Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.70.37
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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duratyayā māyā
—
the insurmountable power of illusion
Duratyayā — un-go-overable. The same phrase Bhagavān uses for His own māyā in BG 7.14 (mama māyā duratyayā). Only mām eva ye prapadyante crosses it — only by surrender, by śaraṇāgati. Nārada quotes the Lord to the Lord.
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channa-rucaḥ
—
whose light is covered
Fire's flame is sometimes hidden in its own smoke — a Bhāgavata image of svayam-prakāśa Bhagavān veiling Himself by His own śakti. The compound is technical: ruci (light) hidden by His own smoke (māyā).
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viśva-sṛjaḥ
—
of the universal creator
Brahmā, the visible creator, but in fact a secondary creator under Bhagavān. Bhagavān's māyā confuses even Brahmā. The Gauḍīya hierarchy: Bhagavān above brahmā, brahmā above all jīvas, and bhakti the only ladder.
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māyinaḥ
—
of the wielder of māyā
Māyin — possessor of māyā. Bhagavān is māyin, not māyā-vaśa. He is the master of māyā, never her subject. The single grammatical genitive holds the whole anti-Advaita Gauḍīya doctrine.
When Lord Kṛṣṇa questioned Nārada Muni about the intentions of the Pāṇḍavas, the sage replied that the Lord is Himself all-powerful and all-knowing, even to the extent that He can bewilder the creator of the universe, Brahmā. Nārada understood that Lord Kṛṣṇa desired to kill Jarāsandha and was thus beginning to arrange for this pastime by inquiring from Nārada about the Pāṇḍavas’ intentions. Understanding the Lord’s own intention, Nārada was not astonished when Lord Kṛṣṇa humbly requested information from him.
"By your own maya you bewilder the three worlds. Therefore it is astonishing that you are asking about the fearlessness of the people there. But for one playing the role of an ordinary human is not astonishing.’ This is the idea expressed in this verse. "I have seen many times the insurmountable maya of you who are the bewilderer (mayinah) of even Brahma (visva srjah), of you who are present (caratah) within all beings through your energies such as maya along with your form as paramatma, O all pervading (bhuman). But you cover up your omniscience as speaker because of your own desires in performing pastimes as a human. Therefore it is not surprising for me that you ask such a question."
Nārada does not answer the proposition of the Lord that Nārada has made the three worlds fearless and in response to the Lord’s statement that Nārada sees everything, he accepts that he has seen everything represented by the śaktis of the Lord. I have seen the effects of māyā--the various universes, the creators within them such as Brahmā and Viṣṇu, and the possessors of the māyā-śakti (māyinaḥ). It does not surprise me that you wander among the living beings hidden like all-pervading fire, by your śaktis or your śakti filled with bhakti. Vyāsa has stated: tvaṁ paryaṭann arka iva tri-lokīm antaś-caro vāyur ivātma-sākṣī | You wander like the sun throughout the three worlds seeing everything and wander like the life air throughout the body as the witness of everyone’s intelligence. SB 1.5.7
O Lord spread everywhere (vibho)! I have seen māyā, which you pervade, belonging to you who create illusions (māyinaḥ). You can bewilder even Brahmā. Though the māyā is inconceivable, I have seen it many times. You exist not only externally but internally as well. O unlimited Lord (bhūman)! As the antaryāmī of all jīvas, inspiring the functioning of all their senses, you move within all beings by your śaktis. This is not astonishing since you are the controller of māyā. Or O all-pervading Lord (bhūman)! Like fire in wood or blazing like fire, you move in all beings Or your question is not surprising to me, since you hide your powers by śaktis such as avidyā-śakti, a portion of māyā. It is not surprising because I have seen your māyā. The question also arises by your māyā.
- Where am I being slowed down by appearances when reality is right behind them?
- What practice helps me see through the smoke?
Bhagavān covering His own light by His own energies is like the sun appearing as smoke from one of its own flames — the smoke is not other than the fire, yet it veils. Māyā is His own śakti; she does not oppose Him but accomplishes His privacy.
Brahmā, the creator himself, was once bewildered by Kṛṣṇa's māyā in SB 10.13 — when he hid the cowherd boys, Kṛṣṇa replaced them all with His own four-armed forms, and Brahmā, beholding, fell unconscious. Nārada explicitly names this episode in this verse's first half.
Gauḍīya reading: even Brahmā, the universal kartā, cannot see through Bhagavān's līlā unless Bhagavān unveils. Bhakti is therefore not human insight but His chosen disclosure.
My note
Source: vedabase.io