11.24 nabhasspruSam dhIptham anEkavarNam

SrI:  SrImathE SatakOpAya nama:  SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama:  SrImath varavaramunayE nama:

Chapter 11

<< Chapter 11 verse 23

SlOkam – Original

nabhasspruSam dhIptham anEkavarNam vyAththAnanam dhIpthaviSAlanEthram |
dhrushtvA hi thvA pravyathithAntharAthmA dhruthim na vindhAmi Samam cha vishNO ||

word-by-word meaning

vishNO – Oh vishNu!
nabhasspruSam – standing tall, in contact with paramapadham (spiritual realm)
dhIptham – shining
anEka varNam – having many colours
vyAththAnanam – having wide open mouth
dhIptha vishAla nEthram – having wide and shining eyes
thvA – you
dhrushtvA – seeing
pravyathithAntharAthmA – I who am frightened
dhruthim – sustaining the body
Samam cha – the control of mind, senses etc
na vindhAmi hi – have not achieved, isn’t it?

Simple Translation

Oh vishNu! Having seen your form which is standing tall, in contact with paramapadham (spiritual realm), which is shining, which is having many colours, wide open mouth and wide and shining eyes, isn’t it true that I, who am frightened, have not achieved sustenance of body,  control of mind, senses etc?

Rendering based on ALkoNdavilli gOvindhAchArya swAmy’s English translation of gIthA bhAshyam

‘O Vishṇu[1. The 259th and 663rd name of God = He who pervades all.]! my very inner self quakes at seeing You reaching the firmament, effulgent, of numerous colors, wide-opened mouths, and large shining eyes; and neither courage nor peace can I command.’

The term nabhas= firmament or vault above, is in reference to the parama-vyoma or the Supreme Space or Regions above, beyond the three Guṇas, (or the Heavens) chanted in the Śrutis as :—

‘That in the High Imperishable Vault (vyoma)’[2. ‘Tad akshare parame vyoman’ ahā-Nār: Up: I.].,

‘The Sun-colored, beyond Tamas’[3. ‘Āditya-varṇam tamasaḥ parastat’ Tait: Araṇ: III-13.],.

‘The Dweller beyond this Rajas’[4. ‘Kshayantam asya rajasaḥ parāke’ Tait: Samh: II-2-12.],.

‘He who is his (soul’s) Supervisor, in the sublime firmament (vyoma),’[5. ‘Yo asy-ādhyakshaḥ parame vpyoman’. Tait: Samḥ: II-2-12.] etc.

Nabhas-spṛiśam = reaching the firmament, means that You are the (infinite) Shelter or Receptacle of all the changeful Prakṛiti-principle, and the Purusha-principle in all its several states of existence (bound, free etc). Also in a previous stanza, it was declared:—

‘Indeed is the interval between the heavens and the earth filled’ etc (Gita: XI—20).

Antarātma=my very inner soul, means the mind.

Courage: To sustain bodily existence.

Peace=Placidity for the senses.

O Vishṇu=O You, Who are all-Pervading!

At sight of Your most Miraculous and Awful Apparition, all my limbs quiver and all my senses are aghast.

>> Chapter 11 verse 25

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