राम

Harivaṃśa-parva

Harivaṃśa · Adhyāya 40

47 versesViṣṇu in Brahmaloka

Synopsis

Hari the Lord, honored by the ṛṣis, enters the ancient Brahma-seat, the divine Nārāyaṇāśrama. Inviting the gathered ones, he pays reverence to the Ādideva Brahmā the lotus-born. A long meditative passage lingers on Viṣṇu's sleep and waking: the gods cannot even look upon the sleeping imperishable one; he sleeps at the close of the hot season and wakes at the ending of the rains. The chapter closes with Viṣṇu, rising from his supreme bed among the knowers of brahman, offering himself: "For your welfare I stand; what shall I do for you?"

First-pass synopsis; pending review by a Sanskritist.

Verse 1

ऋषिभिः पूजितस् तैस् तु विवेश हरिर् ईश्वरः पौराणं ब्रह्मसदनं दिव्यं नारायणाश्रमम्

ṛṣibhiḥ pūjitas tais tu viveśa harir īśvaraḥ paurāṇaṃ brahmasadanaṃ divyaṃ nārāyaṇāśramam

Honored by those ṛṣis, Hari the Lord entered the ancient Brahma-seat, the divine Nārāyaṇa-hermitage.

Verse 2

स तत्र विविशे हृष्टस् तान् आमन्त्र्य सदोगतान् प्रणम्य चादिदेवाय ब्रह्मणे पद्मयोनये

sa tatra viviśe hṛṣṭas tān āmantrya sadogatān praṇamya cādidevāya brahmaṇe padmayonaye

Verse 3

स्वेन नाम्ना परिज्ञातं स तं नारायणाश्रमम् प्रविशन्न् एव भगवान् आयुधानि व्यसर्जयत्

svena nāmnā parijñātaṃ sa taṃ nārāyaṇāśramam praviśann eva bhagavān āyudhāni vyasarjayat

Verse 4

स तत्राम्बुपतिप्रख्यं ददर्शालयम् आत्मनः स्वधिष्ठितं भूतगणैः शाश्वतैश् च महर्षिभिः

sa tatrāmbupatiprakhyaṃ dadarśālayam ātmanaḥ svadhiṣṭhitaṃ bhūtagaṇaiḥ śāśvataiś ca maharṣibhiḥ

Verse 5

संवर्तकाम्बुदोपेतं नक्षत्रस्थानसंकुलम् तिमिरौघपरिक्षिप्तम् अप्रधृष्यं सुरासुरैः

saṃvartakāmbudopetaṃ nakṣatrasthānasaṃkulam timiraughaparikṣiptam apradhṛṣyaṃ surāsuraiḥ

Verse 6

न तत्र विषयो वायोर् नेन्दोर् नापि विवस्वतः वपुषा पद्मनाभस्य स देशस् तेजसा वृतः

na tatra viṣayo vāyor nendor nāpi vivasvataḥ vapuṣā padmanābhasya sa deśas tejasā vṛtaḥ

Verse 7

स तत्र प्रविशन्न् एव जटाभारं समुद्वहन् स सहस्रशिरा भूत्वा शयनायोपचक्रमे

sa tatra praviśann eva jaṭābhāraṃ samudvahan sa sahasraśirā bhūtvā śayanāyopacakrame

Verse 8

लोकानाम् अन्तकालज्ञा काली नयनशालिनी उपतस्थे महात्मानं निद्रा तं कालरूपिणी

lokānām antakālajñā kālī nayanaśālinī upatasthe mahātmānaṃ nidrā taṃ kālarūpiṇī

Verse 9

विश्वस्य जगतः प्रभुम् नारायणं विश्वबीजम् स शिश्ये शयने दिव्ये समुद्राम्भोदशीतले हरिर् एकार्णवोक्तेन व्रतेन व्रतिनां वरः

viśvasya jagataḥ prabhum nārāyaṇaṃ viśvabījam sa śiśye śayane divye samudrāmbhodaśītale harir ekārṇavoktena vratena vratināṃ varaḥ

Verse 10

तं शयानं महात्मानं भवाय जगतः प्रभुम् उपासां चक्रिरे विष्णुं देवाः सर्षिगणास् तदा

taṃ śayānaṃ mahātmānaṃ bhavāya jagataḥ prabhum upāsāṃ cakrire viṣṇuṃ devāḥ sarṣigaṇās tadā

Verse 11

तस्य सुप्तस्य शुशुभे नाभिमध्यात् समुत्थितम् आद्यस्य सदनं पद्मं ब्रह्मणः सूर्यसंनिभम्

tasya suptasya śuśubhe nābhimadhyāt samutthitam ādyasya sadanaṃ padmaṃ brahmaṇaḥ sūryasaṃnibham

