nimittaṠparam īśasya
viśva-sarga-nirodhayoḥ
hiraṇyagarbhaḥ śarvaś ca
kÄlasyÄrÅ«piṇas tava
nimittam - the instrument; param - merely; Ä«Å›asya - of the Supreme Lord; viÅ›va - of the universe; sarga - in the creation; nirodhayoḥ - and the annihilation; hiraṇyagarbhaḥ - Lord BrahmÄ; Å›arvaḥ - Lord Åšiva; ca - and; kÄlasya - of time; arÅ«piṇaḥ - formless; tava - Your.
Even Lord BrahmÄ and Lord Åšiva act only as Your instruments in cosmic creation and annihilation, which are ultimately done by You, the Supreme Lord, in Your invisible aspect of time.
Uddhava here explains that in fact Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself will cause the death of JarÄsandha, and BhÄ«ma will merely be the instrument. The Supreme Lord, through His invisible potency of time, creates and annihilates the entire cosmic situation, whereas great demigods such as Lord BrahmÄ and Lord Åšiva are merely the instruments of the Lord’s will. Therefore BhÄ«ma will have no difficulty acting as the Lord’s instrument to kill the powerful JarÄsandha. In this way, by the Lord’s arrangement, His devotee BhÄ«ma will be glorified.
