Devanagari
द्वारकां हरिणा त्यक्तां समुद्रोऽप्लावयत् क्षणात् ।
वर्जयित्वा महाराज श्रीमद्भगवदालयम् ॥ २३ ॥
Verse text
dvārakāṁ hariṇā tyaktāṁ
samudro ’plāvayat kṣaṇāt
varjayitvā mahā-rāja
śrīmad-bhagavad-ālayam
Synonyms
dvārakām
—
Dvārakā
;
hariṇā
—
by Lord Hari
;
tyaktām
—
abandoned
;
samudraḥ
—
the ocean
;
aplāvayat
—
overflooded
;
kṣaṇāt
—
immediately
;
varjayitvā
—
except for
;
mahā
—
rāja — O King
;
śrīmat
—
bhagavat — of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
ālayam
—
the residence .
Translation
As soon as Dvārakā was abandoned by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ocean flooded it on all sides, O King, sparing only His palace.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
As soon as Dvārakā was abandoned by the Supreme Lord, the ocean flooded it on all sides, O King, sparing only his palace.
The Lord’s palace was spared. As the next verse states, the Lord is eternally present there. This statement is the view of the Lord (who is present in the palace in unmanifest pastimes), not the view of the common people. This is how some explain that the palace remained. Others explain that the ocean flooded Dvārakā but not the palaces of the Yādavas to show how everything except the Lord is temporary. .
Purport
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains that whereas the external manifestation of the Lord’s abode was covered by the ocean, the Lord’s eternal Dvārakā exists beyond the material universe and certainly beyond the material ocean. Dvārakā had been constructed by Viśvakarmā, the architect of the demigods, and the Sudharmā assembly hall had been brought from heaven. In that city there were many beautiful and splendorous residences of the aristocratic Yadu dynasty, and the most beautiful residence of all was that of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī mentions that even in the modern age, people who live near the site of the original Dvārakā sometimes catch a glimpse of it in the ocean. Ultimately, the Lord’s associates and abode are eternal, and one who understands this is qualified to become fully Kṛṣṇa conscious.