चेतस्तत्प्रवणं युंजन्न् अस्तावीत्संहतांजलिः श्लक्ष्णया सूक्तया वाचा सर्वलोकगरीयसः अत्रिरुवाच विश्वोद्भवस्थितिलयेषु विभज्यमानैर्मायागुणैरनुयुगं विगृहीतदेहाः ते ब्रह्मविष्णुगिरिशाः प्रणतो ऽस्म्यहं वस्तेभ्यः क एव भवतां म इहोपहूतः
cetas tat-pravaṇaṁ yuñjann astāvīt saṁhatāñjaliḥ ślakṣṇayā sūktayā vācā sarvaloka-garīyasaḥ atrir uvāca viśvodbhava-sthiti-layeṣu vibhajyamānair māyā-guṇair anuyugaṁ vigṛhīta-dehāḥ te brahma-viṣṇu-giriśāḥ praṇato 'smy ahaṁ vas tebhyaḥ ka eva bhavatāṁ ma ihopahūtaḥ
Synonyms
cetaḥ—heart; tat-pravaṇam—fixing on them; yuñjan—making; astāvīt—offered prayers; saṁhata-añjaliḥ—with folded hands; ślakṣṇayā—ecstatic; sūktayā—prayers; vācā—words; sarva-loka—all over the world; garīyasaḥ—honorable; atriḥ uvāca—Atri said; viśva—the universe; udbhava—creation; sthiti—maintenance; layeṣu—in destruction; vibhajyamānaiḥ—being divided; māyā-guṇaiḥ—by the external modes of nature; anuyugam—according to different millenniums; vigṛhīta—accepted; dehāḥ—bodies; te—they; brahma—Lord Brahmā; viṣṇu—Lord Viṣṇu; giriśāḥ—Lord Śiva; praṇataḥ—bowed; asmi—am; aham—I; vaḥ—unto you; tebhyaḥ—from them; kaḥ—who; eva—certainly; bhavatām—of you; me—by me; iha—here; upahūtaḥ—called for..
Translation
But since his heart was already attracted by the deities, somehow or other he gathered his senses, and with folded hands and sweet words he began to offer prayers to the predominating deities of the universe. The great sage Atri said: O Lord Brahmā, Lord Viṣṇu and Lord Śiva, you have divided yourself into three bodies by accepting the three modes of material nature, as you do in every millennium for the creation, maintenance and dissolution of the cosmic manifestation. I offer my respectful obeisances unto all of you and beg to inquire whom of you three I have called by my prayer.
Purport
Atri Ṛṣi called for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, jagadīśvara, the Lord of the universe. The Lord must exist before the creation, otherwise how could He be its Lord? If someone constructs a big building, this indicates that he must have existed before the building was constructed. Therefore the Supreme Lord, the creator of the universe, must be transcendental to the material modes of nature. But it is known that Viṣṇu takes charge of the mode of goodness, Brahmā takes charge of the mode of passion, and Lord Śiva takes charge of the mode of ignorance. Therefore Atri Muni said, "That jagadīśvara, the Lord of the universe, must be one of you, but since three of you have appeared, I cannot recognize whom I have called. You are all so kind. Please let me know who is actually jagadīśvara, the Lord of the universe." In fact Atri Ṛṣi was doubtful about the constitutional position of the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu, but he was quite certain that the Lord of the universe cannot be one of the creatures created by māyā. His very inquiry about whom he had called indicates that he was in doubt about the constitutional position of the Lord. Therefore he prayed to all three, "Kindly let me know who is the transcendental Lord of the universe." He was, of course, certain that not all of them could be the Lord, but the Lord of the universe was one of the three.