Shloka 43
Kardama Muni’s Mystic Opulence, Devahūti’s Rejuvenation, and the Turning Toward Fearlessness
प्रेक्षयित्वा भुवो गोलं पत्न्यै यावान् स्वसंस्थया । बह्वाश्चर्यं महायोगी स्वाश्रमाय न्यवर्तत ॥ ४३ ॥
prekṣayitvā bhuvo golaṁ patnyai yāvān sva-saṁsthayā bahv-āścaryaṁ mahā-yogī svāśramāya nyavartata
Sau khi cho vợ thấy quả cầu vũ trụ cùng những sắp đặt khác nhau đầy kỳ diệu, đại yogī Kardama Muni trở về ẩn thất của mình.
All the planets are here described as gola, round. Every planet is round, and each planet is a different shelter, just like islands in the great ocean. Planets are sometimes called dvīpa or varṣa. This earth planet is called Bhārata-varṣa because it was ruled by King Bharata. Another significant word used in this verse is bahv-āścaryam, “many wonderful things.” This indicates that the different planets are distributed all over the universe in the eight directions, and each and every one of them is wonderful in itself. Each planet has its particular climatic influences and particular types of inhabitants and is completely equipped with everything, including the beauty of the seasons. In the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.40) it is similarly stated, vibhūti-bhinnam: on each and every planet there are different opulences. It cannot be expected that one planet is exactly like another. By God’s grace, by nature’s law, each and every planet is made differently and has different wonderful features. All such wonders were personally experienced by Kardama Muni while he traveled with his wife, yet he could return again to his humble hermitage. He showed his princess-wife that although he was living in the hermitage, he had the power to go everywhere and do anything by mystic yoga. That is the perfection of yoga. One cannot become a perfect yogī simply by showing some sitting postures, nor by such sitting postures or so-called meditation can one become God, as is being advertised. Foolish persons are misled into believing that simply by some caricature of meditation and sitting postures one can become God within six months.
FAQs
This verse shows Kardama Muni using yogic perfection to reveal the vast earth to Devahūti, indicating siddhis can arise from advanced yoga, yet the narrative emphasizes returning to spiritual life in the āśrama rather than being absorbed in wonders.
Within the story of their life together, Kardama fulfills Devahūti’s desires and demonstrates his yogic capability; after displaying many marvels, he returns with her to the hermitage, pointing back toward the higher purpose of spiritual progress.
Use abilities and achievements responsibly, but don’t let “wonders” distract from the main goal—steady spiritual practice and a life anchored in dharma, simplicity, and devotion.