Devanagari
धर्म: स्तनाद्दक्षिणतो यत्र नारायण: स्वयम् ।
अधर्म पृष्ठतो यस्मान्मृत्युर्लोकभयङ्कर: ॥ २५ ॥
Verse text
dharmaḥ stanād dakṣiṇato
yatra nārāyaṇaḥ svayam
adharmaḥ pṛṣṭhato yasmān
mṛtyur loka-bhayaṅkaraḥ
Synonyms
dharmaḥ
—
religion
;
stanāt
—
from the breast
;
dakṣiṇataḥ
—
on the right side
;
yatra
—
wherein
;
nārāyaṇaḥ
—
the Supreme Lord
;
svayam
—
personally
;
adharmaḥ
—
irreligion
;
pṛṣṭhataḥ
—
from the back
;
yasmāt
—
from which
;
mṛtyuḥ
—
death
;
loka
—
to the living entity
;
bhayam
—
karaḥ — horrible .
Translation
Religion was manifested from the breast of Brahmā, wherein is seated the Supreme Personality of Godhead Nārāyaṇa, and irreligion appeared from his back, where horrible death takes place for the living entity.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Religion appeared from the right breast of Brahmā, where Paramātmā is situated. Irreligion from which death, feared by all people, arises, appeared from his back.
Supreme dharma appears from actions prescribed in bhakti-yoga and karma-yoga. Thus this verse describes the appearance of dharma. The heart or breast is considered the best place since it is the location of affection. Adharma refers to non-performance of prescribed dharma, and the performance of forbidden acts. Adharma appeared from Brahmā’s back, which is not attractive, and is not a place of affection.
Purport
That religion was manifested from the place where the Personality of Godhead is personally situated is very significant because religion means devotional service to the Personality of Godhead, as confirmed in
Bhagavad-gītā
as well as the
Bhāgavatam.
In
Bhagavad-gītā
the last instruction is to give up all other engagements in the name of religion and take shelter of the Personality of Godhead.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
also confirms that the highest perfection of religion is that which leads to the devotional service of the Lord, unmotivated and unhampered by material impediments. Religion in its perfect form is the devotional service of the Lord, and irreligion is just the opposite. The heart is the most important part of the body, whereas the back is the most neglected part. When one is attacked by an enemy one is apt to endure attacks from the back and protect himself carefully from all attacks on the chest. All types of irreligion spring from the back of Brahmā, whereas real religion, the devotional service of the Lord, is generated from the chest, the seat of Nārāyaṇa. Anything which does not lead to the devotional service of the Lord is irreligion, and anything which leads to the devotional service of the Lord is called religion.