Shloka 15
Brahmā’s Prayers to Lord Nārāyaṇa and the Lord’s Empowering Instructions for Creation
यस्यावतारगुणकर्मविडम्बनानि नामानि येऽसुविगमे विवशा गृणन्ति । तेऽनैकजन्मशमलं सहसैव हित्वा संयान्त्यपावृतामृतं तमजं प्रपद्ये ॥ १५ ॥
yasyāvatāra-guṇa-karma-viḍambanāni nāmāni ye ’su-vigame vivaśā gṛṇanti te ’naika-janma-śamalaṁ sahasaiva hitvā saṁyānty apāvṛtāmṛtaṁ tam ajaṁ prapadye
मैं उस अजन्मा प्रभु के चरणकमलों की शरण लेता हूँ, जिनके अवतार, गुण और कर्म लोक-व्यवहार की रहस्यमय नकल जैसे हैं। जो प्राणी देह त्यागते समय विवश होकर भी उनके दिव्य नाम का उच्चारण कर लेता है, वह अनेक जन्मों के पाप को तुरंत त्यागकर निश्चय ही उस प्रकट अमृतस्वरूप प्रभु को प्राप्त होता है।
The activities of the incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are a kind of imitation of the activities going on in the material world. He is just like an actor on a stage. An actor imitates the activities of a king on stage, although actually he is not the king. Similarly, when the Lord incarnates, He imitates parts with which He has nothing to do. In Bhagavad-gītā (4.14) , it is said that the Lord has nothing to do with the activities in which He is supposedly engaged: na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti na me karma-phale spṛhā. The Lord is omnipotent; simply by His will He can perform anything and everything. When the Lord appeared as Lord Kṛṣṇa, He played the part of the son of Yaśodā and Nanda, and He lifted the Govardhana Hill, although lifting a hill is not His concern. He can lift millions of Govardhana Hills by His simple desire; He does not need to lift it with His hand. But He imitates the ordinary living entity by this lifting, and at the same time He exhibits His supernatural power. Thus His name is chanted as the lifter of Govardhana Hill, or Śrī Govardhana-dhārī. Therefore, His acts in His incarnations and His partiality to the devotees are all imitations only, just like the stage makeup of an expert dramatical player. His acts in that capacity, however, are all omnipotent, and the remembrance of such activities of the incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is as powerful as the Lord Himself. Ajāmila remembered the holy name of the Lord, Nārāyaṇa, by merely calling the name of his son Nārāyaṇa, and that gave him a complete opportunity to achieve the highest perfection of life.
FAQs
This verse says that even if one helplessly utters the Lord’s names at life’s departure, the sins of many births are immediately destroyed and the soul attains the unborn Lord and the revealed nectar of immortality.
In his prayers, Brahmā seeks empowerment for creation and glorifies the Supreme Lord’s names, incarnations, and pastimes, emphasizing that remembrance of the Lord is the sure path to purification and liberation.
Practice daily nāma-smaraṇa (chanting/remembering God’s names) so that remembrance becomes natural; the verse highlights that such remembrance purifies deeply and prepares one for a peaceful, God-centered end of life.