Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.13.45
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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khadyota-arciḥ
—
the light of a glowworm
Compound: khadyota (glowworm) + arcis (light, flame). The Bhāgavata's perfect image for displaced mystic power. Gauḍīyas hold this verse as a standing reference for any spiritual practitioner who fancies their own siddhi as a meaningful power against Bhagavān.
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itara-māyā
—
an inferior mystic potency
Compound: itara (other, inferior) + māyā. The māyā of an itara — a being lower than Bhagavān. Gauḍīyas distinguish: Bhagavān has yoga-māyā (His own internal power); jīvas, including Brahmā, have at best itara-māyā.
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mahati
—
against a great (personality)
Locative of mahat (great). When deployed against mahat, itara-māyā is destroyed. Mahat in Gauḍīya usage names the highest devotees and, supremely, Bhagavān Himself.
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nihanti
—
destroys
Present indicative of ni-√han (to strike down). The verse's grammatical pivot: the inferior māyā 'kills' — but kills its own wielder. Gauḍīyas read nihanti as the boomerang-verb of misapplied śakti.
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yuñjataḥ
—
of one who applies (it)
Genitive present participle of √yuj (to engage, to apply). Paired in the verse with ātmani (in/upon oneself). One who 'engages' itara-māyā against the Supreme ends up engaging it upon himself. Gauḍīyas read this as the Bhāgavata's grammar of pratiloma-śakti: power against the source recoils.
When one wants to supersede a superior power, one’s own inferior power becomes ludicrous. Just as a glowworm in the daytime and snow at night have no value, Brahmā’s mystic power became worthless in the presence of Kṛṣṇa, for greater mystic power condemns inferior mystic power. On a dark night, the darkness produced by snow has no meaning. The glowworm appears very important at night, but in the daytime its glow has no value; whatever little value it has is lost. Similarly, Brahmā became insignificant in the presence of Kṛṣṇa’s mystic power. Kṛṣṇa’s māyā was not diminished in value, but Brahmā’s māyā was condemned. Therefore, one should not try to exhibit one’s insignificant opulence before a greater power.
No type of maya is able to cover the Lord, who is the controller of mahamaya. Rather, that attempt shows the insignificance of the person directing that inferior maya. Two examples are given to show this. In the dense darkness of night (tamyam) fog (naiharam) has just a resemblance to darkness (tamovat). In other words, in dense darkness the darkness created by fog cannot cover that darkness, but rather makes the darkness darker, and the fog itself gets covered by darkness, and becomes insignificant. In this way Brahma’s maya could not cover the Lord, but rather it made the Lord’s power greater, and Brahma became covered by that, making Brahma insignificant. As the example only attributes a little causality to Brahma, another more satisfying example is given. As a firefly may desire to the light up the day just as he does the night, he is not able to do so. Rather it becomes known to all that he has lost his power to light. In this way, Brahma, though being powerful in some places, when he desired to show his powers by spreading maya over the Lord, he lost his power. Directing the maya towards a great person (mahati) destroys the power of the person directing that power.
This is proper. The explanation of Śrīdhara Svāmī is proper, using concepts of āvaraṇa (covering) and vikṣepa (disturbance). The explanation here will follow his commentary. Particles of snow in the dense darkness cannot cover the darkness but rather merge with the darkness and the darkness becomes greater and covers up the snow particles. In the daytime, the sunlight reveals the light of the full moon situated in the daytime sky. The light from a fire fly however cannot reveal the light of the sun. Rather the sun makes the fire fly’s light dim. Māyā which a person employs against a powerful person cannot cover that person’s great power and cannot change its nature into something else. Rather indicating its source, that māyā then destroys whatever ability that person had. The phrase tamovan naihāram can be taken as tamovat naihāram or as tamo va naihāran. The word va means “like” according to Amara-koṣa.
That bewilderment was proper. The darkness of fog cannot achive its goal in darkness. And example is given. A firefly cannot reveal the sun. Rather the firefly suffers by the brightness of the sun’s rays and is destroyed. For one who uses his powers of māyā against a greater person, his powers are destroyed.
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Snow's whiteness vanishes in deeper night, a firefly disappears in noon — Brahmā's mystic power, deployed against Kṛṣṇa, is light met by greater light, not light met by darkness. The opposing power does not even register as a force; it is consumed by the disproportion.
My note
Source: vedabase.io