Devanagari
पादौ महीयं स्वकृतैव यस्य
चतुर्विधो यत्र हि भूतसर्ग: ।
स वै महापूरुष आत्मतन्त्र:
प्रसीदतां ब्रह्म महाविभूति: ॥ ३२ ॥
Verse text
pādau mahīyaṁ sva-kṛtaiva yasya
catur-vidho yatra hi bhūta-sargaḥ
sa vai mahā-pūruṣa ātma-tantraḥ
prasīdatāṁ brahma mahā-vibhūtiḥ
Synonyms
pādau
—
His lotus feet
;
mahī
—
the earth
;
iyam
—
this
;
sva
—
kṛta — created by Himself
;
eva
—
indeed
;
yasya
—
of whom
;
catuḥ
—
vidhaḥ — of four kinds of living entities
;
yatra
—
wherein
;
hi
—
indeed
;
bhūta
—
sargaḥ — material creation
;
saḥ
—
He
;
vai
—
indeed
;
mahā
—
pūruṣaḥ — the Supreme Person
;
ātma
—
tantraḥ — self-sufficient
;
prasīdatām
—
may He be merciful to us
;
brahma
—
the greatest
;
mahā
—
vibhūtiḥ — with unlimited potency .
Translation
On this earth there are four kinds of living entities, who are all created by Him. The material creation rests on His lotus feet. He is the great Supreme Person, full of opulence and power. May He be pleased with us.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
May the Lord, with Brahman as his great vibhūti, who manifests as the universal form, full of vibhūtis like the earth which is dependent on time, and whose feet represent the earth he created, within which there are four types of living entities, be pleased with us!
We know your form as this gross universe, which is visible. In this way Brahmā prays in twelve verses, starting with the feet made of earth. Mahā-vibhūtiḥ means the Lord who possesses vibhūtis such as the earth. May the Lord be pleased with us! The Lord is also the form of Brahman.
pṛthivī vāyur ākāśa āpo jyotir ahaṁ mahān
vikāraḥ puruṣo 'vyaktaṁ rajaḥ sattvaṁ tamaḥ param
aham etat prasaṅkhyānaṁ jṣānaṁ tattva-viniścayaḥ
I am form, taste, aroma, touch and sound; ahaṅkāra; the mahat-tattva; earth, water, fire, air and sky; the eleven senses; the living entity; prakṛti; the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance; and Brahman. I am all of these items, along with knowledge of them, and the determination of truth resulting from that knowledge. SB 11.16.37
In this verse enumerating the elements, param means Brahman. Yamunācarya’s stotra also says parātparaṁ brahma ca te vibhūtayah: the supreme Brahman is also your vibhūti. Jīva Gosvāmī says the Lord has Brahman as his great vibhūti. Thus the vibhūtis in the material world, such as earth, are very insignificant. That is pointed out. The earth element is his feet. Because the feet of the spiritual body of the Lord are his vibhūtis, the earth, created the Lord, is here designated as his feet. In that earth there are four types of beings: those arising from wombs, from eggs, from seeds and from perspiration. This form is the material, universal form (mahā-puruṣaḥ). It is dependent on time (ātmā-tantraḥ).
Purport
The word
mahī
refers to the five material elements — earth, water, air, fire and sky — which rest upon the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ.
The
mahat-tattva,
the total material energy, rests on His lotus feet, for the cosmic manifestation is but another opulence of the Lord. In this cosmic manifestation there are four kinds of living entities —
jarāyu-ja
(those born from embryos),
aṇḍa-ja
(those born from eggs),
sveda-ja
(those born from perspiration), and
udbhij-ja
(those born from seeds). Everything is generated from the Lord, as confirmed in the
Vedānta-sūtra
(
janmādy asya yataḥ
). No one is independent, but the Supreme Soul is completely independent.
Janmādy asya yato ’nvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijṣaḥ sva-rāṭ.
The word
sva-rāṭ
means “independent.” We are dependent, whereas the Supreme Lord is completely independent. Therefore the Supreme Lord is the greatest of all. Even Lord Brahmā, who created the cosmic manifestation, is but another opulence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The material creation is activated by the Lord, and therefore the Lord is not a part of the material creation. The Lord exists in His original, spiritual position. The universal form of the Lord,
vairāja-mūrti,
is another feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.