tasminn ahaá¹ samabhavam
aṇá¸e salila-saá¹sthitau
mama nÄbhyÄm abhÅ«t padmaá¹
viÅ›vÄkhyaá¹ tatra cÄtma-bhūḥ
tasmin - within that; aham - I; samabhavam - appeared; aṇá¸e - in the egg of the universe; salila - in the water of the Causal Ocean; saá¹sthitau - which was situated; mama - My; nÄbhyÄm - from the navel; abhÅ«t - arose; padmam - a lotus; viÅ›va-Äkhyam - known as universal; tatra - in that; ca - and; Ätma-bhūḥ - self-born BrahmÄ.
I Myself appeared within that egg, which was floating on the causal water, and from My navel arose the universal lotus, the birthplace of self-born BrahmÄ.
The Supreme Lord here describes His appearance in His transcendental pastime form of ÅšrÄ« NÄrÄyaṇa. Lord NÄrÄyaṇa enters within the universe but does not give up His purely transcendental body of knowledge and bliss. Lord BrahmÄ, however, born from the Lord’s navel lotus, has a material body. Although Lord BrahmÄ is the most powerful mystic, his body, which pervades all material existence, is material, whereas the body of the Supreme Lord Hari, NÄrÄyaṇa, is always transcendental.
