SB 10.40.13 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

अग्निर्मुखं तेऽवनिरङ्‍‍‍‍‍घ्रिरीक्षणं सूर्यो नभो नाभिरथो दिश: श्रुति: । द्यौ: कं सुरेन्द्रास्तव बाहवोऽर्णवा: कुक्षिर्मरुत् प्राणबलं प्रकल्पितम् ॥ १३ ॥ रोमाणि वृक्षौषधय: शिरोरुहा मेघा: परस्यास्थिनखानि तेऽद्रय: । निमेषणं रात्र्यहनी प्रजापति- र्मेढ्रस्तु वृष्टिस्तव वीर्यमिष्यते ॥ १४ ॥

Verse text

agnir mukhaṁ te ’vanir aṅghrir īkṣaṇaṁ sūryo nabho nābhir atho diśaḥ śrutiḥ dyauḥ kaṁ surendrās tava bāhavo ’rṇavāḥ kukṣir marut prāṇa-balaṁ prakalpitam romāṇi vṛkṣauṣadhayaḥ śiroruhā meghāḥ parasyāsthi-nakhāni te ’drayaḥ nimeṣaṇaṁ rātry-ahanī prajāpatir meḍhras tu vṛṣṭis tava vīryam iṣyate

Synonyms

agniḥ — fire ; mukham — face ; te — Your ; avaniḥ — the earth ; aṅghriḥ — feet ; ikṣaṇam — eye ; sūryaḥ — the sun ; nabhaḥ — the sky ; nābhiḥ — navel ; atha u — and also ; diśaḥ — the directions ; śrutiḥ — sense of hearing ; dyauḥ — heaven ; kam — head ; sura — indrāḥ — the chief demigods ; tava — Your ; bāhavaḥ — arms ; arṇavāḥ — the oceans ; kukṣiḥ — abdomen ; marut — the wind ; prāṇa — vital air ; balam — and physical strength ; prakalpitam — conceived ; romāṇi — bodily hairs ; vṛkṣa — the trees ; oṣadhayaḥ — the plants ; śiraḥ — ruhāḥ — the hair on Your head ; meghāḥ — the clouds ; parasya — of the Supreme ; asthi — bones ; nakhāni — and nails ; te — of You ; adrayaḥ — the mountains ; nimeṣaṇam — the blinking of Your eyes ; rātri — ahanī — day and night ; prajāpatiḥ — the progenitor of mankind ; meḍhraḥ — genitals ; tu — and ; vṛṣṭiḥ — the rain ; tava — Your ; vīryam — semen ; iṣyate — is considered .

Translation

Fire is said to be Your face, the earth Your feet, the sun Your eye, and the sky Your navel. The directions are Your sense of hearing, the chief demigods Your arms, and the oceans Your abdomen. Heaven is thought to be Your head, and the wind Your vital air and physical strength. The trees and plants are the hairs on Your body, the clouds the hair on Your head, and the mountains the bones and nails of You, the Supreme. The passage of day and night is the blinking of Your eyes, the progenitor of mankind Your genitals, and the rain Your semen.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Fire is said to be Your face, the earth Your feet, the sun Your eye, and the sky Your navel. The directions are Your sense of hearing, the chief demigods Your arms, and the oceans Your abdomen. Heaven is thought to be Your head, and the wind Your vital air and physical strength. The trees and plants are the hairs on Your body, the clouds the hair on Your head, and the mountains the bones and nails of You, the Supreme. The passage of day and night is the blinking of Your eyes, the progenitor of mankind Your genitals, and the rain Your semen. KB 10.40.13-14 “My dear Lord, fire is Your mouth, the earth is Your feet, the sun is Your eye, the sky is Your navel, and the directions are Your ears. Space is Your head, the demigods are Your arms, the oceans and seas are Your abdomen, and the winds and air are Your strength and vitality. All the plants and herbs are the hairs on Your body, the clouds are the hair on Your head, the mountains are Your bones and nails, the days and nights are the blinking of Your eyelids, Prajāpati (the progenitor) is Your genitals, and the rains are Your semen.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

And all these devatas are your limbs when you assume the vairaja form (a form of brahma for creation of the universe). Therefore worship of the devatas is worship of you. Kham in this verse refers to Siva.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Three verses now explain that he is the Lord of everything, since he is everything (sarva-maya). The first two verses go together. The fire is your mouth. This means that his mouth acts as the basis for all mouths (whose presiding deity is fire). This applies to the other limbs also. Because the Lord is non-different from these elements, the worship of the deities (such as fire) is non-different from worship of the Lord. Parasyāsthi-nakhāni te ’drayaḥ: the mountains are the bones and nails of you, the Supreme (parasya). Here the Lord’s form is differentiated from the forms of the devatās. Thus in non-difference there is also difference.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Two verses now explain that he is the Lord of everything, since he is everything (sarva-maya). Though it is said that fire came from the Lord’s mouth, and thus difference is perceived, it is also said fire is his mouth. The cause and effect are seen as non-different. In this way the Lord is all devatās. It is said they are considered in this way (kalpitam). Though sky (nabhas) and other items are not famous as devatās, by imagining them as limbs of the Lord the Lord’s position as the ultimate controller is made clear. How is this possible? It is because you are the supreme Lord (parasya) or you are different from all of them by your own form. Difference from them is shown along with non-difference.