सुमेरुकर्णिकात्तस्य दिग्दलाद्धृदयाम्बुजात् । तारकाकेसरवतः परमेष्ठी व्यजायत ॥ १३ ॥
sumērukarṇikāttasya digdalāddhṛdayāmbujāt | tārakākēsaravataḥ paramēṣṭhī vyajāyata || 13 ||
Translation
From the lotus of his heart, with Sumeru for its pericarp, the directions for its petals and the stars for its filaments, the Highest One, Brahmā, was born.
Word by word
- sumēru
- Sumeru
- karṇikāt
- with ... for its pericarp
- tasya
- of his
- dig
- (dik) the directions
- dalād
- (dalāt) for its petals
- hṛdaya
- of the heart
- ambujāt
- from the lotus
- tārakā
- the stars
- kēsaravataḥ
- with ... for its filaments
- paramēṣṭhī
- the Highest One
- vyajāyata
- was born
Meaning
The classical picture of the universe as a flower. Sumeru, the golden mountain at the world's centre, is the seed head; the quarters of space open around it as petals; the stars are the fine threads. The commentary confirms each part. It is more than decoration. The lotus grows from the heart of Viṣṇu, so the whole universe is shown as something opening in a heart. Compare this with the common modern picture, of a vast cold space into which consciousness has strayed by accident. Here the order runs the other way, and the most distant star is a filament of something that flowered from within.