SB 1.18.23
नभः पतन्त्यात्मसमं पतत्त्रिणस्तथा समं विष्णुगतिं विपश्चितः ॥ २३ ॥
ācakṣa ātmāvagamo’tra yāvān
nabhaḥ patanty ātma-samaṁ patattriṇas
tathā samaṁ viṣṇu-gatiṁ vipaścitaḥ
Synonyms
aryamaṇaḥ — O sages who directly embody the sun [meaning, you who personify the three Vedas (he sūryāḥ trayī-mūrtayaḥ);209 or you who, like the sun, destroy the darkness of ignorance (ajñāna-timira-ghnāḥ)210]; aham hi — since I; pṛṣṭaḥ — have been requested; bhavadbhiḥ — by you; ācakṣe — I shall expound [pravadāmi]; atra — on this matter [on the divine majesty of Bhagavān (bhagavan-māhātmye)211]; yāvān — as far as; ātma-avagamaḥ — my understanding extends [(mama jñānaṁ tāvat); or as far as His majesty has been self-disclosed to my awareness (yāvan mahimā mad-buddhi-viṣayo bhavati)212]; [just as (yathā)]; patattriṇaḥ — birds [pakṣiṇaḥ213]; patanti — fly [udgacchanti214]; nabhaḥ — in the sky [nabhasi215]; ātma-samam — as high as their capacity allows [but not to the sky’s extremity (sva-śakty anurūpam evotpatanti na kṛtsnam)]; tathā — so too; vipaścitaḥ — the wise [those of highly developed discernment (vivekinaḥ);216 or those endowed with immediate insight (jñāninaḥ)217]; [delineate (vadanti)]; viṣṇu-gatim — the divine play of Bhagavān [līlām]; samam — in the same manner [according to their degree of realization (sva-maty anurūpam eva), but without ever reaching the end of His glory (bhagavan-mahimānaṁ tad-antaṁ na labhante)218].
Translation
O sages who directly embody the sun! Since I have been requested by you, I shall expound on this matter as far as my understanding extends. Just as birds fly in the sky as high as their capacity allows, so too, the wise delineate the divine play of Bhagavān according to their degree of realization.