Shloka 14
कृतयुगवर्णनम् तथा राजधर्मोपदेशः
Kṛtayuga Description and Instruction on Royal Dharma
शयानममितात्मानं पद्मोत्पलनिकेतनम् | त्वमेक: सर्वभूतेशं ब्रह्माणमुपतिष्ठसि,(महाप्रलयके समय) जब सूर्य, अग्नि, वायु, चन्द्रमा, अन्तरिक्ष और पृथ्वी आदिमेंसे कोई भी शेष नहीं रह जाता, समस्त चराचर जगत् उस एकार्णवके जलमें डूबकर अदृश्य हो जाता है, देवता और असुर नष्ट हो जाते हैं तथा बड़े-बड़े नागोंका संहार हो जाता है, उस समय कमल और उत्पलमें निवास तथा शयन करनेवाले सर्वभूतेश्वर अमितात्मा ब्रह्माजीके पास रहकर केवल आप ही उनकी उपासना करते हैं
vaiśampāyana uvāca | śayānam amitātmānaṃ padmotpalaniketanam | tvam ekaḥ sarvabhūteśaṃ brahmāṇam upatiṣṭhasi ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “At the time of the great dissolution, when sun, fire, wind, moon, the sky, and even the earth no longer remain, and the entire moving and unmoving world sinks into the single cosmic ocean and disappears—when gods and asuras perish and even mighty serpents are destroyed—then, while the Lord of all beings, Brahmā of immeasurable spirit, lies resting in a lotus-and-waterlily abode, you alone remain near him, standing in attendance and worship.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when all cosmic supports dissolve, steadfast devotion and service to the supreme principle (here expressed as attendance upon Brahmā, the Lord of beings) remains meaningful; it highlights impermanence of the world and the enduring value of worshipful duty.
The speaker describes the scene of mahāpralaya: the universe collapses into the primeval ocean, gods, asuras, and nāgas are destroyed, and in that desolation only ‘you’ remain, attending upon the reclining Brahmā in a lotus/waterlily abode.