this ultimate objective of awakening discrimination in the mind of the (intelligent) reader.
The Puranic narrative is thus a strategy to make the reader realize the sole entity of worship, the sole object of refuge. The intelligent reader will not fail to observe that, among all the entities, it is only Hari that is emerging as supreme; and he will understand that this only is the most powerful entity, worthy of sole-refuge. It is this conclusion that is directly expressed by Sankaradeva and Madhavadeva, in their own works, in the form of upadesas and in chapters such as “The Determination of the Supreme Entity Worthy of Adoration” (Bhakti Ratnakara).
The objective of the author of the Bhagavata—and this ought also to be the objective of the inquisitive and critical reader—is to determine the supreme entity among all the entities, who alone is eligible for worship. In the Bhagavata, the reader has to know this entity by reading intelligently through the passages and piercing the dialogic strategy with the power of his intellect. But in Sankaradeva and Madhavadeva, this meaning is directly expressed.

Translation of Sankaradeva's Bhakti Ratnakara: Chapter on the Difference Between the Embodied Personality (Jiva) and the Lord (Isvara)

জীৱ-ঈশ্বৰ ভেদ-মাহাত্ম্য দুলড়ী শুনা আৱে জীৱ     ঈশ্বৰৰ ভেদ      কৰি সাৱধান মন | টীকাকাৰে যেন ভেদ কহি আছে      কহঞোঁ সেহি বচন || সেহিসে ঈশ্বৰ  যাৰ বশ্য মায়া      পৰম আনন্দময় | মায়া মৰ্দ্দে যাক তাকে বুলি জীৱ      দুঃখতে তাৰ উদয় || ৭৬৩ অতি সুখ-ৰূপ আনন্দে যুগুত      চৈতন্য-ৰুপ ঈশ্বৰ | তাহানে মায়ায়ে ঢাকিলেক নিজ      আনন্দ-সুখ জীৱৰ || দুঃখচয়ে বেঢ়ি  আছয় জীৱক      পাৱে অতি মহাখেদ | কহিলোঁ প্ৰত্যেক জানিবা এতেক      জীৱ-ঈশ্বৰৰ ভেদ || ৭৬৪ চতুৰ্থ স্কন্ধত  মাধৱক ধ্ৰুৱে      বোলন্ত তুতি-বচন | জীৱত কৰিয়া বিলক্ষণ ৰূপে      থাকা তুমি নাৰায়ণ || তুমি নিত্যমুক্ত চৈতন্য তুমিসি      নিত্য-বদ্ধ জড় জীৱ | তোমাৰ সেৱাত হোৱে মুক্ত জীৱ      তুমি দেৱ সদাশিৱ || ৭৬৫ তুমি মাত্ৰ শুদ্ধ তুমিসি সৰ্ব্বজ্ঞ      নিৰ্ব্বিকাৰ ভগৱন্ত | তিনিয়ো গুণৰ তুমি সে ঈশ্বৰ      তোমাৰ নাহিকে অন্ত || অতি অজ্ঞ জীৱ     বিকাৰ পৰম      অশুদ্ধ অতি হোৱয় | ভৈল ভাগ্যহীন গুণৰ অধীন      জীৱে একো নেদেখয় || ৭৬৬ অখণ্ডিত দৃষ্টি  তুমি সৱে দেখা      পুৰুষ আদি অনাদি | যজ্ঞৰ তুমিসি  অধিষ্ঠাতা দেৱ      জীৱৰ আছয় আদি || জীৱ-ঈশ্বৰৰ   যেন বিলক্ষণ      ধ্ৰুৱ বাক্যে ব্যক্ত ভৈলা | একাদশ স্কন্ধে  শুনিয়োক আৰ      ভগৱন্তে যেন কৈলা || ৭৬৭ বোলন্ত উদ্ধৱ  যিটো পৰমাত্মা      তান কৰ্ম্ম নাহিকয় | জীৱৰ নিয়ন্তা  তাহান শকতি      মনো সঞ্চালিত হয় || অলুপুত জ্ঞানে কেৱলে দেখন্ত      কেৱলে বিদ্যা-শকতি | সংসাৰ প্ৰকাশে হেনয় মনক      কৰিলা জীৱে সঙ্গতি || ৭৬৮ আত্মাৰূপে তাক বিচাৰ কৰিয়া      নানা কাম ভোগ কৈলা | এহিসে নিমিত্তে গুণৰ সঙ্গত      জীৱ পুনু বদ্ধ ভৈলা || যোগ-সাৰ শাস্ত্ৰে     জীৱ-ঈশ্বৰৰ      শুনা যেন ভেদ কয় | পৰমাত্মা হৰি  বিজ্ঞান-মূৰুতি      নিৰাকাৰ নিৰাময় || ৭৬৯ নিত্য নিৰঞ্জন  আনন্দ-স্বৰূপ      দেহ ইন্দ্ৰি নাহিকয় | তথাপি শুনয়  বসিয়া থাকয়      কাহাকো কৰন্ত হত | জগতৰে কৰ্ত্তা  পালয় সৱাকো      সংহৰে সবে জগত || ৭৭০ নিশ্চল নিৰ্ম্মল  নাহিকয় সঙ্গ      একো চেষ্টা নাহিকয় | বস্তু-পৰিগ্ৰহ   নাহিকয় তান      কিছু কৰ্ম্ম নকৰয় || স্ৰজিয়া জগত  সদা থাকা তাতে      অতি উদাসীনভাৱে | নুহিকে আকুল  সংসাৰৰ দোষে      তাহাঙ্ক একো নপাৱে || ৭৭১ তানে একো অংশে    জীৱ-আত্মা সিটো      দেহ-ধাৰী ভৈলা আসি | ব্যয় আছে তাৰ অব্যয় হোৱয়      জীৱ নিত্য অবিনাশী || সুখ-দুঃখময়   মায়া-মোহ পাশে      ভৈলা অতি বিমোহিত | কৰ্ম্ম-জৰী-বদ্ধ হুয়া সংসাৰত      পৰি দুঃখ পাৱে নিত || ৭৭২ ঈশ্বৰত কৰি  জীৱ ভিন্ন নুহি      শান্ত অবিকাৰী হয় | ভ্ৰান্তিয়ে অজ্ঞান আবৰিত হুয়া      আপোনাক নজানয় || কৃষ্ণ-পাৱে এক শৰণ পশিয়া      হৰিত কৰি ভকতি | অতি অজ্ঞানীয়ো     অনায়াসে লভে      দুৰ্ল্লভ পৰম গতি || ৭৭৩ জীৱ-আত্মা পৰ-    আত্মা ভেদ জানি      ভকতি কৰে যিজনে | কিকুহিবা তাক পাইবে অতি সুখে      মহাগতি সিটোজনে || ইটো মাহাত্ম্যক কৰিলোঁ সসাঙ্গ      শুনা সৱে বুদ্ধজন | মাধৱক মনে  ধৰি ৰাম ৰাম      বুলিয়োক সৰ্ব্বজন || ৭৭৪

The Difference Between the Embodied Personality (Jiva) and the Lord (Isvara) Verses (duladi metre) Listen now to the difference between the embodied personality (jiva) and the Lord (isvara) making attentive your mind. The difference that the commentator is saying, first those words I will tell. “That only is the Lord under whose control is primal matter (maya); He is the personality of supreme transcendental joy. That which primal nature—its nescience—crushes, that only is embodied personality; he has his rise in affliction. 763 Of the nature of extreme happiness, endowed with bliss is the supremely conscious form of the Lord. It is His nescience (maya) only that has covered and kept under wraps the happiness born of own-joy of the jiva. Various miseries and afflictions are surrounding the embodied person; he is suffering greatly on account of them. I have told directly; know, in this manner, the difference between the embodied personality and the Lord.” 764 In the fourth book, to the Lord of Primal Matter, Dhruva says these words of praise, “In a form characteristically opposite to the jiva, you are staying, Shelter of All Beings. You are forever-liberated; forever in pure conscious form you are only; the jiva, on the other hand, is forever-chained to matter and becomes extremely matter-like (jada) in appearance. Through your service only the jiva becomes free; you are the supreme controlling entity, O the one who is always gracious. 765 You only are spotlessly pure, only you are all-knowing; you do not come under the influence of the modifications of matter; you, my master, are the Lord of All Opulence! Of the three qualities of material nature, you only are the controller; you do not have any ending, being present at all times and across all spaces. But, the jiva is extremely unenlightened; he suffers greatly from the modifications; he is reduced to extremely fallen and impure state. Becoming bereft of good fortune, and under the influence of the gunas, the jiva does not see anything. 766 [Why this difference, my Lord?] Because only you, who are the supreme pure-personality, have the vision of impartite knowledge; you see everything, O the original personality whose origin cannot be found! You only are the controlling-entity of the yajna­-like material processes going on within the microcosm; the jiva—an embodied personality that it is—however, has a beginning.” The striking contrast between jiva and Isvara has been expressed through the words of Dhruva. Listen now, in the eleventh book, what was told by the Lord Himself. 