Devanagari
यत्र निर्विष्टमरणं कृतान्तो नाभिमन्यते ।
विश्वं विध्वंसयन् वीर्यशौर्यविस्फूर्जितभ्रुवा ॥ ५६ ॥
Verse text
yatra nirviṣṭam araṇaṁ
kṛtānto nābhimanyate
viśvaṁ vidhvaṁsayan vīrya-
śaurya-visphūrjita-bhruvā
Synonyms
yatra
—
wherein
;
nirviṣṭam araṇam
—
a completely surrendered soul
;
kṛta
—
antaḥ — invincible time
;
na abhimanyate
—
does not go to attack
;
viśvam
—
the entire universe
;
vidhvaṁsayan
—
by vanquishing
;
vīrya
—
prowess
;
śaurya
—
influence
;
visphūrjita
—
simply by expansion
;
bhruvā
—
of the eyebrows .
Translation
Simply by expansion of His eyebrows, invincible time personified can immediately vanquish the entire universe. However, formidable time does not approach the devotee who has taken complete shelter at Your lotus feet.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Death, who destroys the universe by his brow which quivers with power and determination, cannot consider as his possession the person who has surrendered to those feet.
The devotee has no fear of saṁsāra. What need has he to pray for release from saṁsāra? Time (kṛtāntaḥ) does not consider that the person who has entered the shelter of the Lord’s feet is his possession. Time destroys the universe by the movement of his brow, agitated by power and determination.
Purport
In
Bhagavad-gītā
(10.34)
it is said that the Lord in the shape and form of death destroys all a person’s possessions.
Mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham:
“I am all-devouring death.” The Lord in the shape of death takes away everything that is created by the conditioned soul. Everything in this material world is subject to perish in due course of time. However, all the strength of time cannot hamper the activities of a devotee, for a devotee takes complete shelter under the lotus feet of the Lord. For this reason only is a devotee free from formidable time. All the activities of the
karmīs
and
jṣānīs,
which have no touch of devotional service, are spoiled in due course of time. The material success of the
karmīs
is destined to be destroyed; similarly, the impersonal realization attained by the
jṣānīs
is also destroyed in the course of time:
āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ
patanty adho ’nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ
(
Bhāg.
10.2.32
)
To say nothing of the
karmīs,
the
jṣānīs
undergo severe austerities to attain the impersonal
brahmajyoti,
but because they do not find the lotus feet of the Lord, they fall down again into this material existence. Unless one is fully situated in unalloyed devotional service, there is no guarantee of liberation, even if one is elevated to the heavenly planets or to the impersonal Brahman effulgence. A devotee’s achievement, however, is never lost by the influence of time. Even if a devotee cannot completely execute devotional service, in his next life he begins from the point where he left off. Such an opportunity is not given to the
karmīs
and
jṣānīs,
whose achievements are destroyed. The
bhakta’s
achievement is never destroyed, for it goes on perpetually, be it complete or incomplete. This is the verdict of all Vedic literatures.
Śucīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe yoga-bhraṣṭo ’bhijāyate:
if one is unable to complete the process of
bhakti-yoga,
he is given a chance in his next life to take birth in a pure family of devotees or in a rich family. In such families a person can have a good opportunity to further progress in devotional service.
When Yamarāja, the superintendent of death, was instructing his assistants, he told them not to approach the devotees. “The devotees should be offered respect,” he said, “but do not go near them.” Thus the devotees of the Lord are not under the jurisdiction of Yamarāja. Yamarāja is a representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and he controls the death of every living entity. Yet he has nothing to do with the devotees. Simply by blinking his eyes, time personified can destroy the entire cosmic manifestation, but he has nothing to do with the devotee. In other words, devotional service which is rendered by the devotee in this lifetime can never be destroyed by time. Such spiritual assets remain unchanged, being beyond the influence of time.