20
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 4, Ch. 1]
tat —their;  prādurbhāva —appearance;  saṁyoga —simultaneously;  vidyotita —enlightened;  manāḥ —in the mind;  muniḥ —the great sage;  uttiṣṭhan —being awakened;  eka-pādena —even on one leg;  dadarśa —saw;  vibudha —demigods;  ṛṣabhān —the great personalities.
TRANSLATION
The sage was standing on one leg, but as soon as he saw that the three deities had appeared before him, he was so pleased to see them all together that despite great difficulty he approached them on one leg.
TEXT 24
प्रणम्य दण्डवद्भुभावुपतस्येर्धणाञ्जलिः । वृषहंससुपर्णस्यान् स्वैः स्वैश्चिह्नैश्च विहितान् ॥२४॥
praṇamya daṇḍavad bhūmāv upatasthe 'rhaṇāñjaliḥ vṛṣa-haṁsa-suparṇa-sthān svaiḥ svaiś cihnaiś ca cihnitān
praṇamya —offering obeisances;  daṇḍavat —like a rod;  bhūmau —ground;  upatasthe —fell down;  arhaṇa —all paraphernalia for worship;  añjaliḥ —folded hands;  vṛṣa —bull;  haṁsa —swan;  suparṇa —the Garuḍa bird;  sthān —situated;  svaiḥ —own;  svaiḥ —own;  cihnaiḥ —by symbols;  ca —and  cihnitān —being recognized.
TRANSLATION
Thereafter he began to offer prayers to the three deities, who were seated on different carriers—a bull, a swan and Garuḍa—and who held in their hands a drum, kuśa grass and a discus. The sage offered them his respects by falling down like a stick.
PURPORT
Daṇḍa  means a long rod, and  vat  means like. Before a superior, one has to fall down on the ground just like a stick, and this sort of offering of respect is called  daṇḍavat . Atri Rṣi offered his respect to the three deities in that way. They were identified by their different carriers and different