767 He says, “Uddhava, that which is the supreme spiritual personality (paramatma), that has no entanglement with material actions at all. The controller of the organism (jiva), by His power, even the material mind is actuated. By means of His intrinsic uneclipsable knowledge, He only sees; He is ever-enlightened pure-personality. In contrast, that which is the connecting link to material life—with such a mind-device the jiva has associated himself. 768 Thinking that to be his own spiritual self, he is enjoying various desires. For this reason only, in the company of the material qualities, the jiva has become now shackled.” In the spiritual text known as Yogasara (The Essence of Yoga), listen to what is said about the difference between jiva and Isvara: The supreme spiritual personality, The Great Remover, is the embodiment of direct knowledge (vijnana); He is devoid of any average, material form and He is never suppressed by the working of the three qualities of material nature. 769 He is eternal—existing always—, unstained and supremely joyous by nature. He is without a material body and material limitations like organs. But still He hears, still He moves, sits etc. and sometimes even kills somebody! The doer of the creation, He preserves all and dissolves the entire world. 770 Pure, invariable and having no company, He does not do any effort. There is no accumulation of any wealth or property for Him; He does do not do any work! Creating the world, He remains always there in the manner of a stoic! Never perplexed or confounded, the blemishes of the material world do not ever touch Him. 771 It is in a very small part (amsa) of Him—His cosmic body— that the one that is known as embodied spiritual personality (jivatma) comes to be equipped with a material body. That body is subject to wearing out and decay but the jiva is imperishable; he, like His Lord, is also always-existing and indestructible. Caught in the snare of  infatuation with matter—made up of pleasure and pain— he has fallen into extreme delusion. Bound by the rope of desire-actuated material action (karma) to the cycle of trans-migratory existence (samsara), he suffers always from affliction. 772 The jiva is not different in kind from Isvara— he is calm and immutable. But, enveloped by ignorance and false opinion, he does not know his own spiritual nature. *** Entering into sole-refuge in Krsna’s feet and doing pure devotion to the Great Remover of Affliction, even the extremely ignorant one effortlessly obtains the unobtainable supreme deliverance. 773 Knowing the difference between the embodied spiritual personality and the supreme spiritual personality, the one that does bhakti, Oh, what will I say about him! He will obtain in extreme happiness the great and rare deliverance. This chapter here I have concluded; hear, O all enlightened people! Holding in mind the Lord of Primal Matter, ‘Rama!’ ‘Rama!’ please utter, all you people. 774