Devanagari
स इत्थमुद्वीक्ष्य तदब्जनाल-
नाडीभिरन्तर्जलमाविवेश ।
नार्वाग्गतस्तत्खरनालनाल-
नाभिं विचिन्वंस्तदविन्दताज: ॥ १९ ॥
Verse text
sa ittham udvīkṣya tad-abja-nāla-
nāḍībhir antar-jalam āviveśa
nārvāg-gatas tat-khara-nāla-nāla-
nābhiṁ vicinvaṁs tad avindatājaḥ
Synonyms
saḥ
—
he (Brahmā)
;
ittham
—
in this way
;
udvīkṣya
—
contemplating
;
tat
—
that
;
abja
—
lotus
;
nāla
—
stem
;
nāḍībhiḥ
—
by the pipe
;
antaḥ
—
jalam — within the water
;
āviveśa
—
entered into
;
na
—
not
;
arvāk
—
gataḥ — in spite of going inside
;
tat
—
khara — nāla — the stem of the lotus
;
nāla
—
pipe
;
nābhim
—
of the navel
;
vicinvan
—
thinking much of it
;
tat
—
that
;
avindata
—
understood
;
ajaḥ
—
the self-born .
Translation
Lord Brahmā, thus contemplating, entered the water through the channel of the stem of the lotus. But in spite of entering the stem and going nearer to the navel of Viṣṇu, he could not trace out the root.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Reflecting in this way, Brahmā entered into the water by the tubes in the stem of the lotus. Searching out the navel of Viṣṇu from which rose the stem of the lotus, , he could not reach it though he approached close.
This verse shows that with the will of the Lord, all attempts by materialists will end in failure. He entered the water by means of the tubes in the lotus stem. He searched out the lotus navel of Nārāyaṇa from which arose the stem (nāla) of the lotus (khara-nāla). Though he approached very close, he could not reach it, since it is impossible to reach without bhakti.
Purport
By dint of one’s personal endeavor one may go nearer to the Lord, but without the Lord’s mercy one cannot reach the ultimate point. Such understanding of the Lord is possible only by devotional service, as confirmed in
Bhagavad-gītā
(18.55)
:
bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ.