SB 12.10.28 — FolioCorpus

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 12.10.28

श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच अहो ईश्वरलीलेयं दुर्विभाव्या शरीरिणाम् । यन्नमन्तीशितव्यानि स्तुवन्ति जगदीश्वरा: ॥ २८ ॥

śrī-mārkaṇḍeya uvāca

[shree-maarkandeya uvaacha]

aho īśvara-līleyaṁ

[aho eeshvara-leeleyam]

durvibhāvyā śarīriṇām

[durvibhaavyaa shareerinaam]

yan namantīśitavyāni

[yan namanteeshitavyaani]

stuvanti jagad-īśvarāḥ

[stuvanti jagad-eeshvaraah]

Word-for-word

śrī-mārkaṇḍeyaḥ uvāca — Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said aho — ah īśvara — of the great lords līlā — the pastime iyam — this durvibhāvyā — inconceivable śarīriṇām — for embodied souls yat — since namanti — they offer obeisances īśitavyāni — to those who are controlled by them stuvanti — they praise jagat-īśvarāḥ — the rulers of the universe.

Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)

śrī-mārkaṇḍeya uvāca

śrī-mārkaṇḍeyaḥ uvāca

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said

aho īśvara-līleyaṁ

aho

īśvara

of the great lords

līlā

the pastime

iyam

this

durvibhāvyā śarīriṇām

durvibhāvyā

inconceivable

śarīriṇām

for embodied souls

yan namantīśitavyāni

yat

since

namanti

they offer obeisances

īśitavyāni

to those who are controlled by them

stuvanti jagad-īśvarāḥ

stuvanti

they praise

jagat-īśvarāḥ

the rulers of the universe.

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: It is indeed most difficult for embodied souls to understand the pastimes of the universal controllers, for such lords bow down to and offer praise to the very living beings they rule.

Purport

In the material world, conditioned souls strive to lord it over one another. Therefore they cannot understand the pastimes of the actual lords of the universe. Such bona fide lords have a wonderfully magnanimous mentality and thus sometimes bow down to the most qualified and saintly among their own subjects.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

Gauḍīya Ācāryas

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya said: It is indeed most difficult for embodied souls to understand the pastimes of the universal controllers, for such lords bow down to and offer praise to the very living beings they rule. Durvibhāvyā means inconceivable. Īśitavyāni means the living entities who are subject to the Lord’s control.

Personal Guidance

Markandeya: 'It is hard to understand the pastimes of universal controllers, who bow even to ignorant living beings.' The Lord's leelas resist tidy theology — they include reverence for the small. Our schemas of greatness need humbling.

Reflection Questions

Where does my mental scheme of 'greatness' resist the idea that He bows to small beings?
What in me grows when I let that scheme be humbled?

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io