SB 3.33.4 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

स त्वं भृतो मे जठरेण नाथ कथं नु यस्योदर एतदासीत् । विश्वं युगान्ते वटपत्र एक: शेते स्म माया-शिशुरङ्‌घ्रिपान: ॥ ४ ॥

Verse text

sa tvaṁ bhṛto me jaṭhareṇa nātha kathaṁ nu yasyodara etad āsīt viśvaṁ yugānte vaṭa-patra ekaḥ śete sma māyā-śiśur aṅghri-pānaḥ

Synonyms

saḥ — that very person ; tvam — You ; bhṛtaḥ — took birth ; me jaṭhareṇa — by my abdomen ; nātha — O my Lord ; katham — how ; nu — then ; yasya — of whom ; udare — in the belly ; etat — this ; āsīt — did rest ; viśvam — universe ; yuga — ante — at the end of the millennium ; vaṭa — patre — on the leaf of a banyan tree ; ekaḥ — alone ; śete sma — You lay down ; māyā — possessing inconceivable powers ; śiśuḥ — a baby ; aṅghri — Your toe ; pānaḥ — licking .

Translation

As the Supreme Personality of Godhead, You have taken birth from my abdomen. O my Lord, how is that possible for the supreme one, who has in His belly all the cosmic manifestation? The answer is that it is possible, for at the end of the millennium You lie down on a leaf of a banyan tree, and just like a small baby, You lick the toe of Your lotus foot.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

O Lord! How were you, in whose belly the universe rests, held in my womb? As a merciful baby you lie alone on a banyan leaf, sucking your toe, at the end of the yuga. How could you be held in the womb of person like me, a human? You alone should explain the astonishing cause. “How can you say this to me? I am your child.” True, you are a child. As a baby you sleep on a banyan leaf at the time of destruction of the universe. For what purpose? In this way, the people of the world, who are accustomed to caring for children, can meditate on me. Thus, that form of a baby is merciful (māyā-śiśuḥ). The sweet pastime suitable for the baby is described. He sucks his big toe. “All intelligent men will give up other happiness and become submerged in the sweetness of my feet.” Thinking that he would like to experience that taste, the baby sucks his toe.

Purport

At the time of dissolution the Lord sometimes appears as a small baby lying on a leaf of a banyan tree, floating on the devastating water. Therefore Devahūti suggests, “Your lying down within the abdomen of a common woman like me is not so astonishing. You can lie down on the leaf of a banyan tree and float on the water of devastation as a small baby. Therefore it is not very wonderful that You can lie down in the abdomen of my body. You teach us that those who are very fond of children within this material world and who therefore enter into marriage to enjoy family life with children can also have the Supreme Personality of Godhead as their child, and the most wonderful thing is that the Lord Himself licks His toe.” Since all the great sages and devotees apply all energy and all activities in the service of the lotus feet of the Lord, there must be some transcendental pleasure in the toes of His lotus feet. The Lord licks His toe to taste the nectar for which the devotees always aspire. Sometimes the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself wonders how much transcendental pleasure is within Himself, and in order to taste His own potency, He sometimes takes the position of tasting Himself. Lord Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa Himself, but He appears as a devotee to taste the sweetness of the transcendental mellow in Himself which is tasted by Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the greatest of all devotees.