Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvadasha Skandha, Shloka 29
Mārkaṇḍeya’s Request to See Māyā and the Vision of the Cosmic Deluge
खं रोदसी भागणानद्रिसागरान् द्वीपान् सवर्षान् ककुभ: सुरासुरान् । वनानि देशान् सरित: पुराकरान् खेटान् व्रजानाश्रमवर्णवृत्तय: ॥ २८ ॥ महान्ति भूतान्यथ भौतिकान्यसौ कालं च नानायुगकल्पकल्पनम् । यत् किञ्चिदन्यद् व्यवहारकारणं ददर्श विश्वं सदिवावभासितम् ॥ २९ ॥
khaṁ rodasī bhā-gaṇān adri-sāgarān dvīpān sa-varṣān kakubhaḥ surāsurān vanāni deśān saritaḥ purākarān kheṭān vrajān āśrama-varṇa-vṛttayaḥ
Le sage vit l’univers entier : le ciel, les cieux et la terre, les étoiles, les montagnes et les océans, les grandes îles et continents, l’étendue de toutes les directions, les êtres pieux et démoniaques, devas et asuras. Il vit les forêts, les pays, les rivières, les cités et les mines, les villages agricoles et les pâturages, ainsi que les activités professionnelles et spirituelles des diverses divisions du varṇa-āśrama. Il vit aussi les grands éléments et tous leurs dérivés, et le Temps lui-même, qui règle la marche d’innombrables yuga et kalpa au sein des jours de Brahmā. Enfin, il vit tout ce qui est créé pour l’usage de la vie matérielle : tout se manifestait devant lui comme si c’était réel.
FAQs
This verse lists the visible and subtle components of the cosmos—sky, worlds, stars, mountains, oceans, continents, directions, devas and asuras, lands, rivers, cities, and social orders—showing the universe as an ordered manifestation perceived within a divine vision.
To present the entire range of existence—celestial, terrestrial, and societal—as one comprehensive field of manifestation, emphasizing that all categories of beings and places are included within the Lord’s all-pervading arrangement.
Seeing life as part of a vast, ordered creation can reduce ego-centered anxiety and increase humility, responsibility (dharma), and devotion—using one’s role and duties as a means to remember the Supreme.