Devanagari
देवहूतिरुवाच
अथाप्यजोऽन्त:सलिले शयानं
भूतेन्द्रियार्थात्ममयं वपुस्ते ।
गुणप्रवाहं सदशेषबीजं
दध्यौ स्वयं यज्जठराब्जजात: ॥ २ ॥
Verse text
devahūtir uvāca
athāpy ajo ’ntaḥ-salile śayānaṁ
bhūtendriyārthātma-mayaṁ vapus te
guṇa-pravāhaṁ sad-aśeṣa-bījaṁ
dadhyau svayaṁ yaj-jaṭharābja-jātaḥ
Synonyms
devahūtiḥ uvāca
—
Devahūti said
;
atha api
—
moreover
;
ajaḥ
—
Lord Brahmā
;
antaḥ
—
salile — in the water
;
śayānam
—
lying
;
bhūta
—
the material elements
;
indriya
—
the senses
;
artha
—
the sense objects
;
ātma
—
the mind
;
mayam
—
pervaded by
;
vapuḥ
—
body
;
te
—
Your
;
guṇa
—
pravāham — the source of the stream of the three modes of material nature
;
sat
—
manifest
;
aśeṣa
—
of all
;
bījam
—
the seed
;
dadhyau
—
meditated upon
;
svayam
—
himself
;
yat
—
of whom
;
jaṭhara
—
from the abdomen
;
abja
—
from the lotus flower
;
jātaḥ
—
born .
Translation
Devahūti said: Brahmā is said to be unborn because he takes birth from the lotus flower which grows from Your abdomen while You lie in the ocean at the bottom of the universe. But even Brahmā simply meditated upon You, whose body is the source of unlimited universes.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Devahūti said: Even Brahmā born from the lotus in your navel could only meditate upon your form lying in the ocean, which is composed of spiritual elements, spiritual sense objects and spiritual senses, which is endowed with all good qualities and which is the source of unlimited real universes.
It is not astonishing that you teach me and deliver me from saṁsāra. However what is most astonishing is that you, the Supreme Lord of unlimited universe, took birth from me, a low human being. She begins to speak, introducing the subject with the word atha. Brahmā could only mediate upon your form as Garbhodakaśāyī lying in the water within the universe. He did not see you at first. Your elements, senses and sense objects are all made of your own māyā. That means your body is knowledge and bliss, not material. You distinctly manifest qualities such as affection for your devotees (guṇa-pravāham). You are the cause of all universes (sat-aśeṣa-bījam).
Purport
Brahmā is also named Aja, “he who is unborn.” Whenever we think of someone’s birth, there must be a material father and mother, for thus one is born. But Brahmā, being the first living creature within this universe, was born directly from the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is known as Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, the Viṣṇu form lying down in the ocean at the bottom of the universe. Devahūti wanted to impress upon the Lord that when Brahmā wants to see Him, he has to meditate upon Him. “You are the seed of all creation,” she said. “Although Brahmā was directly born from You, he still has to perform many years of meditation, and even then he cannot see You directly, face to face. Your body is lying within the vast water at the bottom of the universe, and thus You are known as Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu.”
The nature of the Lord’s gigantic body is also explained in this verse. That body is transcendental, untouched by matter. Since the material manifestation has come from His body, His body therefore existed before the material creation. The conclusion is that the transcendental body of Viṣṇu is not made of material elements. The body of Viṣṇu is the source of all other living entities, as well as the material nature, which is also supposed to be the energy of that Supreme Personality of Godhead. Devahūti said, “You are the background of the material manifestation and all created energy; therefore Your delivering me from the clutches of
māyā
by explaining the system of Sāṅkhya philosophy is not so astonishing. But Your being born from my abdomen is certainly wonderful because although You are the source of all creation, You have so kindly taken birth as my child. That is most wonderful. Your body is the source of all the universe, and still You put Your body within the abdomen of a common woman like me. To me, that is most astonishing.”