gatiṁ na sūkṣmām ṛṣayaś ca vidmahe
gatiṁ na sūkṣmām ṛṣayaś ca vidmahe
kuto 'surādyā itara-pradhānāḥ
We offer respects to the Lord by whose dear form of sattva-guṇa we have been created but still do not know his subtle nature, though it is manifested externally as time and internally as anytaryāmī, and who the demons with rajas and tamas cannot understand at all.
The previous said that people do not know the Lord. This verse explains further. We, even if we are wise (ṛsayaḥ) do not know the nature (gatim) of the Lord who is manifested externally as time and internally as antaryāmī. How can demons and others, who are prominently in the modes of rajas and tamas (itara-pradhānāḥ), know him? We offer respects to that Lord. The main verb is in the previous verse.
|| 8.5.32 ||
pādau mahīyaṁ sva-kṛtaiva yasya
catur-vidho yatra hi bhūta-sargaḥ
sa vai mahā-pūruṣa ātma-tantraḥ
prasīdatāṁ brahma mahā-vibhūtiḥ
May the Lord with Brahman as his great vibhūti, who manifests as the universal form, full of vibhūtis like the earth which is dependent on time, and whose feet represent the earth he created, within which there are four types of living entities, be pleased with us!
We know your form as this gross universe, which is visible. In this way Brahmā prays in twelve verses, starting with the feet made of earth. Mahā-vibhūtiḥ means the Lord who possesses vibhūtis such as the earth. May the Lord be pleased with us! The Lord is also the form of Brahman.
pṛthivī vāyur ākāśa āpo jyotir ahaṁ mahān
vikāraḥ puruṣo 'vyaktaṁ rajaḥ sattvaṁ tamaḥ param
aham etat prasaṅkhyānaṁ jñānaṁ tattva-viniścayaḥ
I am form, taste, aroma, touch and sound; ahaṅkāra; the mahat-tattva; earth, water, fire, air and sky; the eleven senses; the living entity; prakṛti; the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance; and Brahman. I am all of these items, along with knowledge of them, and the determination of truth resulting from that knowledge. SB 11.16.37
In this verse enumerating the elements, param means Brahman. Yamunācarya’s stotra also says parātparaṁ brahma ca te vibhūtayah: the supreme Brahman is also your vibhūti. Jīva Gosvāmī says the Lord has Brahman as his great vibhūti. Thus the vibhūtis in the material world, such as earth, are very insignificant. That is pointed out. The earth element is his feet. Because the feet of the spiritual body of the Lord are his vibhūtis, the earth, created the Lord, is here designated as his feet. In that earth there are four types of beings: those arising from wombs, from eggs, from seeds and from perspiration. This form is the material, universal form (mahā-puruṣaḥ). It is dependent on time (ātmā-tantraḥ).
|| 8.5.33 ||
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