Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.7.35
एतत् परं प्रपश्यामो न परं ते महेश्वर ।
मृडनाय हि लोकस्य व्यक्तिस्तेऽव्यक्तकर्मण: ॥ ३५ ॥
etat paraṁ prapaśyāmo
[etat param prapashyaamo]
na paraṁ te maheśvara
[na param te maheshvara]
mṛḍanāya hi lokasya
[mridanaaya hi lokasya]
vyaktis te ’vyakta-karmaṇaḥ
[vyaktis te ’vyakta-karmanah]
Word-for-word
etat
—
all these things
param
—
transcendental
prapaśyāmaḥ
—
we can see
na
—
not
param
—
the actual transcendental position
te
—
of Your Lordship
mahā-īśvara
—
O great ruler
mṛḍanāya
—
for the happiness
hi
—
indeed
lokasya
—
of all the world
vyaktiḥ
—
manifested
te
—
of Your Lordship
avyakta-karmaṇaḥ
—
whose activities are unknown to everyone.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
etat paraṁ prapaśyāmo
etat
all these things
param
transcendental
prapaśyāmaḥ
we can see
na paraṁ te maheśvara
na
not
param
the actual transcendental position
te
of Your Lordship
mahā-īśvara
O great ruler
mṛḍanāya hi lokasya
mṛḍanāya
for the happiness
hi
indeed
lokasya
of all the world
vyaktis te ’vyakta-karmaṇaḥ
vyaktiḥ
manifested
te
of Your Lordship
avyakta-karmaṇaḥ
whose activities are unknown to everyone.
O greatest of all rulers, your actual identity is impossible for us to understand. As far as we can see, your presence brings flourishing happiness to everyone. Beyond this, no one can appreciate your activities. We can see this much, and nothing more.
Purport
When the demigods offered these prayers to Lord Śiva, their inner purpose was to please him so that he would rectify the disturbing situation created by the hālahala poison. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.20) , kāmais tais tair hṛta jñānāḥ prapadyante ’nya-devatāḥ: when one worships demigods, this is certainly because of deep-rooted desires he wants fulfilled by the mercy of those demigods. People are generally attached to the worship of demigods for some motive.
— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
O great lord! We do not understand your superior form. We only know that you, whose activities are hard to understand, make your appearance for the happiness of the people.
You appear in order to make people happy. You should make the people happy by destroying the poison.
Personal Guidance
We can see this much: his presence brings flourishing happiness. The demigods praise pragmatically — they cannot fathom him, but they can name what they observe. Honest worship works with what we actually see, not what we pretend.
Reflection Questions
- What can I actually say about the Lord's effect in my life — what have I directly observed?
- Where do I describe what I have not seen and stay silent about what I have?
My note
Source: vedabase.io