SB 8.3.6 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

न यस्य देवा ऋषय: पदं विदु- र्जन्तु: पुन: कोऽर्हति गन्तुमीरितुम् । यथा नटस्याकृतिभिर्विचेष्टतो दुरत्ययानुक्रमण: स मावतु ॥ ६ ॥

Verse text

na yasya devā ṛṣayaḥ padaṁ vidur jantuḥ punaḥ ko ’rhati gantum īritum yathā naṭasyākṛtibhir viceṣṭato duratyayānukramaṇaḥ sa māvatu

Synonyms

na — neither ; yasya — He of whom ; devāḥ — the demigods ; ṛṣayaḥ — great sages ; padam — position ; viduḥ — can understand ; jantuḥ — unintelligent living beings like animals ; punaḥ — again ; kaḥ — who ; arhati — is able ; gantum — to enter into the knowledge ; īritum — or to express by words ; yathā — as ; naṭasya — of the artist ; ākṛtibhiḥ — by bodily features ; viceṣṭataḥ — dancing in different ways ; duratyaya — very difficult ; anukramaṇaḥ — His movements ; saḥ — that Supreme Personality of Godhead ; mā — unto me ; avatu — may give His protection .

Translation

An artist onstage, being covered by attractive dresses and dancing with different movements, is not understood by his audience; similarly, the activities and features of the supreme artist cannot be understood even by the demigods or great sages, and certainly not by those who are unintelligent like animals. Neither the demigods and sages nor the unintelligent can understand the features of the Lord, nor can they express in words His actual position. May that Supreme Personality of Godhead give me protection.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Just as an ignorant person cannot understand the forms represented by a dancer, the devatās and sages do not know his svarūpa and none among the ignorant people can understand or express his svarūpa in words. May that Lord protect me! This verse explains that the Lord is not understood by anyone. Recent people, ignorant people, cannot understand or talk about the svarūpa (padam) of the Lord. The form of the actor changes by using his fingers, hands, eyes and glance, to illustrate the words of a song which indicate things like the moon or a lotus, but these forms cannot be understood by a person ignorant of dancing. Similarly, the meaning of the Lord’s actions cannot be understood by the ignorant. His actions cannot be understood (duratyayānukramanaḥ).

Purport

A similar understanding was expressed by Kuntīdevī. The Supreme Lord exists everywhere, within and without. He even exists within the heart. Sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo; īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati. Thus it is indicated that one can find the Supreme Lord within one’s heart. There are many, many yogīs trying to find Him. Dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ . Nonetheless, even great yogīs, demigods, saints and sages have been unable to understand the bodily features of that great artist, nor could they understand the meaning of His movements. What then is to be said of ordinary speculators like the so-called philosophers of this material world? For them He is impossible to understand. Therefore we must accept the statements given by the Supreme when He kindly incarnates to instruct us. We must simply accept the word of Lord Rāmacandra, Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and follow in Their footsteps. Then it may be possible for us to know the purpose of Their incarnations. janma karma ca me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ’rjuna (Bg. 4.9) If by the Lord’s grace one can understand Him, one will immediately be delivered, even within his material body. The material body will no longer have any function, and whatever activities take place with the body will be activities of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In this way one may give up his body and return home, back to Godhead.