Shloka 63
श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः
Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma
अवाक् स्थितस्तु यः स्थायी कल्पान्ते परिवर्तते | स शेते भगवानप्सु योडसावतिबल: प्रभु: । तान् विधाता प्रसन्नात्मा लोकां श्वरति शाश्वतान्
avāk sthitas tu yaḥ sthāyī kalpānte parivartate | sa śete bhagavān apsu yo ’ḍasāvatibalaḥ prabhuḥ | tān vidhātā prasannātmā lokān śvarati śāśvatān | yo paravartī sanātanaḥ nārāyaṇaḥ pralayakāle ’pi vidyamānaḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：那位恒常不坏者，即便在劫末万象颠倒之时，仍是力无量、权至上的主宰。于劫尽之际，世尊卧于大水之中；又以安然之心为造物者，行于诸永恒世界之间。那超越一切变易的古老那罗延，即使在宇宙溶解之时亦常在。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes the permanence and sovereignty of Narayana: even when the cosmos undergoes reversal and dissolution at the end of a kalpa, the Lord remains present, serene, and in control—reclining in the cosmic waters and sustaining the order of eternal realms.
In Bhishma’s discourse on higher truths in the Shanti Parva, he describes the cosmic role of Narayana at the end of an aeon: the Lord rests in the waters during pralaya and, as the ordainer/creator, continues to preside over and move among the everlasting worlds.