Shloka 4
Yoga-Sleep, Cosmic Dissolution, and the Lotus of Creation
with Mārkaṇḍeya’s Vision
प्रभावं पद्मनाभस्य स्वपतः सागरांभसि । पुष्करे तु कथं जाता देवा ॠषिगणाः पुरा
prabhāvaṃ padmanābhasya svapataḥ sāgarāṃbhasi | puṣkare tu kathaṃ jātā devā ṝṣigaṇāḥ purā
كيف يُدرَك مجدُ بادمانابها وهو نائمٌ على مياه البحر؟ وكيف وُلدت قديمًا الآلهةُ وجموعُ الرِّشيّين في بوشكارا؟
Unspecified interlocutor (a question within the ongoing dialogue of Adhyaya 39; speaker not identifiable from this single verse alone).
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: tirtha
Sandhi Resolution Notes: सागरांभसि → सागर-अम्भसि; ॠषिगणाः → ऋषि-गणाः. स्वपतः taken as genitive of शतृ-कृदन्त ‘स्वपत्’ from √स्वप्.
FAQs
It links cosmic origins to a terrestrial sacred site—Puṣkara—suggesting that tīrthas are not merely places of pilgrimage but locations where primordial creation-events and divine manifestations are remembered and ritually accessed.
By foregrounding Padmanābha (Viṣṇu) and his cosmic sovereignty, the verse prompts reverent inquiry into the Lord’s līlā and śakti—an attitude central to bhakti: seeking understanding through devotion and hearing (śravaṇa).
The verse models humility and disciplined curiosity: rather than asserting speculative claims about creation and sacred places, it asks for authoritative teaching—encouraging seekers to learn through respectful questioning and tradition-guided reflection.