lelihyaase grasmaanaha samantaallokaansamagraanvadanairjvalabhdihi |
tejobhiraapoorya jagatsamagram bhaasastavograahaa prapanti vishno || 30 ||
Devouring everyone from all sides, through your fiery mouths, you are licking (your lips). Your terrible rays, filling the universe with brilliance, are burning everything, O Vishnu.
lelihyaase : licking
grasmaanaha : devouring
samantaat : from all sides
lokaan : people
samagraan : all
vadanaihi : through mouths
jvalabhdihi : fiery
tejobhihi : with brilliance
apoorya : filling
jagat : universe
samagram : everything
bhaasaha : rays
tava : your
ugraahaa : terrible
prapanti : burning
vishno : O Vishnu
When we are enjoying a particulary tasty meal, we cannot resist licking our fingers and lips. It is a sign that we would like to have more. Also in Indian culture, wasting of food is not allowed, so we lick our fingers to ensure that nothing goes to waste. In the same way, Ishvara in his cosmic form thoroughly enjoys the process of destruction. He also ensures that nothing is spared, nothing goes to waste. Everything and everyone ultimately is destroyed.
Now, we may ask, isn’t it cruel to derive pleasure from destruction? It may be true from a relative standpoint, but not from the absolute standpoint. If old trees and animals do not die in a jungle, new ones cannot be created. If old businesses aren’t allowed to fail, new startups cannot bring innovative products to the market. If no one dies, the earth is unable to sustain the needs of an infinitely growing population.
Destruction is a necessary part of life. If we think like an individual, destruction is painful. If we think like Ishvara, destruction is enjoyable. It also creates dispassion towards the miseries of our human body, since we know it will eb destroyed to create something new.
Arjuna continues to describe what he sees. He says that the rays of fire that are emitted by Shri Krishna are burning up the universe with their heat. He wants to take those fiery rays away. Since Shri Krishna has not yet listened to him, he asks him a question with the hope of gaining attention, and potentially, bringing back the form of Shri Krishna that he loves.
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