Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvadasha Skandha, Shloka 31
Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi Meets Lord Śiva: Devotee as Living Tīrtha and the Lord’s Māyā
सृष्ट्वेदं मनसा विश्वमात्मनानुप्रविश्य य: । गुणै: कुर्वद्भिराभाति कर्तेव स्वप्नदृग् यथा ॥ ३१ ॥ तस्मै नमो भगवते त्रिगुणाय गुणात्मने । केवलायाद्वितीयाय गुरवे ब्रह्ममूर्तये ॥ ३२ ॥
sṛṣṭvedaṁ manasā viśvam ātmanānupraviśya yaḥ guṇaiḥ kurvadbhir ābhāti karteva svapna-dṛg yathā
I offer my obeisances to that Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has created this entire universe simply by His desire and then entered into it as the Supersoul. By making the modes of nature act, He seems to be the direct creator of this world, just as a dreamer seems to be acting within his dream. He is the owner and ultimate controller of the three modes of nature, yet He remains alone and pure, without any equal. He is the supreme spiritual master of all, the original personal form of the Absolute Truth.
The Supreme Lord releases His material potencies, and by their interaction creation takes place. The Lord remains aloof, as the supreme transcendental entity. Still, because the entire creation unfolds according to His design and will, His controlling hand is perceived within all things. People thus imagine that God is the direct builder of this world, although He remains aloof, creating through the manipulation of His multifarious potencies.
FAQs
This verse explains that the Lord creates and enters the universe, yet actions are carried out by the modes of nature; He only appears to be the doer, like a dreamer seeming to act in a dream.
He uses it to show how apparent agency can be illusory—just as dream actions seem real to the dream-seer, the Lord’s “doership” is only an appearance produced by the guṇas.
Act responsibly while remembering that outcomes are governed by higher laws (guṇas and providence); cultivate humility, reduce ego, and dedicate work to Bhagavān in devotion.