Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.28.6
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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bhagavate
—
unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead
Dative. Gauḍīyas insist on the personalist reading: Bhagavān is the comprehensive truth (ṣaḍ-aiśvarya-pūrṇa); Brahman and Paramātmā in the next phrase are His features, not His superiors. Bhāgavata 1.2.11's tattva-doctrine in compressed form.
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brahmaṇe
—
the Absolute Truth, Brahman
Same Person as bhagavate, named here in His effulgence-aspect. Caitanya-line: brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate — one tattva, three nāmas. Varuṇa names the second.
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parama-ātmane
—
the Supreme Soul
Compound: parama (supreme) + ātman (Self). Antaryāmī Viṣṇu. The compound declares that the indwelling Lord and the One Varuṇa now sees in form are not two persons but one Bhagavān seen in two modes — a perfect acintya-bhedābheda line.
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māyā
—
the illusory, material energy
Bhagavān's external śakti. Gauḍīyas: māyā is real but not in Him. The verse's na yatra śrūyate māyā secures Bhagavān's freedom from any taint of nescience — important against advaita's claim that Brahman is touched by avidyā.
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loka-sṛṣṭi
—
creation of the world
Loka (world) + sṛṣṭi (emission). Even the world's manifestation, which māyā arranges, originates only by Bhagavān's sanction. Māyā works in Him in the sense of derivation, not in Him in the sense of contamination.
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vikalpanā
—
the arranging, the imaginative ordering
From vi-√kḷp. Māyā's office is to arrange the manifold — names, forms, distinctions. In Bhagavān, no such vikalpana is heard, because in Him the truth is undifferentiated by ignorance even when fully variegated by His own svarūpa-śakti.
The word śrūyate is significant here. Śruti, or Vedic literature, consists of authorized statements made by the Lord Himself or His enlightened representatives. Thus neither the Lord nor recognized spiritual authorities would ever say that within the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, there is the fault of illusion. Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī points out that the word brahmaṇe here indicates the Lord is full in Himself, and that the term paramātmane indicates He is the controller of all living entities. Thus within the supreme being, complete in Himself and omnipotent, we do not find any jurisdiction of the material, illusory energy.
"You are approached by the three paths of bhakti, jnana and yoga. I pay my respects to you as bhagavan, brahman and paramatma. Those who say that these realizations are tinged with maya are mistaken. These realizations are not touched by maya, which creates various things (loka srsti vikalpana)."
Varuṇa offers respects to his greatness in devotion. He offers respects to the Lord complete with six qualities and all types of liberation, to the antaryāmī of all beings, to Brahman, the invisible śakti of the Lord for those with meager qualification—which appears as oneness of satyaṁ jñānam anantam: eternal existence and knowledge. (Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.1.2) The form of the Lord is not māyā since māyā produces bodies for the jīvas but has no power over you. This shows that the svarūpa-śakti produces various qualities, form and powers in the Lord. I am most successful in seeing you, the Lord with such qualities, today in my house.
Varuṇa offers respects to his greatness in devotion, showing the cause and effect in sequence. Or worshippers of the supreme lord, parabrahman or paramātmā attain Vaikuṇṭha, very rare to attain, by realization. “But I am just a cowherd boy.” But you are Bhagavān, Paramātmā and Brahman. This is expressed in brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabyate. (SB 1.2.11) But in the above verse Brahman is in the middle to express that the Lord is also Brahman, though it is inferior to the other two. All these forms have no trace of māyā. The form of the Lord is not māyā since māyā produces bodies for the jīvas but has no power over you. This shows that the svarūpa-śakti of eternity, knowledge and bliss, which produces various qualities, form and powers in the Lord is completely different. Parabrahma (bhagavān) manifests in the absence of a relationship with māyā, in forms like Paramātmā or the supreme Lord. The forms of the one Lord arise by his special śaktis. I am most successful in seeing you, the Lord with such qualities, today in my house.
- Where am I projecting my own bewilderment onto the Lord?
- Which prayer of mine could be reset by addressing Him as 'the one who never confuses'?
An astronomer says of the sun, "No shadow is recorded in its disc" — meaning that the source of light cannot itself host darkness. Varuṇa says of Bhagavān, "No māyā is heard within You" — the source of every projected world cannot Himself be inside the projection. Sun and shadow, Bhagavān and māyā: related, but never co-resident.
My note
Source: vedabase.io