Text 5
yāḥ kāś ca bhūmau divi vai rasāyāṁ
vibhūtayo dikṣu mahā-vibhūte
tā mahyam ākhyāhy anubhāvitās te
namāmi te tīrtha-padāṅghri-padmam
yāḥ kāḥ — whatever; ca — also; bhūmau — on the earth; divi — in heaven; vai — indeed; rasāyām — in hell; vibhūtayaḥ — potencies; dikṣu — in all directions; mahā-vibhūte — O supremely potent; tāḥ — those; mahyam — unto me; ākhyāhi — please explain; anubhāvitāḥ — manifested; te — by You; namāmi — I offer my humble obeisances; te — Your; tīrtha-pada — the abode of all holy places; aṅghri-padmam — at the lotus feet.
O supremely potent Lord, please explain to me Your innumerable potencies, which You manifest on the earth, in heaven, in hell and indeed in all directions. I offer my humble obeisances at Your lotus feet, which are the shelter of all holy places.
Uddhava here inquires about the Lord’s material and spiritual potencies, as manifested within our universe. Just as ordinary animals or insects living in human cities cannot appreciate the scientific, cultural or military achievements of man, similarly, foolish materialists cannot appreciate the mighty opulences of the Personality of Godhead, even those manifested within our universe. For the appreciation of ordinary human beings Uddhava requests the Lord to reveal exactly how and in what forms He expands His potencies. As already explained, the Lord is the essential ingredient of all that exists, and thus any mighty or opulent manifestation must ultimately rest on the Lord Himself.