Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvadasha Skandha, Shloka 41
Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi Tested by Indra and Blessed by Nara-Nārāyaṇa
मूर्ती इमे भगवतो भगवंस्त्रिलोक्या: क्षेमाय तापविरमाय च मृत्युजित्यै । नाना बिभर्ष्यवितुमन्यतनूर्यथेदं सृष्ट्वा पुनर्ग्रससि सर्वमिवोर्णनाभि: ॥ ४१ ॥
mūrtī ime bhagavato bhagavaṁs tri-lokyāḥ kṣemāya tāpa-viramāya ca mṛtyu-jityai nānā bibharṣy avitum anya-tanūr yathedaṁ sṛṣṭvā punar grasasi sarvam ivorṇanābhiḥ
O Supreme Personality of Godhead, these two personal forms of Yours have appeared to bestow the ultimate benefit for the three worlds — the cessation of material misery and the conquest of death. My Lord, although You create this universe and then assume many transcendental forms to protect it, You also swallow it up, just like a spider who spins and later withdraws its web.
FAQs
This verse explains that the Lord manifests forms for the world’s welfare, creates the cosmos, and later withdraws it back into Himself—compared to a spider spinning and reabsorbing its web.
After witnessing the Lord’s extraordinary yogamāyā, Mārkaṇḍeya recognizes that the Lord’s incarnations and manifestations are meant to protect the worlds, remove suffering, and grant victory over death.
The verse points to taking shelter of the Lord’s names, forms, and teachings as a steady refuge—reducing anxiety and fear by remembering the Supreme Protector behind life’s changes.