FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.1.33

नद्योऽस्य नाड्योऽथ तनूरुहाणि महीरुहा विश्वतनोर्नृपेन्द्र । अनन्तवीर्य: श्वसितं मातरिश्वा गतिर्वय: कर्म गुणप्रवाह: ॥ ३३ ॥
nadyo ’sya nāḍyo ’tha tanū-ruhāṇi
[nadyo ’sya naadyo ’tha tanoo-ruhaani]
mahī-ruhā viśva-tanor nṛpendra
[mahee-ruhaa vishva-tanor nripendra]
ananta-vīryaḥ śvasitaṁ mātariśvā
[ananta-veeryah shvasitam maatarishvaa]
gatir vayaḥ karma guṇa-pravāhaḥ
[gatir vayah karma guna-pravaahah]
nadyaḥ — the rivers asya — of Him nāḍyaḥ — veins atha — and thereafter tanū-ruhāṇi — hairs on the body mahī-ruhāḥ — the plants and trees viśva-tanoḥ — of the universal form nṛpa-indra — O King ananta-vīryaḥ — of the omnipotent śvasitam — breathing mātariśvā — air gatiḥ — movement vayaḥ — passing ages karma — activity guṇa-pravāhaḥ — reactions of the modes of nature.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
nadyo ’sya nāḍyo ’tha tanū-ruhāṇi
nadyaḥ
the rivers
mahī-ruhā viśva-tanor nṛpendra
ananta-vīryaḥ śvasitaṁ mātariśvā
asya
of Him
gatir vayaḥ karma guṇa-pravāhaḥ
nāḍyaḥ
veins
atha
and thereafter
tanū-ruhāṇi
hairs on the body
mahī-ruhāḥ
the plants and trees
viśva-tanoḥ
of the universal form
nṛpa-indra
O King
ananta-vīryaḥ
of the omnipotent
śvasitam
breathing
mātariśvā
air
gatiḥ
movement
vayaḥ
passing ages
karma
activity
guṇa-pravāhaḥ
reactions of the modes of nature.
O King, the rivers are the veins of the gigantic body, the trees are the hairs of His body, and the omnipotent air is His breath. The passing ages are His movements, and His activities are the reactions of the three modes of material nature.

The Personality of Godhead is not a dead stone, nor is He inactive, as is poorly thought by some schools. He moves with the progress of time, and therefore He knows all about the past and future, along with His present activities. There is nothing unknown to Him. The conditioned souls are driven by the reactions of the modes of material nature, which are the activities of the Lord. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.12) , the modes of nature act under His direction only, and as such no natural functions are blind or automatic. The power behind the activities is the supervision of the Lord, and thus the Lord is never inactive as is wrongly conceived. The Vedas say that the Supreme Lord has nothing to do personally, as is always the case with superiors, but everything is done by His direction. As it is said, not a blade of grass moves without His sanction. In the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.48) , it is said that all the universes and the heads of them (the Brahmās) exist only for the duration of His breathing period. The same is confirmed here. The air on which the universes and the planets within the universes exist is nothing but a bit of the breath of the unchallengeable virāṭ-puruṣa. So even by studying the rivers, trees, air and passing ages, one can conceive of the Personality of Godhead without being misled by the formless conception of the Lord. In the Bhagavad-gītā (12.5) it is stated that those who are much inclined to the formless conception of the Supreme Truth are more troubled than those who can intelligently conceive of the personal form.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
O best of kings! The rivers are veins of the universal form. The trees are his body hairs. The wind with the prowess of Ananta-śeṣa is his breathing. The movement of time is his walking. The movement of the living beings birth after birth is his play.
Commentary

Ananta refers to Śeṣa. The wind that has the power of Śeṣa is the breathing. The movement of time (vayaḥ) is his walking. The saṁsāra of the living beings (guṇa-pravāhaḥ) is his play (karma).

Rivers are His veins, trees His hairs, the wind His breath, and time His movement. The Supreme is never inactive — every natural process is His ongoing activity, supervised, never random.
Reflection Questions
  • What 'natural' event in my life have I been reading as random that this verse asks me to read as His act?
  • How does it feel to walk through a day knowing the wind is His breath?
📝 My note

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