Devanagari
तदुग्रवेगं दिशि दिश्युपर्यधो
विसर्पदुत्सर्पदसह्यमप्रति ।
भीता: प्रजा दुद्रुवुरङ्ग सेश्वरा
अरक्ष्यमाणा: शरणं सदाशिवम् ॥ १९ ॥
Verse text
tad ugra-vegaṁ diśi diśy upary adho
visarpad utsarpad asahyam aprati
bhītāḥ prajā dudruvur aṅga seśvarā
arakṣyamāṇāḥ śaraṇaṁ sadāśivam
Synonyms
tat
—
that
;
ugra
—
vegam — very fierce and potent poison
;
diśi diśi
—
in all directions
;
upari
—
upward
;
adhaḥ
—
downward
;
visarpat
—
curling
;
utsarpat
—
going upward
;
asahyam
—
unbearable
;
aprati
—
uncontrollable
;
bhītāḥ
—
being very much afraid
;
prajāḥ
—
the residents of all the worlds
;
dudruvuḥ
—
moved here and there
;
aṅga
—
O Mahārāja Parīkṣit
;
sa
—
īśvarāḥ — with the Supreme Lord
;
arakṣyamāṇāḥ
—
not being protected
;
śaraṇam
—
shelter
;
sadāśivam
—
unto the lotus feet of Lord Śiva .
Translation
O King, when that uncontrollable poison was forcefully spreading up and down in all directions, all the demigods, along with the Lord Himself, approached Lord Śiva [Sadāśiva]. Feeling unsheltered and very much afraid, they sought shelter of him.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
O King! That most virulent poison spread in all directions as well as up and down. Seeing that intolerable poison with no cure, all the frightened devatās and demons, along with the Lord himself, took shelter of Śiva.
The poison spread in all directions and up and down as well. It spread slowly; otherwise the whole creation would be destroyed. Prajāḥ here refers to the devatās and demons. Normal persons could not quickly cross the ocean and go to Kailāsa. Seeing this poison which had no remedy (aprati), they became afraid. Having no protection they went to Śiva. The Supreme Lord did not act in this situation because he wanted to give fame to his devotee Śiva having the half-moon as his head ornament.
Purport
One may question that since the Supreme Personality of Godhead was personally present, why did He accompany all the demigods and people in general to take shelter of Lord Sadāśiva instead of intervening Himself. In this connection Śrīla Madhvācārya warns:
rudrasya yaśaso ’rthāya
svayaṁ viṣṇur viṣaṁ vibhuḥ
na saṣjahre samartho ’pi
vāyuṁ coce praśāntaye
Lord Viṣṇu was competent to rectify the situation, but in order to give credit to Lord Śiva, who later drank all the poison and kept it in his neck, Lord Viṣṇu did not take action.