अथ त्वमसि नो ब्रह्मन्परमात्मन्विपश्चिताम् विश्वं रुद्रभयध्वस्तमकुतश्चिद्भया गतिः
atha tvam asi no brahman paramātman vipaścitām viśvaṁ rudra-bhaya-dhvastam akutaścid-bhayā gatiḥ
Synonyms
atha—therefore; tvam—my Lord; asi—are; naḥ—our; brahman—O Supreme Brahman; paramātman—O Supersoul; vipaścitām—for the learned wise men; viśvam—the whole universe; rudra-bhaya—being afraid of Rudra; dhvastam—annihilated; akutaścit-bhayā—undoubtedly fearless; gatiḥ—destination..
Translation
My dear Lord, all actually learned persons know You as the Supreme Brahman and the Supersoul. Although the entire universe is afraid of Lord Rudra, who ultimately annihilates everything, for the learned devotees You are the fearless destination of all.
Purport
For the purpose of creation, maintenance and annihilation of this cosmic manifestation, there are three lords—Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva (Maheśvara). The material body is finished at the time of annihilation. Both the universal body and the small unit, the individual living entity's body, are susceptible to annihilation at the ultimate end. However, the devotees do not fear the annihilation of the body, for they are confident that they will go back home, back to Godhead after the annihilation. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā:
janma karma ca me divyam
evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma
naiti mām eti so 'rjuna
"One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna." (Bg. 4.9)
If one strictly follows the process of devotional service, he has no fear of death, for he is predestined to go back home, back to Godhead. The nondevotees are fearful of death because they have no guarantee of where they are going or of the type of body they are going to get in their next life. The word rudra-bhaya is significant in this verse because Rudra himself, Lord Śiva, is speaking of "fear of Rudra." This indicates that there are many Rudras—eleven Rudras—and the Rudra (Lord Śiva) who was offering this prayer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is different from the other Rudras, although he is as powerful as they are. The conclusion is that one Rudra is afraid of another Rudra because each and every one of them is engaged in the destruction of this cosmic manifestation. But for the devotee, everyone is afraid of Rudra, even Rudra himself. A devotee is never afraid of Rudra because he is always secure, being protected by the lotus feet of the Lord. As Śrī Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā:
kṣipraṁ bhavati dharmātmā
śaśvac-chāntiṁ nigacchati
kaunteya pratijānīhi
na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati
"He quickly becomes righteous and attains lasting peace. O son of Kuntī, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes." (Bg. 9.31)