Shloka 26
Dhruva Uses the Nārāyaṇāstra; Manu Checks His Wrath and Teaches Dharma
एष भूतानि भूतात्मा भूतेशो भूतभावन: । स्वशक्त्या मायया युक्त: सृजत्यत्ति च पाति च ॥ २६ ॥
eṣa bhūtāni bhūtātmā bhūteśo bhūta-bhāvanaḥ sva-śaktyā māyayā yuktaḥ sṛjaty atti ca pāti ca
He is the Supersoul of all beings—their Lord and maintainer; through His external potency, māyā, He creates, sustains, and annihilates all.
There are two kinds of energies in the matter of creation. The Lord creates this material world through His external, material energy, whereas the spiritual world is a manifestation of His internal energy. He is always associated with the internal energy, but He is always aloof from the material energy. Therefore in Bhagavad-gītā (9.4) the Lord says, mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ: “All living entities are living on Me or on My energy, but I am not everywhere.” He is personally always situated in the spiritual world. In the material world also, wherever the Supreme Lord is personally present is to be understood as being the spiritual world. For example, the Lord is worshiped in the temple by pure devotees. The temple is therefore to be understood as being the spiritual world.
FAQs
This verse states that the Lord is bhūtātmā—the Self within all beings—showing His indwelling presence as Paramātmā while remaining the supreme controller (bhūteśaḥ).
In his prayers, Dhruva glorifies the Lord’s complete sovereignty: by His own māyā-śakti He manifests the world, sustains it, and at dissolution withdraws it—yet He remains the ultimate protector of His devotees.
It encourages surrender and steadiness: seeing life’s changes as governed by the Lord’s energy helps one practice devotion, responsibility, and detachment without losing faith during gain or loss.