Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvadasha Skandha, Shloka 70
Parīkṣit’s Final Absorption, Takṣaka’s Bite, Janamejaya’s Snake Sacrifice, and the Vedic Sound-Lineage
य एवेमं लोकमतिकरालवदनान्धकारसंज्ञाजगरग्रह गिलितं मृतकमिव विचेतनमवलोक्यानुकम्पया परमकारुणिक ईक्षयैवोत्थाप्याहरहरनुसवनं श्रेयसि स्वधर्माख्यात्मावस्थाने प्रवर्तयति ॥ ७० ॥
ya evemaṁ lokam ati-karāla-vadanāndhakāra-saṁjñājagara-graha-gilitaṁ mṛtakam iva vicetanam avalokyānukampayā parama-kāruṇika īkṣayaivotthāpyāhar ahar anusavanaṁ śreyasi sva-dharmākhyātmāva-sthane pravartayati.
Die Welt ist vom Python der Finsternis mit schrecklichem Rachen gepackt und verschlungen worden und liegt bewusstlos da wie tot. Doch Du, der Allbarmherzige, blickst mitleidig auf die Schlafenden und richtest sie durch die Gabe der Schau wieder auf; so führst Du die Frommen an den drei heiligen Tageswenden auf den Weg des höchsten Heils und bewegst sie, ihre religiösen Pflichten zu erfüllen, die sie in ihrer geistigen Stellung verankern.
According to Vedic culture, the three higher classes of society (the intellectual, political and mercantile sections) are formally connected with the spiritual master by initiation and receive the Gāyatrī mantra. This purifying mantra is chanted three times daily — at sunrise, noon and sunset. Auspicious moments for the performance of spiritual duties are calculated according to the sun’s path in the sky, and this systematic scheduling of spiritual duties is here attributed to the sun as the representative of God.
FAQs
This verse depicts the world as if swallowed by a terrifying serpent of darkness (ignorance/illusion), becoming like an unconscious dead body—yet the Lord revives it by His compassionate glance and re-establishes it in dharma and spiritual welfare.
To emphasize the Lord’s effortless, supreme power and compassion: without elaborate means, His will and grace alone can awaken the spiritually unconscious world and set it back on the path of śreyas (true good).
When life feels overwhelmed by “darkness” (confusion, vice, despair), this verse encourages seeking the Lord’s grace through bhakti and returning to one’s rightful dharma—steady daily practice that restores inner clarity and spiritual stability.