Verse 12

सहस्रपत्रं वर्णाढ्यं सुकुमारं विभूषितम् ब्रह्मसूत्रोद्यतकरः स्वपन्न् एव महामुनिः आवर्तयति लोकानां सर्वेषां कालपर्ययम्

sahasrapatraṃ varṇāḍhyaṃ sukumāraṃ vibhūṣitam brahmasūtrodyatakaraḥ svapann eva mahāmuniḥ āvartayati lokānāṃ sarveṣāṃ kālaparyayam

Verse 13

विवृतात् तस्य वदनान् निःश्वासपवनेरिताः प्रजानां पङ्क्तयो ह्य् ओघैर् निष्पतन्ति विशन्ति च

vivṛtāt tasya vadanān niḥśvāsapavaneritāḥ prajānāṃ paṅktayo hy oghair niṣpatanti viśanti ca

Verse 14

ते सृष्टाः प्राणिनाम् ओघा विभक्ता ब्रह्मणा स्वयम् चतुर्धा स्वां गतिं जग्मुः कृतान्तोक्तेन कर्मणा

te sṛṣṭāḥ prāṇinām oghā vibhaktā brahmaṇā svayam caturdhā svāṃ gatiṃ jagmuḥ kṛtāntoktena karmaṇā

Verse 15

न तं वेद स्वयं ब्रह्मा नापि ब्रह्मर्षयो ऽव्ययाः विष्णुं निद्रामयं योगं प्रविष्टं तमसावृतम्

na taṃ veda svayaṃ brahmā nāpi brahmarṣayo 'vyayāḥ viṣṇuṃ nidrāmayaṃ yogaṃ praviṣṭaṃ tamasāvṛtam

Verse 16

ते तु ब्रह्मर्षयः सर्वे पितामहपुरोगमाः न विदुस् तं क्वचित् सुप्तं क्वचिद् आसीनम् आसने

te tu brahmarṣayaḥ sarve pitāmahapurogamāḥ na vidus taṃ kvacit suptaṃ kvacid āsīnam āsane

Verse 17

जागर्ति को ऽत्र कः शेते कः श्वसन् कश् च नेङ्गते को भोगवान् को द्युतिमान् कृष्णात् कृष्णतरश् च कः

jāgarti ko 'tra kaḥ śete kaḥ śvasan kaś ca neṅgate ko bhogavān ko dyutimān kṛṣṇāt kṛṣṇataraś ca kaḥ

Verse 18

विमृशन्ति स्म तं देवं दिव्याभिर् उपपत्तिभिः वाक्यैर् ब्रह्मपदैश् चापि प्रमाणैः सर्वलक्षणैः न चैनं शेकुर् अन्वेष्टुं कर्मतो जन्मतो ऽपि वा

vimṛśanti sma taṃ devaṃ divyābhir upapattibhiḥ vākyair brahmapadaiś cāpi pramāṇaiḥ sarvalakṣaṇaiḥ na cainaṃ śekur anveṣṭuṃ karmato janmato 'pi vā

Verse 19

कथाभिस् तत्प्रदिष्टाभिर् ये तस्य चरितं विदुः पुराणं तं पुराणेषु ऋषयः संप्रचक्षते

kathābhis tatpradiṣṭābhir ye tasya caritaṃ viduḥ purāṇaṃ taṃ purāṇeṣu ṛṣayaḥ saṃpracakṣate

Verse 20

श्रूयते चास्य चरितं देवेष्व् अपि पुरातनम् महापुराणात् प्रभृति परं तस्य न विद्यते

śrūyate cāsya caritaṃ deveṣv api purātanam mahāpurāṇāt prabhṛti paraṃ tasya na vidyate

Verse 21

तत् पुराणाद् ऋते तस्य चरितं नैव विद्यते यच् चास्य वेद वेदो ऽपि चरितं स्वप्रभावजम् तेनेमाः श्रुतयो व्याप्ता वैदिका लौकिकाश् च याः

tat purāṇād ṛte tasya caritaṃ naiva vidyate yac cāsya veda vedo 'pi caritaṃ svaprabhāvajam tenemāḥ śrutayo vyāptā vaidikā laukikāś ca yāḥ

Verse 22

भवकाले भवत्य् एष लोकानां भूतभावनः दानवानाम् अभावाय जागर्ति मधुसूदनः

bhavakāle bhavaty eṣa lokānāṃ bhūtabhāvanaḥ dānavānām abhāvāya jāgarti madhusūdanaḥ

