Devanagari
योऽविद्ययानुपहतोऽपि दशार्धवृत्त्या
निद्रामुवाह जठरीकृतलोकयात्र: ।
अन्तर्जलेऽहिकशिपुस्पर्शानुकूलां
भीमोर्मिमालिनि जनस्य सुखं विवृण्वन् ॥ २० ॥
Verse text
yo ’vidyayānupahato ’pi daśārdha-vṛttyā
nidrām uvāha jaṭharī-kṛta-loka-yātraḥ
antar-jale ’hi-kaśipu-sparśānukūlāṁ
bhīmormi-mālini janasya sukhaṁ vivṛṇvan
Synonyms
yaḥ
—
one
;
avidyayā
—
influenced by nescience
;
anupahataḥ
—
without being affected
;
api
—
in spite of
;
daśa
—
ardha — five
;
vṛttyā
—
interaction
;
nidrām
—
sleep
;
uvāha
—
accepted
;
jaṭharī
—
within the abdomen
;
kṛta
—
doing so
;
loka
—
yātraḥ — maintenance of the different entities
;
antaḥ
—
jale — within the water of devastation
;
ahi
—
kaśipu — on the snake bed
;
sparśa
—
anukūlām — happy for the touch
;
bhīma
—
ūrmi — violent waves
;
mālini
—
chain of
;
janasya
—
of the intelligent person
;
sukham
—
happiness
;
vivṛṇvan
—
showing .
Translation
My Lord, You accept the pleasure of sleeping in the water of devastation, where there are violent waves, and You enjoy pleasure on the bed of snakes, showing the happiness of Your sleep to intelligent persons. At that time, all the universal planets are stationed within Your abdomen.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
I offer respects to the Lord, uninfluenced by ignorance with its five functions, who holds all the living beings in his stomach, and who goes to sleep happily with the comfortable touch of the bed of Śeṣa in the water, amidst a multitude of waves fearful to all people.
Brahmā offers respects to the form he sees in front of him in two verses. The Lord sleeps without being overcoming by the ignorance with its five functions which causes sleep. [Note: These are avidyā, asmitā, raga, dveṣa and abhiniveśa.] The five functions of ignorance act because of him. His sleep is composed of his svarūpa-śakti. The Lord contains all the living beings, who are merged in his stomach. The sleep is made comfortable by the touch of the bed, Śeṣa. You are content sleeping on the soft bed within the water, like a common person. You sport like a common person. Or, even at the time of destruction, in the ocean which gives fear to all people, even on the bed of a snake, you sleep happily. You are without fear at all times, in all places, in any association. No one else is. Only a very sleepy person, will happily sleep even if there is fear because of time, place of association.
Purport
Persons who cannot think of anything beyond the limit of their own power are like frogs in a well who cannot imagine the length and breadth of the great Pacific Ocean. Such people take it as legendary when they hear that the Supreme Lord is lying on His bed within the great ocean of the universe. They are surprised that one can lie down within water and sleep very happily. But a little intelligence can mitigate this foolish astonishment. There are many living entities within the bed of the ocean who also enjoy the material bodily activities of eating, sleeping, defending and mating. If such insignificant living entities can enjoy life within the water, why can’t the Supreme Lord, who is all-powerful, sleep on the cool body of a serpent and enjoy in the turmoil of violent ocean waves? The distinction of the Lord is that His activities are all transcendental, and He is able to do anything and everything without being deterred by limitations of time and space. He can enjoy His transcendental happiness regardless of material considerations.