Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.23.4
केचनैतज्ज्योतिरनीकं शिशुमारसंस्थानेन भगवतो वासुदेवस्य योगधारणायामनुवर्णयन्ति ॥ ४ ॥
kecanaitaj jyotir-anīkaṁ śiśumāra-saṁsthānena bhagavato vāsudevasya yoga-dhāraṇāyām anuvarṇayanti.
[kechanaitaj jyotir-aneekam shishumaara-samsthaanena bhagavato vaasudevasya yoga-dhaaranaayaam anuvarnayanti.]
Word-for-word
kecana
—
some yogīs or learned scholars of astronomy
etat
—
this
jyotiḥ-anīkam
—
great wheel of planets and stars
śiśumāra-saṁsthānena
—
imagine this wheel to be a śiśumāra (dolphin)
bhagavataḥ
—
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
vāsudevasya
—
Lord Vāsudeva (the son of Vasudeva), Kṛṣṇa
yoga-dhāraṇāyām
—
in absorption in worship
anuvarṇayanti
—
describe.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
kecanaitaj jyotir-anīkaṁ śiśumāra-saṁsthānena bhagavato vāsudevasya yoga-dhāraṇāyām anuvarṇayanti.
kecana
some yogīs or learned scholars of astronomy
etat
this
jyotiḥ-anīkam
great wheel of planets and stars
śiśumāra-saṁsthānena
imagine this wheel to be a śiśumāra (dolphin)
bhagavataḥ
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
vāsudevasya
Lord Vāsudeva (the son of Vasudeva), Kṛṣṇa
yoga-dhāraṇāyām
in absorption in worship
anuvarṇayanti
describe.
This great machine, consisting of the stars and planets, resembles the form of a śiśumāra [dolphin] in the water. It is sometimes considered an incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, Vāsudeva. Great yogīs meditate upon Vāsudeva in this form because it is actually visible.
Purport
Transcendentalists such as yogīs whose minds cannot accommodate the form of the Lord prefer to visualize something very great, such as the virāṭ-puruṣa. Therefore some yogīs contemplate this imaginary śiśumāra to be swimming in the sky the way a dolphin swims in water. They meditate upon it as the virāṭ-rūpa, the gigantic form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
Some describe this zodiac belt to be the form of a dolphin, used for worshipping Vāsudeva in meditation.
Jyotir-anīkam means the zodiac belt.
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
The entire stellar machinery can be meditated upon as a giant dolphin-shaped form of the Lord, visible in the sky. The Lord provides visible forms for those who cannot yet meditate on Him directly. Don't dismiss aids; use them.
Reflection Questions
- Am I rejecting visible spiritual aids (images, the night sky, sacred art) in pursuit of a purer abstraction I cannot actually hold?
- What concrete form could I begin to use to ground my meditation today?
My note
Source: vedabase.io