Text 56
śrī-śaṅkara uvāca
vayaṁ na tāta prabhavāma bhūmni
yasmin pare ’nye ’py aja-jīva-kośāḥ
bhavanti kāle na bhavanti hīdṛśāḥ
sahasraśo yatra vayaṁ bhramāmaḥ
śrī-śaṅkaraḥ uvāca — Lord Śiva said; vayam — we; na — not; tāta — O my dear son; prabhavāmaḥ — sufficiently able; bhūmni — unto the great Supreme Personality of Godhead; yasmin — in whom; pare — in the Transcendence; anye — others; api — even; aja — Lord Brahmā; jīva — living entities; kośāḥ — the universes; bhavanti — can become; kāle — in due course of time; na — not; bhavanti — can become; hi — indeed; īdṛśāḥ — like this; sahasraśaḥ — many thousands and millions; yatra — wherein; vayam — all of us; bhramāmaḥ — are rotating.
Lord Śiva said: My dear son, I, Lord Brahmā and the other demigods, who rotate within this universe under the misconception of our greatness, cannot exhibit any power to compete with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for innumerable universes and their inhabitants come into existence and are annihilated by the simple direction of the Lord.
There are innumerable universes in the material world, and there are innumerable Lord Brahmās, Lord Śivas and other demigods. All of them rotate within this material world under the supreme direction of the Personality of Godhead. Therefore no one is able to compete with the strength of the Lord. Lord Śiva also refused to protect Durvāsā, for Lord Śiva also was under the rays of the Sudarśana cakra sent by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.