Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.9.14
Nirodha· Winding upThe Lord’s Mercy Gives Complete Understanding
“My dear Lord, at the end of each millennium the Supreme Personality of Godhead Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu dissolves everything manifested within the universe into His belly. He lies down on the lap of Śeṣa Nāga, from His navel sprouts a golden lotus flower on a stem, and on that lotus Lord Brahmā is created. I can understand that You are the same Supreme Godhead. I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto You.”
What the purport teaches
- Knowledge received through the Lord’s causeless mercy is complete. Although Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu stood before Dhruva Mahārāja, Dhruva also understood Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and Kāraṇodakaśāyī (Mahā) Viṣṇu.
- At the end of each millennium, everything manifested within the universe enters Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. He rests on Śeṣa Nāga, and Lord Brahmā appears on the golden lotus sprouting from His navel.
- Even a little of the Lord’s grace enables one to understand His glories, whereas speculation alone cannot reveal Him. Contact with a devotee is necessary to understand His transcendental form and spiritual activities.
Try this today
Read this verse’s description of the Lord once more, then offer Him respectful obeisances as Dhruva Mahārāja did.
Ask yourself
How willing am I to learn about the Lord’s forms through devotees rather than speculation alone?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.