शैला द्रोणीभिराक्रीडं सर्वर्तुषु गुणान् द्रुमाः ।
दधार लोकपालानामेक एव पृथग्गुणान् ॥१८॥

Å›ailÄ droṇībhir ÄkrÄ«á¸aá¹
sarvartuá¹£u guṇÄn drumÄḥ
dadhÄra loka-pÄlÄnÄm
eka eva pá¹›thag guṇÄn

 Å›ailÄḥ - the hills and mountains; droṇībhiḥ - with the valleys between them; ÄkrÄ«á¸am - pleasure grounds for HiraṇyakaÅ›ipu; sarva - all; á¹›tuá¹£u - in the seasons of the year; guṇÄn - different qualities (fruits and flowers); drumÄḥ - the plants and trees; dadhÄra - executed; loka-pÄlÄnÄm - of the other demigods in charge of different departments of natural activity; ekaḥ - alone; eva - indeed; pá¹›thak - different; guṇÄn - qualities.


Text

The valleys between the mountains became fields of pleasure for HiraṇyakaÅ›ipu, by whose influence all the trees and plants produced fruits and flowers profusely in all seasons. The qualities of pouring water, drying and burning, which are all qualities of the three departmental heads of the universe — namely Indra, VÄyu and Agni — were all directed by HiraṇyakaÅ›ipu alone, without assistance from the demigods.

Purport

It is said in the beginning of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, tejo-vÄri-má¹›dÄá¹ yathÄ vinimayaḥ: this material world is conducted by fire, water and earth, which combine and take shape. Here it is mentioned that the three modes of nature (pá¹›thag guṇÄn) act under the direction of different demigods. For example, King Indra is in charge of pouring water, the demigod VÄyu controls the air and dries up the water, whereas the demigod controlling fire burns everything. HiraṇyakaÅ›ipu, however, by dint of his austere performance of mystic yoga, became so powerful that he alone took charge of everything, without assistance from the demigods.