Srimad Bhagavatam — Saptama Skandha, Shloka 32
Prahlāda’s Prayers Pacify Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva
Prahlāda-stuti and the Lord’s Benediction Offer
न्यस्येदमात्मनि जगद्विलयाम्बुमध्ये शेषेत्मना निजसुखानुभवो निरीह: । योगेन मीलितदृगात्मनिपीतनिद्र- स्तुर्ये स्थितो न तु तमो न गुणांश्च युङ्क्षे ॥ ३२ ॥
nyasyedam ātmani jagad vilayāmbu-madhye śeṣetmanā nija-sukhānubhavo nirīhaḥ yogena mīlita-dṛg-ātma-nipīta-nidras turye sthito na tu tamo na guṇāṁś ca yuṅkṣe
O my Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, after the annihilation the creative energy is kept in You, who appear to sleep with half-closed eyes. Actually, however, You do not sleep like an ordinary human being, for You are always in a transcendental stage, beyond the creation of the material world, and You always feel transcendental bliss. As Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, You thus remain in Your transcendental status, not touching material objects. Although You appear to sleep, this sleeping is distinct from sleeping in ignorance.
As explained very clearly in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.47) :
FAQs
This verse explains that during dissolution the Lord withdraws the universe into Himself and appears to sleep on Śeṣa, yet His “sleep” is yogic absorption—He remains in turīya, beyond ignorance and beyond the material modes.
In his prayers to Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, Prahlāda glorifies the Lord’s supremacy: even when He manifests cosmic functions like dissolution and rest, He is never conditioned by tamas or any material quality.
A devotee practices steady remembrance and disciplined devotion so consciousness becomes less driven by passion and ignorance; by anchoring life in bhakti, one learns to act in the world without being internally dominated by the gunas.