5.119
pancasat-koti-yojana prthivi-vistara
yanra eka-phane rahe sarsapa-akara
SYNONYMS
pancasat—fifty; koti—ten millions; yojana—eight miles; prthivi—of the universe; vistara—breadth; yanra—whose; eka-phane—on one of the hoods; rahe—stays; sarsapa-akara—like a mustard seed.
The universe, which measures five hundred million yojanas in diameter, rests on one of His hoods like a mustard seed.
PURPORT
The Lord of Svetadvipa expands Himself as Sesa Naga, who sustains all the planets upon His innumerable hoods.
These huge global spheres are compared to grains of mustard resting on the spiritual hoods of Sesa Naga.
The scientists’ law of gravity is a partial explanation of Lord Sankarsana’s energy.
The name “Sankarsana” has an etymological relationship to the idea of gravity.
There is a reference to Sesa Naga in Srimad-Bhagavatam (5.17.21), where it is said:
yam ahur asya sthiti janma-samyamam
tribhir vihinam yam anantam rsayah
na veda siddartham iva kvacit sthitam
bhu-mandalam murdha-sahasra-dhamasu “O my Lord, the hymns of the Vedas proclaim that You are the effective cause for the creation, maintenance and destruction.
But in fact You are transcendental to all limitations and are therefore known as unlimited.
On Your thousands of hoods rest the innumerable global spheres, like grains of mustard so insignificant that You have no perception of their weight.” The Bhagavatam further says (5.25.2):
yasyedam ksiti-mandalam bhagavato ’nanta-murteh sahasra-sirasa ekasminn eva sirsani dhriyamanam siddhartha iva laksyate “Lord Anantadeva has thousands of hoods.