Upanishads · Kṛṣṇa 1.24
॥
Devanāgarī
अब्जकाण्डं जगत्बीजं धृतं पाणौ स्वलीलया । गरुडो वटभाण्डीरः सुदामा नारदो मुनिः
Transliteration (IAST)
abjakāṇḍaṃ jagatbījaṃ dhṛtaṃ pāṇau svalīlayā | garuḍo vaṭabhāṇḍīraḥ sudāmā nārado muniḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अब्ज-काण्डं जगत्-बीजंabja-kāṇḍaṃ jagat-bījaṃthe lotus stalk — the seed of the world
धृतं पाणौ स्व-लीलयाdhṛtaṃ pāṇau sva-līlayāheld in the hand by His own play
गरुडः वट-भाण्डीरःgaruḍaḥ vaṭa-bhāṇḍīraḥGaruḍa — the banyan of Bhāṇḍīra
सुदामा नारदः मुनिःsudāmā nāradaḥ muniḥSudāmā — the sage Nārada
Translation
"The lotus stalk is the seed of the world, held in the hand by His own play; Garuḍa is the banyan of Bhāṇḍīra; Sudāmā is the sage Nārada."
Version
b8fb6493fd48 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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It is worth noting the phrase dhṛtaṃ pāṇau sva-līlayā, "held in the hand by His own play." That is, the seed of the world — that from which everything grows — He holds in His hand as a flower; and holds it playing. Of the word līlā it was said when reading the seventh verse; no need to repeat the discussion.
Let us add what this very image yields. A flower in the hand is something not held tightly. One does not clench it, does not swing it about; one carries it.
That is, the relation of the Holder to the world is described as the relation to a flower, not to a burden and not to a tool. This image, to my mind, is worth comparing with what these books usually say about the sustaining of the world. It is said: He holds the world, dhartā; He is its foundation; everything rests on Him. All these phrases presuppose weight.
Here there is no weight: a lotus is being held. The Bhāgavatam expresses the same differently, and it was discussed when reading the Prāṇāgnihotra: with one fraction of Himself He sustains the whole world — viṣṭabhyāham idaṃ kṛtsnam ekāṃśena sthito jagat (Gītā 10.42). Joining the two passages, we get a relation worth keeping: the world, which seems to us to be everything, is for Him a flower in one hand, and moreover in a small part of the hand.