Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 21
Avadhūta’s Further Teachers: Detachment, Solitude, One-Pointed Meditation, and the Lord as Āśraya
यथोर्णनाभिर्हृदयादूर्णां सन्तत्य वक्त्रत: । तया विहृत्य भूयस्तां ग्रसत्येवं महेश्वर: ॥ २१ ॥
yathorṇanābhir hṛdayād ūrṇāṁ santatya vaktrataḥ tayā vihṛtya bhūyas tāṁ grasaty evaṁ maheśvaraḥ
Just as from within himself the spider expands thread through his mouth, plays with it for some time and eventually swallows it, similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead expands His personal potency from within Himself. Thus, the Lord displays the network of cosmic manifestation, utilizes it according to His purpose and eventually withdraws it completely within Himself.
One who is intelligent obtains spiritual knowledge even from an insignificant creature like the spider. Thus, transcendental knowledge is visible everywhere for one whose eyes are opened in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
FAQs
This verse explains that the Lord projects the cosmos from Himself and later withdraws it back into Himself—like a spider emitting and reabsorbing its web.
It illustrates that the universe is not independent of God: its origin, support, and dissolution all rest in the same supreme source, just as the web rests in the spider.
It encourages detachment and devotion: see life’s changes as temporary manifestations under divine control, and focus on the eternal Lord who remains the source throughout.