FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.8.20

तमस्यपारे विदुरात्मसर्गं विचिन्वतोऽभूत्सुमहांस्त्रिणेमि: । यो देहभाजां भयमीरयाण: परिक्षिणोत्यायुरजस्य हेति: ॥ २० ॥
tamasy apāre vidurātma-sargaṁ
[tamasy apaare viduraatma-sargam]
vicinvato ’bhūt sumahāṁs tri-ṇemiḥ
[vichinvato ’bhoot sumahaams tri-nemih]
yo deha-bhājāṁ bhayam īrayāṇaḥ
[yo deha-bhaajaam bhayam eerayaanah]
parikṣiṇoty āyur ajasya hetiḥ
[parikshinoty aayur ajasya hetih]
tamasi apāre — because of an ignorant way of searching vidura — O Vidura ātma-sargam — the cause of his creation vicinvataḥ — while contemplating abhūt — it so became su-mahān — very great tri-nemiḥ — time of three dimensions yaḥ — which deha-bhājām — of the embodied bhayam — fearfulness īrayāṇaḥ — generating parikṣiṇoti — diminishing the one hundred years āyuḥ — duration of life ajasya — of the self-born hetiḥ — the wheel of eternal time.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tamasy apāre vidurātma-sargaṁ
tamasi apāre
because of an ignorant way of searching
vidura
O Vidura
ātma-sargam
the cause of his creation
vicinvato ’bhūt sumahāṁs tri-ṇemiḥ
vicinvataḥ
while contemplating
yo deha-bhājāṁ bhayam īrayāṇaḥ
abhūt
it so became
su-mahān
very great
tri-nemiḥ
time of three dimensions
yaḥ
which
deha-bhājām
of the embodied
bhayam
fearfulness
īrayāṇaḥ
generating
parikṣiṇoty āyur ajasya hetiḥ
parikṣiṇoti
diminishing the one hundred years
āyuḥ
duration of life
ajasya
of the self-born
hetiḥ
the wheel of eternal time.
O Vidura, while searching in that way about his existence, Brahmā reached his ultimate time, which is the eternal wheel in the hand of Viṣṇu and which generates fear in the mind of the living entity like the fear of death.
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
O Vidura! A hundred years passed for Brahmā who was searching out his source in the unfathomable darkness. Time, the cakra of Viṣṇu, which proclaims the approach of death for the embodied souls, destroys the lifespan. Ātma-sargam means source of his creation. Trinemiḥ means time. Time, proclaiming (īryānaḥ) the approach of death (bhayam) for men (deha-bhājam), destroys life span of a hundred years. Ajasya hetiḥ means the cakra of Viṣṇu. Time is an aṁśa of this cakra.
Even Brahmā, searching for his origin, is met by time — the wheel in Viṣṇu's hand — and feels the kind of fear we call death-fear. Time visits every being eventually. The wisest use of life is not to escape time but to use it well.
Reflection Questions
  • How do I relate to the wheel of time — denial, dread, or readiness?
  • What would I do today if I felt time as the Lord's own hand on me?
📝 My note

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