FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.17.21

एक: सृजति भूतानि भगवानात्ममायया । एषां बन्धं च मोक्षं च सुखं दु:खं च निष्कल: ॥ २१ ॥
ekaḥ sṛjati bhūtāni
[ekah srijati bhootaani]
bhagavān ātma-māyayā
[bhagavaan aatma-maayayaa]
eṣāṁ bandhaṁ ca mokṣaṁ ca
[eshaam bandham cha moksham cha]
sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ ca niṣkalaḥ
[sukham duhkham cha nishkalah]
Word-for-word
ekaḥ — one sṛjati — creates bhūtāni — different varieties of living entities bhagavān — the Supreme Personality of Godhead ātma-māyayā — by His personal potencies eṣām — of all the conditioned souls bandham — the conditional life ca — and mokṣam — the liberated life ca — also sukham — happiness duḥkham — distresses ca — and niṣkalaḥ — not affected by the material qualities.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
ekaḥ sṛjati bhūtāni
ekaḥ
one
sṛjati
creates
bhūtāni
different varieties of living entities
bhagavān ātma-māyayā
bhagavān
the Supreme Personality of Godhead
ātma-māyayā
by His personal potencies
eṣāṁ bandhaṁ ca mokṣaṁ ca
eṣām
of all the conditioned souls
bandham
the conditional life
ca
and
mokṣam
the liberated life
ca
also
sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ ca niṣkalaḥ
sukham
happiness
duḥkham
distresses
ca
and
niṣkalaḥ
not affected by the material qualities.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is one. Unaffected by the conditions of the material world, He creates all the conditioned souls by His own personal potency. Because of being contaminated by the material energy, the living entity is put into ignorance and thus into different conditions of bondage. Sometimes, by knowledge, the living entity is given liberation. In sattva-guṇa and rajo-guṇa, he is subjected to happiness and distress.
Purport

The question may be raised why the living entities are situated in different conditions and who has arranged this. The answer is that it has been done by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, without anyone’s help. The Lord has His own energies ( parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate ), and one of them, namely the external energy, creates the material world and the varieties of happiness and distress for the conditioned souls under the supervision of the Lord. The material world consists of three modes of material nature — sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa. By sattva-guṇa the Lord maintains the material world, by rajo-guṇa He creates it, and by tamo-guṇa He annihilates it. After the varieties of living entities are created, they are subject to happiness and distress according to their association. When they are in sattva-guṇa, the mode of goodness, they feel happiness, when in rajo-guṇa they are distressed, and when in tamo-guṇa they have no sense of what to do or what is right and wrong.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
The one Lord, unaffected by māyā, creates the living entities, their bondage, liberation, happiness and distress by his māyā. “Who throws a person into the river of guṇas, and who delivers him?” The Lord does this. By his māyā, by rajas, the Lord creates, by sattva he maintains and by tamas he destroys. By avidyā he creates bondage and by vidyā he gives liberation. By sattva he creates happiness and by tamas he creates suffering. The Lord is devoid of māyā (niṣkalaḥ).
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
The Lord is one; unaffected by material conditions, He creates all conditioned souls by His own potency; through contamination, they suffer. The cause is unitary, but distribution is via contamination.
Reflection Questions
  • Have I held the source as unitary or as multiple competing forces?
  • What practice keeps me at the One while honoring the distributed?
📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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