Shloka 38

Hari in the Primeval Waters: Prakṛti as Veil, the ‘Sleep’ Metaphor, and Brahmā’s Lotus-Channel Inquiry

Devanagari script

दृश्यते मद्भयं तस्य हरिप्रीत्यर्थमेव च / भयाकामवतीवानमुवास्तवमीरितम्

Transliteration

dṛśyate madbhayaṃ tasya hariprītyarthameva ca / bhayākāmavatīvānamuvāstavamīritam

Translation

उसमें मेरा भय दिखाई देता है, पर वह केवल हरि को प्रसन्न करने के लिए है; मानो भय-रस की कामना करने वाली स्त्री हो, वैसे ही उसने वह घोषित स्तोत्र उच्चारित किया।

Word by Word

• dṛśyate: is seen/appears
• dṛśyate: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (passive): ‘is seen’

• mat-bhayam: fear of me / my fear
• mat-bhayam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mad (अस्मद्-प्रातिपदिक) + bhaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष): ‘my fear’/‘fear of me’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• tasya: of him/of it
• tasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (genitive), एकवचन

• hari-prīti-artham: for Hari’s pleasure
• hari-prīti-artham: Prayojana (प्रयोजन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक) + prīti (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमास: ‘for the sake of Hari’s pleasure’; (formally नपुंसक एकवचन द्वितीया)

• eva: only/indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक निपात (emphatic particle)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• bhayā-kāma-vatī-iva: as if (she were) one desiring fear
• bhayā-kāma-vatī-iva: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhayā (प्रातिपदिक) + kāma (प्रातिपदिक) + vatī (प्रत्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + iva (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमावाचक ‘iva’ सहित क्रियाविशेषणवत् प्रयोगः; ‘bhayākāmavatī’ = भयाकामा + वती (possessing desire for fear) स्त्रीलिङ्ग प्रथमा एकवचन (as a simile)

• anubhūta-vāstavam: (something) experienced as real
• anubhūta-vāstavam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anubhūta (कृदन्त; anu+bhū धातु, क्त) + vāstava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारयसमास: ‘experienced as real’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• īritam: is stated/declared
• īritam: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: īr (धातु) + क्त (past passive participle)
• Form: क्तान्त कृदन्त (PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विधेय (predicate): ‘is said/declared’

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Bhaya can be adopted as a bhakti-bhāva (devotional mood) not from bondage but as an offering to Hari; emotions may be consciously shaped for devotion.

Vedantic Theme: Bhakti as upāya within māyā; transformation of vṛttis into īśvara-arpita (offered to God).

Application: Channel intense emotions (fear, awe) into devotion—use them to remember Viṣṇu, recite hymns, and cultivate humility rather than panic.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhakti

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana bhakti passages where nāma/stotra and bhāva please Viṣṇu

Characters & Entities

• Hari

FAQs

What is the importance of devotional fear (bhaya-bhakti) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse frames fear of the Lord not as panic but as a consciously adopted devotional mood meant to please Hari, turning emotion into disciplined reverence.

How does this verse relate to the soul’s path and afterlife concerns in the Garuda Purana?

By emphasizing stotra and God-centered intention, it implies that inner orientation (bhakti) supports purification and steadiness—key themes in preparing the jīva for post-death transitions described in the Preta Kanda.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Cultivate reverent accountability (fear as moral restraint), and channel it into daily prayer or hymn-recitation with the intention of pleasing Hari rather than acting from anxiety.