Verse 23

यदैनं वीक्षितुं देवा न शेकुः सुप्तम् अच्युतम् ततः स्वपिति घर्मान्ते जागर्ति जलदक्षये

yadainaṃ vīkṣituṃ devā na śekuḥ suptam acyutam tataḥ svapiti gharmānte jāgarti jaladakṣaye

Verse 24

स हि यज्ञाश् च वेदाश् च यज्ञाङ्गानि च सर्वशः या तु यज्ञगतिः प्रोक्ता स एष पुरुषोत्तमः तस्मिन् सुप्ते न वर्तन्ते मन्त्रपूताः क्रतुक्रियाः शरत्प्रवृत्तयज्ञो हि जागर्ति मधुसूदनः

sa hi yajñāś ca vedāś ca yajñāṅgāni ca sarvaśaḥ yā tu yajñagatiḥ proktā sa eṣa puruṣottamaḥ tasmin supte na vartante mantrapūtāḥ kratukriyāḥ śaratpravṛttayajño hi jāgarti madhusūdanaḥ

Verse 25

शरत्प्रभृति यज्ञा हि जाग्रति श्रीधरे हरौ तद् इदं वार्षिकं चक्रं कारयत्य् अम्बुदेश्वरः वैष्णवं कर्म कुर्वाणः सुप्ते विष्णौ पुरंदरः

śaratprabhṛti yajñā hi jāgrati śrīdhare harau tad idaṃ vārṣikaṃ cakraṃ kārayaty ambudeśvaraḥ vaiṣṇavaṃ karma kurvāṇaḥ supte viṣṇau puraṃdaraḥ

Verse 26

या ह्य् एषा गह्वरी माया निद्रेति जगति स्थिता अकस्माद् द्वेषिणी घोरा कालरात्रिर् महीक्षिताम्

yā hy eṣā gahvarī māyā nidreti jagati sthitā akasmād dveṣiṇī ghorā kālarātrir mahīkṣitām

Verse 27

अस्यास् तनुस् तमोद्वारा निशादिवसनाशिनी जीवितार्धहरी घोरा सर्वप्राणभृतां भुवि

asyās tanus tamodvārā niśādivasanāśinī jīvitārdhaharī ghorā sarvaprāṇabhṛtāṃ bhuvi

Verse 28

नैतया कश्चिद् आविष्टो जृम्भमाणो मुहुर् मुहुः शक्तः प्रसहितुं वेगं मज्जन्न् इव महार्णवे

naitayā kaścid āviṣṭo jṛmbhamāṇo muhur muhuḥ śaktaḥ prasahituṃ vegaṃ majjann iva mahārṇave

Verse 29

अन्नजा भुवि मर्त्यानां श्रमजा वा कथंचन नैशा भवति लोकस्य निद्रा सर्वस्य लौकिकी

annajā bhuvi martyānāṃ śramajā vā kathaṃcana naiśā bhavati lokasya nidrā sarvasya laukikī

Verse 30

स्वप्नान्ते क्षीयते ह्य् एषा प्रायशो भुवि देहिनाम् मृत्युकाले च भूतानां प्राणान् नाशयते भृशम्

svapnānte kṣīyate hy eṣā prāyaśo bhuvi dehinām mṛtyukāle ca bhūtānāṃ prāṇān nāśayate bhṛśam

Verse 31

देवेष्व् अपि दधारैनां नान्यो नारायणाद् ऋते सखी सर्वहरस्यैषा माया विष्णुशरीरजा

deveṣv api dadhāraināṃ nānyo nārāyaṇād ṛte sakhī sarvaharasyaiṣā māyā viṣṇuśarīrajā

Verse 32

सैषा नारायणमुखे दृष्टा कमललोचना लोकान् अल्पेन कालेन भजते भूतमोहिनी

saiṣā nārāyaṇamukhe dṛṣṭā kamalalocanā lokān alpena kālena bhajate bhūtamohinī

Verse 33

एवम् एषा हितार्थाय लोकानां कृष्णवर्त्मना ध्रियते सेवनीयेन पतिनेव पतिव्रता

evam eṣā hitārthāya lokānāṃ kṛṣṇavartmanā dhriyate sevanīyena patineva pativratā

Verse 34

स तया निद्रया छन्नस् तस्मिन् नारायणाश्रमे शेते स्म हि तदा विष्णुर् मोहयञ् जगद् अव्ययः

sa tayā nidrayā channas tasmin nārāyaṇāśrame śete sma hi tadā viṣṇur mohayañ jagad avyayaḥ

