Shloka 2
Bhāgavatam Mahimā — The Glory, Measure, Transmission, and Gift of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
पृष्ठे भ्राम्यदमन्दमन्दरगिरिग्रावाग्रकण्डूयना- न्निद्रालो: कमठाकृतेर्भगवत: श्वासानिला: पान्तु व: । यत्संस्कारकलानुवर्तनवशाद् वेलानिभेनाम्भसां यातायातमतन्द्रितं जलनिधेर्नाद्यापि विश्राम्यति ॥ २ ॥
pṛṣṭhe bhrāmyad amanda-mandara-giri-grāvāgra-kaṇḍūyanān nidrāloḥ kamaṭhākṛter bhagavataḥ śvāsānilāḥ pāntu vaḥ yat-saṁskāra-kalānuvartana-vaśād velā-nibhenāmbhasāṁ yātāyātam atandritaṁ jala-nidher nādyāpi viśrāmyati
When the Supreme Lord appeared as Kūrma, the tortoise, the sharp stones of the massive, whirling Mount Mandara scratched His back, and the scratching made the Lord drowsy. May the winds arising from His breathing in that sleepy state protect you all. From that time until today, the ocean’s tides have piously imitated His inhalation and exhalation, ceaselessly flowing in and out.
At times we alleviate an itching sensation by blowing upon it. Similarly, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura explains, the breathing of the Supreme Personality of Godhead can alleviate the itching sensation within the minds of mental speculators, as well as the itching of the material senses of conditioned souls engaged in sense gratification. Thus by meditating on the windy breath of Lord Kūrma — the tortoise incarnation — all categories of conditioned souls can be relieved of the deficiencies of material existence and come to the liberated, spiritual platform. One must simply allow the pastimes of Lord Kūrma to blow within one’s heart like a favorable breeze; then one will surely find spiritual peace.
FAQs
This verse offers a benediction that the Lord’s very breath, when He appeared as Kūrma during the churning of the ocean, may protect the devotees—showing that remembrance of His līlā is itself auspicious and protective.
It says the ocean’s ceaseless waves continue even today as an after-effect (saṁskāra) of the Lord’s act during the Mandara mountain’s rotation—poetically linking nature’s rhythms to divine līlā.
See the world as permeated by Bhagavān’s presence and pastimes: remembering the Lord behind life’s constant “waves” helps cultivate steadiness, gratitude, and bhakti amidst change.