Devanagari
स वै बत भ्रष्टमतिस्तवैषते
य: कर्मणां पारमपारकर्मण: ।
यद्योगमायागुणयोगमोहितं
विश्वं समस्तं भगवन् विधेहि शम् ॥ ४५ ॥
Verse text
sa vai bata bhraṣṭa-matis tavaiṣate
yaḥ karmaṇāṁ pāram apāra-karmaṇaḥ
yad-yoga-māyā-guṇa-yoga-mohitaṁ
viśvaṁ samastaṁ bhagavan vidhehi śam
Synonyms
saḥ
—
he
;
vai
—
certainly
;
bata
—
alas
;
bhraṣṭa
—
matiḥ — nonsense
;
tava
—
Your
;
eṣate
—
desires
;
yaḥ
—
one who
;
karmaṇām
—
of activities
;
pāram
—
limit
;
apāra
—
karmaṇaḥ — of one who has unlimited activities
;
yat
—
by whom
;
yoga
—
mystic power
;
māyā
—
potency
;
guṇa
—
modes of material nature
;
yoga
—
mystic power
;
mohitam
—
bewildered
;
viśvam
—
the universe
;
samastam
—
in total
;
bhagavan
—
O Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
vidhehi
—
just be pleased to bestow
;
śam
—
good fortune .
Translation
O Lord, there is no limit to Your wonderful activities. Anyone who desires to know the limit of Your activities is certainly nonsensical. Everyone in this world is conditioned by the powerful mystic potencies. Please bestow Your causeless mercy upon these conditioned souls.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
He who thinks that your actions are limited, though your actions are unlimited, is the greatest fool, since you bewilder the whole universe with your yogamāyā and material māyā. O Lord! Bestow good fortune on us, so that we can know you as much as possible.
How much can we describe your pastimes? Though we have knowledge, we do not know completely even a drop of the ocean of your pastimes. Others are more unfortunate. He who thinks he knows (eṣate) the limits of activities of you, the unlimited, is foolish. Eṣ belongs to the bhū class of verbs and means “to go or approach.” “Jīvas bewildered by māyā may not know you, but my devotees beyond māyā such as Nārada should know me.” The sages answer by saying that those in the spiritual realm are bewildered by yogamāyā and those in the material world are bewildered by ignorance, a mixture of guṇas (guṇayoga). Your spiritual devotees are bewildered by yogamāyā, since they are submerged in your sweetness. The others, material jīvas, are bewildered, since they are submerged in material happiness and suffering. Thus, who can know the end of your activities? Therefore, bestow good fortune to us, and let us know as much as we can. We should not be falsely proud of thinking we know everything about you.
Purport
Mental speculators who want to understand the limit of the Unlimited are certainly nonsensical. Every one of them is captivated by the external potencies of the Lord. The best thing for them is to surrender unto Him, knowing Him to be inconceivable, for thus they can receive His causeless mercy. This prayer was offered by the inhabitants of the higher planetary systems, namely Jana-, Tapo- and Satyaloka, who are far more intelligent and powerful than humans.
Viśvaṁ samastam
is very significant here. There are the material world and the spiritual world. The sages pray: “Both worlds are bewildered by Your different energies. Those who are in the spiritual world are absorbed in Your loving service, forgetting themselves and You also, and those in the material world are absorbed in material sense gratification and therefore also forget You. No one can know You, because You are unlimited. It is best not to try to know You by unnecessary mental speculation. Rather, kindly bless us so that we can worship You with causeless devotional service.”