Verse 2.3.15-16

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.3.15-16:

पृथिव्य्-आवरणं तेषां प्रथमं गतवान् अहम् ।
तद्-ऐश्वर्याधिकारिण्या धरण्या पूजितं प्रभुम् ॥ १५ ॥
ब्रह्माण्ड-दुर्लभैर् द्रव्यैर् महा-सूकर-रूपिणम् ।
अपश्यं प्रतिरोमान्त-भ्रमद्-ब्रह्माण्डा-वैभवम् ॥ १६ ॥

pṛthivy-āvaraṇaṃ teṣāṃ prathamaṃ gatavān aham |
tad-aiśvaryādhikāriṇyā dharaṇyā pūjitaṃ prabhum || 15 ||
brahmāṇḍa-durlabhair dravyair mahā-sūkara-rūpiṇam |
apaśyaṃ pratiromānta-bhramad-brahmāṇḍā-vaibhavam || 16 ||

pṛthivī–of earth; āvaraṇam–the covering; teṣu–of them; prathamam–the first; gatavān–went; aham–I; tat-aiśvaryaadhikāriṇyā–the proprietress of the opulence of that layer; dharaṇyā
–by the earth goddess Dharaṇī-devī; pūjitam–worshiped; prabhum–the Lord; brahmāṇḍa–from the unlimited universes; durlabhaiḥ–rare; dravyaiḥ–with articles; mahā-śūkara-rūpiṇam–the form of a great boar; apaśyam–I saw; prati-roma-anta–within every pore; bhramat–spinning; brahmāṇḍa–universes; vaibhavam–power.

First I entered the covering composed of earth, and there I saw the Lord in the form of the great boar (Śrī Varāha-deva). The earth goddess, Dharaṇī-devī, the proprietress of the opulence of that layer, was worshiping Him with rare, exotic items, while the opulences of many brahmāṇḍas (universes) were spinning in every pore of His body.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

(By Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī himself including a deep purport of that commentary)

Śrī Gopa-kumāra has described the coverings in a general way, and now he is describing them specifically, having crossed them one after another in order to learn the speciality of each. In five verses, beginning here with pṛthvī, he begins his description with the covering composed of earth.

He says, “First, having entered the covering of earth, I had darśana of Bhagavān in the form of the great boar, Śrī Varāha. What was He like? The opulence of the entire brahmāṇḍa, which comprises fourteen planetary systems, was rotating in causal form in every one of His pores.”

This signifies that Śrī Varāha is superior even to Śrī Mahā-puruṣa, the presiding Deity of Brahmaloka. This is an indication of the progressive superiority of each subsequent covering. Goddess earth, Śrī Dharaṇī-devī, the presiding Deity of all the elements in that earth layer, was worshiping Śrī Varāha Bhagavān with precious ingredients that were rare in the universe. In this way, the goddess earth’s superiority to Brahmā is also shown.