श्रीराम उवाच । इयतो दृश्यजातस्य ब्रह्माण्डस्य जगत्स्थितेः । मुने कथमसत्ताऽस्ति क्व मेरुः सर्षपोदरे ॥ ३२ ॥
śrīrāma uvāca | iyatō dṛśyajātasya brahmāṇḍasya jagatsthitēḥ | munē kathamasattā’sti kva mēruḥ sarṣapōdarē || 32 ||
Translation
Rāma said: Sage, how can this whole mass of the seen, the cosmic egg, the order of the worlds, be unreal? Where is Mount Meru in the belly of a mustard seed?
Word by word
- iyatō
- (iyataḥ) this whole
- dṛśya
- of the seen
- jātasya
- mass
- brahmāṇḍasya
- the cosmic egg
- jagat
- of the worlds
- sthitēḥ
- the order
- munē
- sage
- katham
- how
- asattā
- unreal
- asti
- can be
- kva
- where
- mēruḥ
- Mount Meru
- sarṣapōdarē
- in the belly of a mustard seed
Meaning
Rāma has something particular in mind, the commentary says. You say the world is laid upon Brahman; but Brahman is subtle, pure consciousness, and so gross and vast a world cannot be laid upon it, any more than Mount Meru, the mountain at the centre of the world, can fit inside a mustard seed.