dharmaḥ stanÄd daká¹£iṇato
yatra nÄrÄyaṇaḥ svayam
adharmaḥ pṛṣá¹hato yasmÄn
mṛtyur loka-bhayaṅkaraḥ
dharmaḥ - religion; stanÄt - from the breast; daká¹£iṇataḥ - on the right side; yatra - wherein; nÄrÄyaṇaḥ - the Supreme Lord; svayam - personally; adharmaḥ - irreligion; pṛṣá¹hataḥ - from the back; yasmÄt - from which; má¹›tyuḥ - death; loka - to the living entity; bhayam-karaḥ - horrible.
That religion was manifested from the place where the Personality of Godhead is personally situated is very significant because religion means devotional service to the Personality of Godhead, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ as well as the BhÄgavatam. In Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ the last instruction is to give up all other engagements in the name of religion and take shelter of the Personality of Godhead. ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam also confirms that the highest perfection of religion is that which leads to the devotional service of the Lord, unmotivated and unhampered by material impediments. Religion in its perfect form is the devotional service of the Lord, and irreligion is just the opposite. The heart is the most important part of the body, whereas the back is the most neglected part. When one is attacked by an enemy one is apt to endure attacks from the back and protect himself carefully from all attacks on the chest. All types of irreligion spring from the back of BrahmÄ, whereas real religion, the devotional service of the Lord, is generated from the chest, the seat of NÄrÄyaṇa. Anything which does not lead to the devotional service of the Lord is irreligion, and anything which leads to the devotional service of the Lord is called religion.