SB 4.1.56 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

देवा ऊचु: यो मायया विरचितं निजयात्मनीदं खे रूपभेदमिव तत्प्रतिचक्षणाय । एतेन धर्मसदने ऋषिमूर्तिनाद्य प्रादुश्चकार पुरुषाय नम: परस्मै ॥ ५६ ॥

Verse text

devā ūcuḥ yo māyayā viracitaṁ nijayātmanīdaṁ khe rūpa-bhedam iva tat-praticakṣaṇāya etena dharma-sadane ṛṣi-mūrtinādya prāduścakāra puruṣāya namaḥ parasmai

Synonyms

devāḥ — the demigods ; ūcuḥ — said ; yaḥ — who ; māyayā — by the external energy ; viracitam — was created ; nijayā — by His own ; ātmani — being situated in Him ; idam — this ; khe — in the sky ; rūpa — bhedam — bunches of clouds ; iva — as if ; tat — of Himself ; praticakṣaṇāya — for manifesting ; etena — with this ; dharma — sadane — in the house of Dharma ; ṛṣi — mūrtinā — with the form of a sage ; adya — today ; prāduścakāra — appeared ; puruṣāya — unto the Personality of Godhead ; namaḥ — respectful obeisances ; parasmai — the Supreme .

Translation

The demigods said: Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto the transcendental Personality of Godhead, who created as His external energy this cosmic manifestation, which is situated in Him as the air and clouds are situated in space, and who has now appeared in the form of Nara-Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi in the house of Dharma.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The devatās said: We offer our respects to the Lord who has now appeared in the house of Dharma in the form of a sage to show that the universe belongs to him, is created by his energy, and is situated within him, like a cloud in the sky. We offer respects to the Lord who, has appeared in the form of a sage for revealing (praticakṣanāya) that the universe belongs to him, is made by him, through his māyā and is situated within him, like a group of clouds in the sky. The instrumental case (ṛṣi-mūrtinā) indicates that it is his nature. Neuter gender of rūpa-bhedam, etena and mūrtiṇa is poetic license.

Purport

The universal form of the Lord is the cosmic manifestation, which is an exhibition of the external energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In space there are innumerable varieties of planets and also the air, and in the air there are variously colored clouds, and sometimes we see airplanes running from one place to another. Thus the entire cosmic manifestation is full of variety, but actually that variety is a manifestation of the external energy of the Supreme Lord, and that energy is situated in Him. Now the Lord Himself, after manifesting His energy, appeared within the creation of His energy, which is simultaneously one with and different from Himself, and therefore the demigods offered their respects to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who manifests Himself in such varieties. There are some philosophers, called nondualists, who because of their impersonal conception think that varieties are false. In this verse it is specifically stated, yo māyayā viracitam. This indicates that the varieties are a manifestation of the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus because the energy is nondifferent from the Godhead, the varieties are also factual. The material varieties may be temporary, but they are not false. They are a reflection of the spiritual varieties. Here the word praticakṣaṇāya, “there are varieties,” announces the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who appeared as Nara-Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi and who is the origin of all varieties of material nature.