460 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

TEXT 119

otetexaise-carwa afedt-faeta |
BA AFSC ACE AGA-CTFIF ti SSB U1

paficdsat-koti-yojana prthivi-vistara
yanra eka-phane rahe sarsapa-akGra

SYNONYMS

paficasat—fifty; Roti—ten millions; yojana—eight miles; prthivi—of the universe;
vistara—breadth; ydafra—whose; eka-phane—on one of the hoods; rahe—stays;
sarsapa-akara—like a mustard seed.

TRANSLATION

The universe, which measures five hundred million yojanas in diameter, rests on
one of His hoods like a mustard seed.

PURPORT

The Lord of Svetadvipa expands Himself as Sesa Naga, who sustains all the planets
upon His innumerable hoods. These huge. global spheres are compared to grains of
mustard resting on the spiritual hoods of Sesa Naga. The scientists’ law of gravity is
a partial explanation of Lord Safikarsana’s energy. The name “‘Safkarsana” has an
etymological relationship to the idea of gravity. There is a reference to Sesa Naga in
the Bhdgavata Purdna (5.17.21), where it is said:

yam Ghur asya sthiti-janma-sarhyamam
tribhir vihinarm yam anantam fsayah

na veda siddartham iva kvacit sthitarh
bha-mandalarh mardha-sahasra-dhadmasu

“O my Lord, the hymns of the Vedas proclaim that You are the effective cause for
the creation, maintenance and destruction. But in fact You are transcendental to all
limitations and are therefore known as unlimited. On Your thousands of hoods rest
the innumerable global spheres, like grains of mustard so insignificant that You have
no perception of their weight.” The Bhdgavatam further says (5.25.2):

yasyedarh ksiti-mandalam bhagavato
‘nanta-mirteh sahasra-sirasa ekasminn
eva Sirsani dhriyamanam siddhartha iva laksyate

“Lord Anantadeva has thousands of hoods, Each sustains a global sphere that appears
like a grain of mustard.”
