SB 3.8.11

SB 3.8.11

Devanagari

सोऽन्त:शरीरेऽर्पितभूतसूक्ष्म: कालात्मिकां शक्तिमुदीरयाण: । उवास तस्मिन् सलिले पदे स्वे यथानलो दारुणि रुद्धवीर्य: ॥ ११ ॥

Verse text

so ’ntaḥ śarīre ’rpita-bhūta-sūkṣmaḥ kālātmikāṁ śaktim udīrayāṇaḥ uvāsa tasmin salile pade sve yathānalo dāruṇi ruddha-vīryaḥ

Synonyms

saḥ the Supreme Lord ; antaḥ within ; śarīre in the transcendental body ; arpita kept ; bhūta material elements ; sūkṣmaḥ subtle ; kāla ātmikām — the form of time ; śaktim energy ; udīrayāṇaḥ invigorating ; uvāsa resided ; tasmin therein ; salile in the water ; pade in the place ; sve His own ; yathā as much as ; analaḥ fire ; dāruṇi in the fuel wood ; ruddha vīryaḥ — submerged strength .

Translation

Just like the strength of fire within fuel wood, the Lord remained within the water of dissolution, submerging all the living entities in their subtle bodies. He lay in the self-invigorated energy called kāla.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, containing within himself the jīvas with their subtle bodies, after having discharged his energy of time to destroy the three worlds, resides in his abode below Pātālaloka within the water, just as fire resides within wood with its energy concealed. What is the position of all the jīvas who were populating the three worlds (Svarga and below)? The subtle bodies of the devatās, men and others in the universe reside within Viṣṇu’s body. How? He has inspired his śakti of time--he has caused destruction by his will. Having destroyed all the gross bodies of the inhabitants of the three worlds by time, he places their subtle bodies within himself. This is called the aggregate subtle body of the jīvas. He reside below Pātālaloka, in his own abode (sve pade), within the one expanse of water, by his power which stops water from entering. Since he is not seen by the inhabitants of Maharloka or higher planets, he is compared to fire within wood.

Purport

After the three worlds — the upper, lower and middle planetary systems — merged into the water of dissolution, the living entities of all the three worlds remained in their subtle bodies by dint of the energy called kāla. In this dissolution, the gross bodies became unmanifest, but the subtle bodies existed, just like the water of the material creation. Thus the material energy was not completely wound up, as is the case in the full dissolution of the material world.