Shloka 11
Transmission of Bhāgavata Wisdom and Brahmā’s Vision of the Supreme Lord on Ananta
सोऽन्त:शरीरेऽर्पितभूतसूक्ष्म: कालात्मिकां शक्तिमुदीरयाण: । उवास तस्मिन् सलिले पदे स्वे यथानलो दारुणि रुद्धवीर्य: ॥ ११ ॥
so ’ntaḥ śarīre ’rpita-bhūta-sūkṣmaḥ kālātmikāṁ śaktim udīrayāṇaḥ uvāsa tasmin salile pade sve yathānalo dāruṇi ruddha-vīryaḥ
भगवान् ने समस्त जीवों को उनके सूक्ष्म शरीरों सहित अपने भीतर समर्पित कर, कालस्वरूपिणी शक्ति को उद्बुद्ध किया और प्रलय-जल में अपने ही धाम-तुल्य स्थान पर स्थित रहे—जैसे लकड़ी में अग्नि का तेज भीतर ही रुद्ध रहता है।
After the three worlds — the upper, lower and middle planetary systems — merged into the water of dissolution, the living entities of all the three worlds remained in their subtle bodies by dint of the energy called kāla. In this dissolution, the gross bodies became unmanifest, but the subtle bodies existed, just like the water of the material creation. Thus the material energy was not completely wound up, as is the case in the full dissolution of the material world.
FAQs
This verse states that the Lord activates His kāla-ātmikā śakti—time as His potency—to stir the subtle elements and initiate the unfolding of creation.
Śukadeva describes Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, who remains in the Garbhodaka waters while holding the subtle elements within Himself.
Just as fire can be present yet unmanifest within wood, divine power and the seeds of creation can exist in a subtle, contained state until awakened by the Lord’s will and time.