FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.28.6

నమస్తుభ్యం భగవతే బ్రహ్మణే పరమాత్మనే । న యత్ర శ్రూయతే మాయా లోకసృష్టివికల్పనా ॥ ౬ ॥
namas tubhyaṁ bhagavate
[namas tubhyam bhagavate]
brahmaṇe paramātmane
[brahmane paramaatmane]
na yatra śrūyate māyā
[na yatra shrooyate maayaa]
loka-sṛṣṭi-vikalpanā
[loka-srishti-vikalpanaa]
namaḥ — obeisances tubhyam — unto You bhagavate — unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead brahmaṇe — the Absolute Truth parama - ātmane — the Supreme Soul na — not yatra — in whom śrūyate — is heard of māyā — the illusory, material energy loka — of this world sṛṣṭi — the creation vikalpanā — which arranges .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
namas tubhyaṁ bhagavate
namaḥ
obeisances
tubhyam
unto You
bhagavate
unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead
brahmaṇe paramātmane
brahmaṇe
the Absolute Truth
parama - ātmane
the Supreme Soul
na yatra śrūyate māyā
na
not
yatra
in whom
śrūyate
is heard of
māyā
the illusory, material energy
loka-sṛṣṭi-vikalpanā
loka
of this world
sṛṣṭi
the creation
vikalpanā
which arranges .
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
My obeisances unto You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Soul, within whom there is no trace of the illusory energy, which orchestrates the creation of this world.

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.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
My obeisances unto You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Soul, within whom there is no trace of the illusory energy, which orchestrates the creation of this world.
Commentary

"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)."

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

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 jṣānam 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.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

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.

Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Apaishunam (Non-slander)Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)Asteya (Non-stealing / Honesty)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Bhakti (Devotion)Abhaya (Fearlessness)Shanti (Peace / Tranquility)
Related verses
Concepts
Maya

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

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