Devanagari
तास्ववात्सीत् स्वसृष्टासु सहस्रंपरिवत्सरान् ।
तेन नारायणो नाम यदाप: पुरुषोद्भवा: ॥ ११ ॥
Verse text
tāsv avātsīt sva-sṛṣṭāsu
sahasraṁ parivatsarān
tena nārāyaṇo nāma
yad āpaḥ puruṣodbhavāḥ
Synonyms
tāsu
—
in that
;
avātsīt
—
resided
;
sva
—
own
;
sṛṣṭāsu
—
in the matter of creation
;
sahasram
—
one thousand
;
parivatsarān
—
years of His measurement
;
tena
—
for that reason
;
nārāyaṇaḥ
—
the Personality of Godhead named Nārāyaṇa
;
nāma
—
name
;
yat
—
because
;
āpaḥ
—
water
;
puruṣa
—
udbhavāḥ — emanated from the Supreme Person .
Translation
That Supreme Person is not impersonal and therefore is distinctively a nara, or person. Therefore the transcendental water created from the Supreme Nara is known as nāra. And because He lies down on that water, He is known as Nārāyaṇa.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
He dwelled from many years in that water created from himself. Because of that he is called Nārāyaṇa, since the waters (nārā) arose from the puruṣa (nara).
Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
By deriving the name Nārāyaṇa, his dwelling in the water becomes clear. By residing (tena) in that water he got the name Nārāyaṇa because the waters arose from the puruṣa. Nara means the puruṣa. Nāra is that which arises from him. He whose resting place (ayana) is that water (nāra) is called Nārāyaṇa. It is said:
āpo nārā iti proktā āpo vai nara-sūnavaḥ |
ayanaṁ tasya tāḥ pūrvaṁ tena nārāyaṇaḥ smṛtaḥ ||
The word āpaḥ and nārā are synonymous for “water” since the waters are considered the sons of Nara, the primeval male or Mahā-viṣṇu. [Note: Nāra means the offspring of Nara. ] Since these waters act as the bed (ayana) of Mahā-viṣṇu from the ancient past, he is called Nārāyaṇa. Viṣṇu Purāṇa 1.4.6