SB 3.5.6 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

यथा पुन: स्वे ख इदं निवेश्य शेते गुहायां स निवृत्तवृत्ति: । योगेश्वराधीश्वर एक एत- दनुप्रविष्टो बहुधा यथासीत् ॥ ६ ॥

Verse text

yathā punaḥ sve kha idaṁ niveśya śete guhāyāṁ sa nivṛtta-vṛttiḥ yogeśvarādhīśvara eka etad anupraviṣṭo bahudhā yathāsīt

Synonyms

yathā — as much as ; punaḥ — again ; sve — in His ; khe — form of space ( virāṭ-rūpa ) ; idam — this ; niveśya — entering into ; śete — lies down ; guhāyām — within the universe ; saḥ — He (the Personality of Godhead) ; nivṛtta — without endeavor ; vṛttiḥ — means of livelihood ; yoga — īśvara — the master of all mystic powers ; adhīśvaraḥ — proprietor of everything ; ekaḥ — one without a second ; etat — this ; anupraviṣṭaḥ — entering afterwards ; bahudhā — by innumerable ; yathā — as much as ; āsīt — exists .

Translation

He lies down on His own heart spread in the form of the sky, and thus placing the whole creation in that space, He expands Himself into many living entities, which are manifested as different species of life. He does not have to endeavor for His maintenance, because He is the master of all mystic powers and the proprietor of everything. Thus He is distinct from the living entities.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Please describe how the Lord, fixing himself in the space, free of the effects of māyā, sleeps in the Virajā River, and how, though alone, the lord of all lords enters into the universe and becomes many forms. Establishing himself in the space of his heart, he sleeps in the Virajā River (guhāyām) which is called secret, since no one can understand this place. He is unaffected by māyā (nivṛtta-vṛttiḥ). At the same time, he enters into the world he created and exists in many forms such as men and devatās. The question about creation is asked repetitively to find out if the creation takes place the same way in each mahā-kalpa or not.

Purport

The questions regarding creation, maintenance and destruction, which are mentioned in many parts of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, are in relation to different millenniums ( kalpas ), and therefore they are differently described by different authorities when questioned by different students. There is no difference regarding the creative principles and the Lord’s control over them, yet there are some differences in the minute details because of different kalpas. The gigantic sky is the material body of the Lord, called the virāṭ-rūpa, and all material creations are resting on the sky, or the heart of the Lord. Therefore, beginning from the sky, the first material manifestation to the gross vision, down to the earth, everything is called Brahman. Sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma: “There is nothing but the Lord, and He is one without a second.” The living entities are the superior energies, whereas matter is the inferior energy, and the combination of these energies brings about the manifestation of this material world, which is in the heart of the Lord.