Devanagari
मनसैव पुरे देव: पूर्वरूपं विपश्यति ।
अनुमीमांसतेऽपूर्वं मनसा भगवानज: ॥ ४८ ॥
Verse text
manasaiva pure devaḥ
pūrva-rūpaṁ vipaśyati
anumīmāṁsate ’pūrvaṁ
manasā bhagavān ajaḥ
Synonyms
manasā
—
by the mind
;
eva
—
indeed
;
pure
—
in his abode, or within everyone’s heart like the Supersoul
;
devaḥ
—
the demigod Yamarāja ( dīvyatīti devaḥ, one who is always brilliant and illuminated is called deva )
;
pūrva
—
rūpam — the past religious or irreligious condition
;
vipaśyati
—
completely observes
;
anumīmāṁsate
—
he considers
;
apūrvam
—
the future condition
;
manasā
—
with his mind
;
bhagavān
—
who is omnipotent
;
ajaḥ
—
as good as Lord Brahmā .
Translation
The omnipotent Yamarāja is as good as Lord Brahmā, for while situated in his own abode or in everyone’s heart like the Paramātmā, he mentally observes the past activities of a living entity and thus understands how the living entity will act in future lives.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Yamarāja, living in his city, sees by his mind the previous condition of a living entity. Knowing everything like Brahmā, he then decides the present and future forms by his mind
This is the general method of knowing the adharma and dharma of others. Yamarāja however by his mind definitely sees everything. Situated in his city Saṁyamanī, Yama(devaḥ) sees the persons in his previous birth with his dharma and adharma. Afterwards he decides the present and the future forms. He decides what is suitable for each person. He is omniscient (bhagavān), equal to Brahmā.
Purport
One should not consider Yamarāja an ordinary living being. He is as good as Lord Brahmā. He has the complete cooperation of the Supreme Lord, who is situated in everyone’s heart, and therefore, by the grace of the Supersoul, he can see the past, present and future of a living being from within. The word
anumīmāṁsate
means that he can decide in consultation with the Supersoul.
Anu
means “following.” The actual decisions concerning the next lives of the living entities are made by the Supersoul, and they are carried out by Yamarāja.