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
ਪ੍ਰਭੂ ਨੇ ਸਭ ਜੀਵਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੇ ਸੁਖਮ ਦੇਹਾਂ ਸਮੇਤ ਆਪਣੇ ਅੰਦਰ ਧਾਰਨ ਕਰਕੇ ਕਾਲ-ਸਰੂਪ ਸ਼ਕਤੀ ਨੂੰ ਉਤੇਜਿਤ ਕੀਤਾ ਅਤੇ ਪ੍ਰਲਯ ਦੇ ਜਲ ਵਿੱਚ ਆਪਣੇ ਹੀ ਪਦ ਵਿੱਚ ਵੱਸਿਆ—ਜਿਵੇਂ ਲੱਕੜ ਵਿੱਚ ਅੱਗ ਦੀ ਤਾਕਤ ਅੰਦਰ ਹੀ ਰੁਕੀ ਰਹਿੰਦੀ ਹੈ।
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.