Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.13.46
मैत्रेय उवाच
इत्युपस्थीयमानोऽसौ मुनिभिर्ब्रह्मवादिभि: ।
सलिले स्वखुराक्रान्त उपाधत्तावितावनिम् ॥ ४६ ॥
maitreya uvāca
[maitreya uvaacha]
ity upasthīyamāno ’sau
[ity upastheeyamaano ’sau]
munibhir brahma-vādibhiḥ
[munibhir brahma-vaadibhih]
salile sva-khurākrānta
[salile sva-khuraakraanta]
upādhattāvitāvanim
[upaadhattaavitaavanim]
Word-for-word
maitreyaḥ uvāca
—
the sage Maitreya said
iti
—
thus
upasthīyamānaḥ
—
being praised by
asau
—
Lord Boar
munibhiḥ
—
by the great sages
brahma-vādibhiḥ
—
by the transcendentalists
salile
—
on the water
sva-khura-ākrānte
—
touched by His own hooves
upādhatta
—
placed
avitā
—
the maintainer
avanim
—
the earth.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
maitreya uvāca
maitreyaḥ uvāca
the sage Maitreya said
ity upasthīyamāno ’sau
iti
thus
upasthīyamānaḥ
being praised by
asau
Lord Boar
munibhir brahma-vādibhiḥ
munibhiḥ
by the great sages
brahma-vādibhiḥ
by the transcendentalists
salile sva-khurākrānta
salile
on the water
sva-khura-ākrānte
touched by His own hooves
upādhattāvitāvanim
upādhatta
placed
avitā
the maintainer
avanim
the earth.
The sage Maitreya said: The Lord, being thus worshiped by all the great sages and transcendentalists, touched the earth with His hooves and placed it on the water.
Purport
The earth was placed on the water by His inconceivable potency. The Lord is all-powerful, and therefore He can sustain the huge planets either on the water or in the air, as He likes. The tiny human brain cannot conceive how these potencies of the Lord can act. Man can give some vague explanation of the laws by which such phenomena are made possible, but actually the tiny human brain is unable to conceive of the activities of the Lord, which are therefore called inconceivable. Yet the frog-philosophers still try to give some imaginary explanation.
— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
Maitreya said: After being thus praised by the sages with Vedic words, the boar, the protector, placed the earth on the water which had been attacked by his hooves.
Being praised and served by the sages (upasthīyamānaḥ) the boar placed the earth on top of the water, which had been attacked by his hooves. This shows the bestowal of the supporting śakti to the earth. Avitā means protector.
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
The verse describes a universe that is not a random stage but an arrangement with a purpose. Our work is not to engineer that purpose but to find our seat within it.
Reflection Questions
- What would change in your prayer if you remembered how small your sphere actually is?
- Which 'cosmic' problem are you trying to solve when your actual task is just to play your small part well?
My note
Source: vedabase.io