Text 8] The Battle Between Lord Boar and Hiraṇyākṣa
707
fear of derision or unkind words from an enemy. The Lord had nothing to fear from anyone, yet He was merciful to His enemy by neglecting him. Although apparently He fled from the challenge, it was just to protect the earth from calamity that He tolerated Hiraṇyākṣa's deriding words.
TEXT 8
स गामुदस्तात्सतितस्य गोचरे 
    विन्यस्य तस्यामदधात्स्वसच्चम् । 
    अभिष्टुतो विश्वमृजा प्रसन्नै- 
    रापूर्यमाणो विबुधैः पश्यतोऽरेः ॥ ८ ॥
sa gām udastāt salilasya gocare 
    vinyasya tasyām adadhāt sva-sattvam 
    abhiṣṭuto viśva-sṛjā prasūnair 
    āpūryamāṇo vibudhaiḥ paśyato 'reḥ
saḥ—the Lord; gām—the earth; udastāt—on the surface; salilasya—of the water; gocare—within His sight; vinyasya—having placed; tasyām—to the earth; adadhāt—he invested; sva—His own; sattvam—existence; abhiṣṭutaḥ—praised; viśva-sṛjā—by Brahmā (the creator of the universe); prasūnaiḥ—by flowers; āpūryamāṇaḥ—becoming satisfied; vibudhaiḥ—by the demigods; paśyataḥ—while looking on; areḥ—the enemy.
TRANSLATION
The Lord placed the earth within His sight on the surface of the water and transferred to her His own energy in the form of the capacity to float on the water. While the enemy stood looking on, Brahmā, the creator of the universe, extolled the Lord, and the other demigods rained flowers on Him.
PURPORT
Those who are demons cannot understand how the Supreme Personality of Godhead floated the earth on water, but to devotees of the Lord this is not a very wonderful act. Not only the earth but many, many millions of planets are floating in the air, and this floating power is endowed to them by the Lord; there is no other possible explanation. The materialists can explain that the planets are floating by the law of gravitation, but the law of gravitation works under the control or direction of the Supreme Lord.