Verse 35

तस्य वर्षसहस्राणि शयानस्य महात्मनः जग्मुः कृतयुगं चैव त्रेता चैव युगोत्तमम्

tasya varṣasahasrāṇi śayānasya mahātmanaḥ jagmuḥ kṛtayugaṃ caiva tretā caiva yugottamam

Verse 36

स तु द्वापरपर्यन्ते दृष्ट्वा लोकान् सुदुःखितान् प्राबुध्यत महातेजाः स्तूयमानो महर्षिभिः

sa tu dvāparaparyante dṛṣṭvā lokān suduḥkhitān prābudhyata mahātejāḥ stūyamāno maharṣibhiḥ

Verse 37

जहीहि निद्रां सहजां भुक्तपूर्वाम् इव स्रजम् इमे ते ब्रह्मणा सार्धं देवा दर्शनकाङ्क्षिणः

jahīhi nidrāṃ sahajāṃ bhuktapūrvām iva srajam ime te brahmaṇā sārdhaṃ devā darśanakāṅkṣiṇaḥ

Verse 38

इमे त्वां ब्रह्मविदुषो ब्रह्मसंस्तववादिनः वर्धयन्ति हृषीकेश ऋषयः संशितव्रताः

ime tvāṃ brahmaviduṣo brahmasaṃstavavādinaḥ vardhayanti hṛṣīkeśa ṛṣayaḥ saṃśitavratāḥ

Verse 39

एतेषाम् आत्मभूतानां भूतानां भूतभावन शृणु विष्णो शुभां वाचं भूव्योमाग्न्यनिलाम्भसाम्

eteṣām ātmabhūtānāṃ bhūtānāṃ bhūtabhāvana śṛṇu viṣṇo śubhāṃ vācaṃ bhūvyomāgnyanilāmbhasām

Verse 40

इमे त्वा सप्त मुनयः सहिता मुनिमण्डलैः स्तुवन्ति देव दिव्याभिर् गेयाभिर् गीर्भिर् अञ्जसा

ime tvā sapta munayaḥ sahitā munimaṇḍalaiḥ stuvanti deva divyābhir geyābhir gīrbhir añjasā

Verse 41

उत्तिष्ठ शतपत्राक्ष पद्मनाभ महाद्युते कारणं किंचिद् उत्पन्नं देवानां कार्यगौरवात्

uttiṣṭha śatapatrākṣa padmanābha mahādyute kāraṇaṃ kiṃcid utpannaṃ devānāṃ kāryagauravāt

Verse 42

जहि निद्रां जगद्धेतोः केशवेश जनार्दन त्वयि सुप्ते जगत् सुप्तं त्वयि जाग्रति जागृतम् मीलनं कुरु देवानां देवदेव जगत्पते किं त्वं स्वपिषि गोविन्द नष्टे जगति सांप्रतम् नष्टप्रायं जगत् पश्य सदेवासुरमानुषम् स संक्षिप्य जगत् सर्वं तिमिरौघं विदारयन् उदतिष्ठद् धृषीकेशः श्रिया परमया ज्वलन्

jahi nidrāṃ jagaddhetoḥ keśaveśa janārdana tvayi supte jagat suptaṃ tvayi jāgrati jāgṛtam mīlanaṃ kuru devānāṃ devadeva jagatpate kiṃ tvaṃ svapiṣi govinda naṣṭe jagati sāṃpratam naṣṭaprāyaṃ jagat paśya sadevāsuramānuṣam sa saṃkṣipya jagat sarvaṃ timiraughaṃ vidārayan udatiṣṭhad dhṛṣīkeśaḥ śriyā paramayā jvalan

Verse 43

स ददर्श सुरान् सर्वान् समेतान् सपितामहान् विवक्षतः प्रक्षुभिताञ् जगदर्थे समागतान्

sa dadarśa surān sarvān sametān sapitāmahān vivakṣataḥ prakṣubhitāñ jagadarthe samāgatān

Verse 44

तान् उवाच हरिर् देवान् निद्राविश्रान्तलोचनः तत्त्वदृष्टार्थया वाचा धर्महेत्वर्थयुक्तया

tān uvāca harir devān nidrāviśrāntalocanaḥ tattvadṛṣṭārthayā vācā dharmahetvarthayuktayā

Verse 45

कुतो वो विग्रहो देवाः कुतो वो भयम् आगतम् कस्य वा केन वा कार्यं किं वा मयि न वर्तते

kuto vo vigraho devāḥ kuto vo bhayam āgatam kasya vā kena vā kāryaṃ kiṃ vā mayi na vartate

Verse 46

न खल्व् अकुशलं लोके वर्तते दानवोत्थितम् नृणाम् आयासजननं शीघ्रम् इच्छामि वेदितुम्

na khalv akuśalaṃ loke vartate dānavotthitam nṛṇām āyāsajananaṃ śīghram icchāmi veditum

Verse 47

एष ब्रह्मविदां मध्ये विहाय शयनोत्तमम् शिवाय भवताम् अर्थे स्थितः किं करवाणि वः

eṣa brahmavidāṃ madhye vihāya śayanottamam śivāya bhavatām arthe sthitaḥ kiṃ karavāṇi vaḥ

'He, among those who know brahman, having left the supreme bed, stands for your welfare — what shall I do for you?'

