Devanagari
इमे वयं यत्प्रिययैव तन्वा
सत्त्वेन सृष्टा बहिरन्तरावि: ।
गतिं न सूक्ष्मामृषयश्च विद्महे
कुतोऽसुराद्या इतरप्रधाना: ॥ ३१ ॥
Verse text
ime vayaṁ yat-priyayaiva tanvā
sattvena sṛṣṭā bahir-antar-āviḥ
gatiṁ na sūkṣmām ṛṣayaś ca vidmahe
kuto ’surādyā itara-pradhānāḥ
Synonyms
ime
—
these
;
vayam
—
we (the demigods)
;
yat
—
to whom
;
priyayā
—
appearing very near and dear
;
eva
—
certainly
;
tanvā
—
the material body
;
sattvena
—
by the mode of goodness
;
sṛṣṭāḥ
—
created
;
bahiḥ
—
antaḥ — āviḥ — although fully aware, internally and externally
;
gatim
—
destination
;
na
—
not
;
sūkṣmām
—
very subtle
;
ṛṣayaḥ
—
great saintly persons
;
ca
—
also
;
vidmahe
—
understand
;
kutaḥ
—
how
;
asura
—
ādyāḥ — the demons and atheists
;
itara
—
who are insignificant in their identities
;
pradhānāḥ
—
although they are leaders of their own societies .
Translation
Since our bodies are made of sattva-guṇa, we, the demigods, are internally and externally situated in goodness. All the great saints are also situated in that way. Therefore, if even we cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, what is to be said of those who are most insignificant in their bodily constitutions, being situated in the modes of passion and ignorance? How can they understand the Lord? Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto Him.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
We offer respects to the Lord by whose dear form of sattva-guṇa we have been created but still do not know his subtle nature, though it is manifested externally as time and internally as antaryāmī, and whom the demons with rajas and tamas cannot understand at all.
The previous said that people do not know the Lord. This verse explains further. We, even if we are wise (ṛsayaḥ), do not know the nature (gatim) of the Lord who is manifested externally as time and internally as antaryāmī. How can demons and others, who are prominently in the modes of rajas and tamas (itara-pradhānāḥ), know him? We offer respects to that Lord. The main verb is in the previous verse.
Purport
Atheists and demons cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although He is situated within everyone. For them the Lord finally appears in the form of death, as confirmed in
Bhagavad-gītā
(
mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham
). Atheists think that they are independent, and therefore they do not care about the supremacy of the Lord, yet the Lord asserts His supremacy when He overcomes them as death. At the time of death, their attempts to use their so-called scientific knowledge and philosophical speculation to deny the supremacy of the Lord cannot work. Hiraṇyakaśipu, for example, was an exalted representative of the atheistic class of men. He always challenged the existence of God, and thus he became inimical even toward his own son. Everyone was afraid of Hiraṇyakaśipu’s atheistic principles. Nonetheless, when Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva appeared in order to kill him, Hiraṇyakaśipu’s atheistic principles could not save him. Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva killed Hiraṇyakaśipu and took away all his power, influence and pride. Atheistic men, however, never understand how everything they create is annihilated. The Supersoul is situated within them, but because of the predominance of the modes of passion and ignorance, they cannot understand the supremacy of the Lord. Even the demigods, the devotees, who are transcendentally situated or situated on the platform of goodness, are not fully aware of the qualities and position of the Lord. How then can the demons and atheists understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead? It is not possible. Therefore, to gain this understanding, the demigods, headed by Lord Brahmā, offered their respectful obeisances to the Lord.