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Chapter 13: The Appearance of Lord Varāha

Verse 30 of 50
SB 3.13.30

खुरैः क्षुरप्रैर्दरयंस्तदाप उत्पारपारं त्रिपरू रसायाम् ददर्श गां तत्र सुषुप्सुरग्रे यां जीवधानीं स्वयमभ्यधत्त

khuraiḥ kṣuraprair darayaṁs tad āpa utpāra-pāraṁ tri-parū rasāyām dadarśa gāṁ tatra suṣupsur agre yāṁ jīva-dhānīṁ svayam abhyadhatta

Synonyms

khuraiḥ—by the hoofs; kṣurapraiḥ—compared to a sharp weapon; darayan—penetrating; tat—that; āpaḥ—water; utpāra-pāram—found the limitation of the unlimited; tri-parūḥ—the master of all sacrifices; rasāyām—within the water; dadarśa—found; gām—the earth; tatra—there; suṣupsuḥ—lying; agre—in the beginning; yām—whom; jīva-dhānīm—the resting place for all living entities; svayam—personally; abhyadhatta—uplifted..

Translation

Lord Boar penetrated the water with His hoofs, which were like sharpened arrows, and He found out the limits of the ocean although it was unlimited. He saw the earth, the resting place for all living beings, lying as it was in the beginning of creation, and He personally lifted it.

Purport

The word rasāyām is sometimes interpreted to mean Rasātala, the lowest planetary system, but that is not applicable in this connection, according to Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura. The earth is seven times superior to the other planetary systems, namely Tala, Atala, Talātala, Vitala, Rasātala, Pātāla, etc. Therefore the earth cannot be situated in the Rasātala planetary system. It is described in the Viṣṇu-dharma:

pātāla-mūleśvara-bhoga-saṁhatau
vinyasya pādau pṛthivīṁ ca bibhrataḥ
yasyopamānaṁ na babhūva so 'cyuto
mamāstu māṅgalya-vivṛddhaye hariḥ

Therefore the Lord found the earth on the bottom of the Garbhodaka Ocean, where the planets rest during the devastation at the end of Brahmā's day.

Verse 30 of 50