Verse commentary

The Lord Sleeps in the Nārāyaṇa-Āśrama; the Cāturmāsa Rhythm

नारायणाश्रमे योगनिद्रा — चातुर्मास्य-चक्रम्

Verses 1, 3, 8, 12, 22, 25, 45: Hari entering the ancient Brahma-seat, the divine Nārāyaṇa-āśrama, the Lord laying down his weapons as he enters the āśrama known by his own name, Nidrā the Kāla-form approaching as the knower-of-world-end, the thousand-petaled lotus and the *brahma-sūtra*-bearing hand turning the kāla-paryāya even in sleep, the statement that the Lord wakes for the un-being of dānavas at *bhava-kāla* and otherwise sleeps, the famous *cāturmāsa* teaching — yajñas wake from *śarat* onward while Indra performs the Vaiṣṇava-work in Viṣṇu's sleep, and the awakening question 'whence your conflict, whence your fear, what does not proceed through me?' Template commentary, pending Editorial Council review.

HV 40 is the *Viṣṇu-śayana* chapter — one of the Purāṇic sources of the *cāturmāsa* (four-month rain-season) ritual year. After receiving the sages' worship in HV 39, Hari enters *Nārāyaṇa-āśrama* (40.1), the āśrama *known by his own name*. The verse at 40.3 is one of the loveliest in the scripture: *praviśann eva bhagavān āyudhāni vyasarjayat* — 'entering, the Blessed One released his weapons'. The āśrama is where even the Lord lays down conch, disc, and mace. Nidrā the Kāla-formed approaches him (40.8); he lies down on a thousand-petaled lotus, *brahma-sūtra*-bearing-hand still turning the *kāla-paryāya* of all worlds (40.12). The sleep-yoga is not absence — it is yoga. The chapter then declares the great Vaiṣṇava ritual pattern: *śarat-prabhṛti yajñā hi jāgrati śrī-dhare harau* — 'yajñas wake from *śarat*-season onward in Śrīdhara-Hari'; while Viṣṇu sleeps, Indra performs the *vaiṣṇava-karma* (40.25). The Lord wakes after Kṛta and Tretā yugas in the mytho-time, or at Devotthāna-ekādaśī in ritual-time, and asks the devas: *kuto vo vigrahaḥ, kuto vo bhayam āgatam? kiṃ vā mayi na vartate?* — 'Whence your conflict, whence your fear? What does not proceed through me?' (40.45). The Warkari reading gives this chapter a special love: the entire Paṇḍharpūr *āṣāḍhī-wāri* pilgrimage is timed to the Lord's *śayana*, and the *kārtikī-wāri* to his *utthāna* (awakening). HV 40 is the scriptural root of that annual walk.

HV 40.1

ऋषिभिः पूजितस् तैस् तु विवेश हरिर् ईश्वरः । पौराणं ब्रह्मसदनं दिव्यं नारायणाश्रमम् ॥

ṛṣibhiḥ pūjitas tais tu viveśa harir īśvaraḥ | paurāṇaṃ brahma-sadanaṃ divyaṃ nārāyaṇāśramam

Honored by those ṛṣis, Hari the Lord entered the ancient Brahma-seat — the divine Nārāyaṇa-hermitage.

The Living Words

*Ṛṣibhiḥ pūjitaḥ*, 'honored by the ṛṣis'. *Viveśa harir īśvaraḥ*, 'Hari the Lord entered'. *Paurāṇaṃ brahma-sadanam*, 'the ancient Brahma-seat'. *Divyaṃ nārāyaṇāśramam*, 'the divine Nārāyaṇa-hermitage'.

The Heart of It

The Lord, fresh from the sages' *sādhu sādhu* (HV 38.50) and the welcome-hymn (HV 39.25), enters *Nārāyaṇa-āśrama* — the hermitage named for him. The word *paurāṇa* ('ancient') is important: this is not a place built for his arrival but a place eternally-waiting. The Warkari tradition's Paṇḍharpūr is the same theological fact: the Lord's resting-place is *paurāṇa*, older than memory. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 1.1 *devāciyē darī nāmaḥ soniyācī* — 'in the cave-entrance of the god, the Name is of gold' — knows this eternal-room. The saint visits; the Lord *enters*; the āśrama was always there.

