अव्याकृतस्यानन्तस्य ह्यनादेर्जगदात्मन: ॥ ३८ ॥
nimeṣa upacaryate
avyākṛtasyānantasya
hy anāder jagad-ātmanaḥ
jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ
viṣṇur mahān sa iha yasya kalā-viśeṣo
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
SYNONYMS
kālaḥ—eternal time; ayam—this (as measured by Brahmā's duration of life); dvi-parārdha-ākhyaḥ—measured by the two halves of Brahmā's life; nimeṣaḥ—less than a second; upacaryate—is so measured; avyākṛtasya—of one who is unchanged; anantasya—of the unlimited; hi—certainly; anādeḥ—of the beginningless; jagat-ātmanaḥ—of the soul of the universe.
TRANSLATION
The duration of the two parts of Brahmā's life, as above mentioned, is calculated to be equal to one nimeṣa [less than a second] for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is unchanging and unlimited and is the cause of all causes of the universe.
PURPORT
The great sage Maitreya has given a considerable description of the time of different dimensions, beginning from the atom up to the duration of the life of Brahmā. Now he attempts to give some idea of the time of the unlimited Personality of Godhead. He just gives a hint of His unlimited time by the standard of the life of Brahmā. The entire duration of the life of Brahmā is calculated to be less than a second of the Lord's time, and it is explained in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.48) as follows:
jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ
viṣṇur mahān sa iha yasya kalā-viśeṣo
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
There is complete agreement between Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the Brahma-saṁhitā. Eternal time is never lost along with the life of Brahmā. It continues, but it has no ability to control the Supreme Personality of Godhead because the Lord is the controller of time. In the spiritual world there is undoubtedly time, but it has no control over activities. Time is unlimited, and the spiritual world is also unlimited, since everything there exists on the absolute plane.