Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvitiya Skandha, Shloka 40
Bhagavān’s Avatāras, Their Protections (Poṣaṇa), and the Limits of Knowing Him
विष्णोर्नु वीर्यगणनां कतमोऽर्हतीह य: पार्थिवान्यपि कविर्विममे रजांसि । चस्कम्भ य: स्वरहसास्खलता त्रिपृष्ठं यस्मात् त्रिसाम्यसदनादुरुकम्पयानम् ॥ ४० ॥
viṣṇor nu vīrya-gaṇanāṁ katamo ’rhatīha yaḥ pārthivāny api kavir vimame rajāṁsi caskambha yaḥ sva-rahasāskhalatā tri-pṛṣṭhaṁ yasmāt tri-sāmya-sadanād uru-kampayānam
Qui peut décrire pleinement la prouesse de Viṣṇu? Même le savant qui mesurerait la poussière des particules atomiques de l’univers ne le pourrait; car Lui, sous la forme de Trivikrama, leva le pied sans effort, dépassa le sommet de Satyaloka jusqu’à l’état d’équilibre des trois guṇa, et tout en fut ébranlé.
The highest scientific advancement of the material scientists is atomic energy. But the material scientist is not able to have an estimation of the particles of atoms contained in the whole universe. But even if one is able to count such atomic particles or is able to roll up the sky like one’s bedding, even then one is unable to estimate the extent of the prowess and energy of the Supreme Lord. He is known as Trivikrama because once, in His incarnation of Vāmana, He expanded His leg beyond the highest planetary system, Satyaloka, and reached the neutral state of the modes of nature called the covering of the material world. There are seven layers of material coverings over the material sky, and the Lord could penetrate even those coverings. With His toe He made a hole through which the water of the Causal Ocean filters into the material sky, and the current is known as the sacred Ganges, which purifies the planets of the three worlds. In other words, no one is equal to the transcendentally powerful Viṣṇu. He is omnipotent, and no one is equal to or greater than Him.
FAQs
This verse declares that no one is truly capable of counting Viṣṇu’s heroic deeds, because His power effortlessly measures and sustains the cosmos—down to the smallest particles and up to the stability of the heavenly realms.
In Canto 2, Śukadeva is establishing the supremacy of the Lord behind all incarnations and cosmic functions, guiding Parīkṣit to fix his mind on the unlimited Personality of Godhead as the essence of spiritual realization.
It cultivates humility and faith: instead of trying to control everything, one practices devotion and steady remembrance, trusting the Supreme who sustains order even when life feels unstable.