HV 40.3

स्वेन नाम्ना परिज्ञातं स तं नारायणाश्रमम् । प्रविशन्न् एव भगवान् आयुधानि व्यसर्जयत् ॥

svena nāmnā parijñātaṃ sa taṃ nārāyaṇāśramam | praviśann eva bhagavān āyudhāni vyasarjayat

Into that Nārāyaṇa-hermitage, known by His own name — as He entered, the Blessed One released His weapons.

The Living Words

*Svena nāmnā parijñātam*, 'known by his own name'. *Praviśann eva bhagavān*, 'even as he entered, the Blessed One'. *Āyudhāni vyasarjayat*, 'released the weapons'.

The Heart of It

The verse is among the most quietly radical in the Harivaṃśa. Into the place that carries his own name, the Lord *releases his weapons*. The same hand that held the *śubhā-gadā* at HV 38.3 now lets it drop. The Warkari reading hears this deeply. The Haripāṭh's great doctrine is that the Name alone is enough; weapons-of-self-defense are for the world, not the āśrama. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 30 *nāma-dhyānī aṅgī śastra suṭē* — 'in Name-meditation, weapons fall from the body' — is HV 40.3 in Marathi. The Warkari's *dindī* under the sky does not need armor: *praviśann eva āyudhāni vyasarjayat*. To enter satsaṅga is to release weapons; that is the same gesture the Lord himself performs at the āśrama's door.

HV 40.8

लोकानाम् अन्तकालज्ञा काली नयनशालिनी । उपतस्थे महात्मानं निद्रा तं कालरूपिणी ॥

lokānām anta-kāla-jñā kālī nayana-śālinī | upatasthe mahātmānaṃ nidrā taṃ kāla-rūpiṇī

Kālī — knower of the worlds' end-time, beautiful-eyed — approached the Great-Souled-one; Nidrā in the Time-form.

The Living Words

*Lokānām anta-kāla-jñā*, 'knower of the end-time of the worlds'. *Kālī nayana-śālinī*, 'Kālī, beautiful-eyed'. *Upatasthe mahātmānam*, 'approached the great-souled one'. *Nidrā tam kāla-rūpiṇī*, 'Nidrā [came] to him, in Time-form'.

The Heart of It

Sleep is personified as *Kālī*, who is *nidrā kāla-rūpiṇī* — 'Nidrā in Time-form'. The verse identifies cosmic sleep with cosmic time; she is *nayana-śālinī*, 'beautiful-eyed' — not a fearsome Kālī but a lovely approaching-figure. The Warkari reading treats this with surprising tenderness. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 25 *kāla-saṃhāra hari-smaraṇa* — 'the Hari-remembrance destroys time' — says what HV 40.8 prepares: when the Lord receives Nidrā as Kāla-formed, he is absorbing Kāla into himself. Time and sleep no longer *happen to* the Lord; they *serve* him. The posture is the Warkari's great aim: to make one's own sleep a devotional limb, *nidrā kāla-rūpiṇī* welcomed on the breast, not feared.

HV 40.12

सहस्रपत्रं वर्णाढ्यं सुकुमारं विभूषितम् । ब्रह्मसूत्रोद्यतकरः स्वपन्न् एव महामुनिः । आवर्तयति लोकानां सर्वेषां कालपर्ययम् ॥

sahasra-patraṃ varṇāḍhyaṃ su-kumāraṃ vibhūṣitam | brahma-sūtr-odyata-karaḥ svapann eva mahā-muniḥ | āvartayati lokānāṃ sarveṣāṃ kāla-paryayam

On a thousand-petaled, richly-colored, gentle, adorned [lotus]; his hand uplifted with the *brahma-sūtra* — even while sleeping, the great-muni turns the time-revolution of all the worlds.

The Living Words

*Sahasra-patraṃ varṇāḍhyam*, 'thousand-petaled, richly-colored'. *Brahma-sūtr-odyata-karaḥ*, 'hand uplifted with the brahma-thread'. *Svapann eva mahā-muniḥ*, 'even while sleeping, the great-muni'. *Āvartayati lokānāṃ sarveṣāṃ kāla-paryayam*, 'turns the time-revolution of all the worlds'.

