Devanagari
अनाद्यन्तवतानेन कालेनेश्वरमूर्तिना ।
अवस्था नैव दृश्यन्ते वियति ज्योतिषामिव ॥ ३७ ॥
Verse text
anādy-antavatānena
kāleneśvara-mūrtinā
avasthā naiva dṛśyante
viyati jyotiṣām iva
Synonyms
anādi
—
anta — vatā — without beginning or end
;
anena
—
by this
;
kālena
—
time
;
īśvara
—
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
mūrtinā
—
the representation
;
avasthāḥ
—
the different stages
;
na
—
not
;
eva
—
indeed
;
dṛśyante
—
are seen
;
viyati
—
in outer space
;
jyotiṣām
—
of the moving planets
;
iva
—
just as .
Translation
These stages of existence created by beginningless and endless time, the impersonal representative of the Supreme Lord, are not visible, just as the infinitesimal momentary changes of position of the planets in the sky cannot be directly seen.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
These stages of existence created by beginningless and endless time, which is a representative of the Supreme Lord, are not visible, just as the infinitesimal changes of position of the planets in the sky cannot be directly seen.
“If these states are there at every moment, why are they not seen? The argument in question is without proof.” The states of birth and death caused by time without beginning and end are not seen, just as the movements of the planets in the sky are not seen. Just as one must infer the movement of a planet at every moment so that it attains a different visible position, one must infer subtle states of change between the stages of infancy and youth which are visible. Thus the argument is not without proof.
Purport
Although everyone knows that the sun is constantly moving in the sky, one cannot normally see the sun moving. Similarly, no one can directly perceive his hair or nails growing, although with the passing of time we perceive the fact of growth. Time, the potency of the Lord, is very subtle and powerful and is an insurmountable barrier to fools who are trying to exploit the material creation.