The Heart of It

The chapter's theological pearl. The Lord, even while sleeping, *turns the world's kāla-paryāya*. His sleep is not absence; it is yoga. *Brahma-sūtra-udyata-karaḥ* — 'with the brahma-thread upheld in his hand' — names the hand still threading creation. The Warkari reading is precious: sleep, for the devotee, can be sādhana. Jñāneśvar's *Jñāneśvarī* on Gītā 6.17 (*yukta-āhāra-vihārasya*) names the yoga of the sleeping mind that still repeats the Name. HV 40.12 is the Purāṇic picture. The sleeper is *mahā-muniḥ* — the great silent-one — because real muni-hood is not about closed mouth but about the *āvartanam* (turning) of kāla-paryāya steadily through the breath, waking or sleeping. The Haripāṭh's *niśi-dinī rāma-nāma* — 'night-and-day Rāma-name' — is the household form.

HV 40.22

भवकाले भवत्य् एष लोकानां भूतभावनः । दानवानाम् अभावाय जागर्ति मधुसूदनः ॥

bhava-kāle bhavaty eṣa lokānāṃ bhūta-bhāvanaḥ | dānavānām abhāvāya jāgarti madhu-sūdanaḥ

At the *bhava-kāla* this one is the welfare-maker of the worlds; for the un-being of the dānavas, Madhu-sūdana wakes.

The Living Words

*Bhava-kāle bhavaty eṣa*, 'at the bhava-kāla this one is'. *Lokānāṃ bhūta-bhāvanaḥ*, 'welfare-maker of the worlds'. *Dānavānām abhāvāya*, 'for the un-being of the dānavas'. *Jāgarti madhu-sūdanaḥ*, 'Madhu-sūdana wakes'.

The Heart of It

The Lord's sleep and waking are functions of cosmic need. He wakes for *dānavānām abhāva* — 'the un-being of dānavas' — and sleeps otherwise. The Warkari reading enjoys the verb's compression: *bhava-kāle bhavati* — 'at being-time he is/becomes'. The Lord *arises* when *bhava* (becoming, prosperity) is under threat. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 9 *bhava-bhaya-hārī* — 'remover of the fear-of-becoming' — has HV 40.22 as its Sanskrit root. The devotee's corresponding wisdom: pray not that the Lord never sleep but that he wake *when needed*. His sleep is not indifference; it is the gap between emergencies.

HV 40.25

शरत्प्रभृति यज्ञा हि जाग्रति श्रीधरे हरौ । तद् इदं वार्षिकं चक्रं कारयत्य् अम्बुदेश्वरः । वैष्णवं कर्म कुर्वाणः सुप्ते विष्णौ पुरंदरः ॥

śarat-prabhṛti yajñā hi jāgrati śrī-dhare harau | tad idaṃ vārṣikaṃ cakraṃ kārayaty ambud-eśvaraḥ | vaiṣṇavaṃ karma kurvāṇaḥ supte viṣṇau puraṃ-daraḥ

From *śarat* (autumn) onward, the yajñas wake — when Śrīdhara-Hari is awake. Thus the cloud-lord sets this annual cycle in motion; Puraṃdara performs the Vaiṣṇava work while Viṣṇu sleeps.

The Living Words

*Śarat-prabhṛti yajñā hi jāgrati*, 'from śarat onward the yajñas wake'. *Śrī-dhare harau*, 'when Śrī-bearing Hari [is awake]'. *Vārṣikaṃ cakram*, 'the annual cycle'. *Vaiṣṇavaṃ karma kurvāṇaḥ supte viṣṇau puraṃ-daraḥ*, 'Puraṃdara does the Vaiṣṇava work while Viṣṇu sleeps'.

The Heart of It

This is the *cāturmāsa* verse. The Purāṇic reason for the four-month rain-season observance: *Viṣṇu sleeps*, and yajñas rest. *Śarat-prabhṛti yajñā hi jāgrati* — 'from autumn on, the yajñas wake' — because the Lord has woken. The Warkari tradition's two great annual *wāri*s — *Āṣāḍhī* (toward the shayana) and *Kārtikī* (toward the utthāna) — are timed to this scripture. HV 40.25 is the Sanskrit calendar-verse of Paṇḍharpūr. During Viṣṇu's sleep, *Indra does the Vaiṣṇava-work* — that is, the waters fall and the earth prepares. The two great rhythms (sleep-wake, rain-harvest) are one. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 30 concludes the whole Haripāṭh with the *vārṣikaṃ cakraṃ* implicit: the daily telling of the Name is itself the annual *wāri* in miniature. What Viṣṇu does cosmically, the devotee does in a year's walk.

HV 40.45

कुतो वो विग्रहो देवाः कुतो वो भयम् आगतम् । कस्य वा केन वा कार्यं किं वा मयि न वर्तते ॥

kuto vo vigraho devāḥ kuto vo bhayam āgatam | kasya vā kena vā kāryaṃ kiṃ vā mayi na vartate

Whence, O devas, is your conflict? Whence has fear come to you? Whose task, by whom — what does not proceed through me?

The Living Words

*Kuto vo vigraho devāḥ*, 'whence your conflict, devas?'. *Kuto vo bhayam āgatam*, 'whence has your fear come?'. *Kasya vā kena vā kāryaṃ*, 'whose task, by whom?'. *Kiṃ vā mayi na vartate*, 'what does not proceed through me?'.

The Heart of It

The Lord's waking question is formulated as a fourfold interrogation. The climactic line is *kiṃ vā mayi na vartate* — 'what does not proceed through me?' The question is rhetorical: nothing. The Warkari reading treats this as a consolation-sentence. The devas' *vigraha* and *bhayam* — both arose inside the Lord himself. The Lord names this so that the devotee, too, may learn to see their own *vigraha* and *bhayam* as happening *within* him. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 5 *sarva-bhūtāntar hari* — 'Hari inside every being' — is the devotional form of HV 40.45. When the Lord wakes and asks, 'what does not proceed through me?', the answer is *nothing* — and the question itself is already the answer. The chapter's final word is a mirror the devotee can carry: *kiṃ vā mayi na vartate?*

Thread

HV 40 is the *Viṣṇu-śayana* chapter — the Purāṇic source of cāturmāsa and, by extension, of Paṇḍharpūr's *Āṣāḍhī-Kārtikī wāri* cycle. The Lord enters the āśrama *known by his own name*, releases weapons at its door, receives Nidrā as *kāla-rūpiṇī*, and even sleeping turns the kāla-paryāya of the worlds with a brahma-sūtra-bearing hand. From *śarat* onward the yajñas wake with him; Indra holds the vaiṣṇava-work in his sleep. When he wakes, his question names the whole cosmic metaphysics: *kiṃ vā mayi na vartate* — 'what does not proceed through me?' The Warkari tradition treats this chapter as the scriptural anchor of its annual rhythm: the pilgrim walks the same walk the cosmos walks; the Name on the tongue is the *brahma-sūtra* in the hand.

Echo in the saints

Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 30 *niśi-dinī rāma-nāma* — 'day-and-night Rāma-name' — is the householding of HV 40.12's *svapann eva āvartayati kāla-paryayam*. Tukārām's life, timed to the Paṇḍharpūr *wāri*, is the biographical form of 40.25's annual cycle. And the chapter's final question — *kiṃ vā mayi na vartate?* — is answered by Nāmdev's *sakaḷāṃ ṭhāyīṁ tū vitṭhala* — 'in every place you, Viṭṭhal'. The scripture's theology and the saints' biographies are not two literatures; they are one Name working at two scales.

Scripture references

EchoesBhagavad Gītā 10.20

The Lord's unceasing work even in sleep is Kṛṣṇa's own vibhūti-doctrine extended.

अहम् आत्मा गुडाकेश सर्वभूताशयस्थितः । अहम् आदिश् च मध्यं च भूतानाम् अन्त एव च ॥

aham ātmā guḍākeśa sarva-bhūtāśaya-sthitaḥ | aham ādiś ca madhyaṃ ca bhūtānām anta eva ca

I am the Self, O Guḍākeśa, seated in the heart of all beings; I am the beginning, the middle, and the end of beings.

HV 40.12's *svapann eva āvartayati lokānāṃ kāla-paryayam* — 'even while sleeping, he turns the time-cycle of the worlds' — is Gītā 10.20's *ādi, madhya, anta* made narrative. The Lord's sleep is not a gap in his being-the-Self; it is how the Self works when the sur-face is still.

DirectBhagavad Gītā 7.7

The Lord's waking question *kiṃ vā mayi na vartate* is the Gītā's declaration 'all this is strung on Me' in interrogative form.

मत्तः परतरं नान्यत् किञ्चिद् अस्ति धनञ्जय । मयि सर्वम् इदं प्रोतं सूत्रे मणिगणा इव ॥

mattaḥ parataraṃ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya | mayi sarvam idaṃ protaṃ sūtre maṇi-gaṇā iva

There is nothing higher than Me, O Dhanañjaya; all this is strung on Me like gems on a thread.

HV 40.45's *kiṃ vā mayi na vartate* and Gītā 7.7's *mayi sarvam idaṃ protam* are the same truth asked and stated. The Warkari tradition reads them as two moods of one conviction: the scripture asks the question because the Gītā has already answered it.

BORI critical edition, ed. P. L. Vaidya (1969). Digital text from the GRETIL Zurich constituted text. Distributed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.