Srimad Bhagavatam — Navama Skandha, Shloka 58
The Yadu–Vṛṣṇi–Andhaka Genealogies and the Purpose of Kṛṣṇa’s Advent
यन्मायाचेष्टितं पुंस: स्थित्युत्पत्त्यप्ययाय हि । अनुग्रहस्तन्निवृत्तेरात्मलाभाय चेष्यते ॥ ५८ ॥
yan māyā-ceṣṭitaṁ puṁsaḥ sthity-utpatty-apyayāya hi anugrahas tan-nivṛtter ātma-lābhāya ceṣyate
The Supreme Personality of Godhead acts through His material energy in the creation, maintenance and annihilation of this cosmic manifestation just to deliver the living entity by His compassion and stop the living entity’s birth, death and duration of materialistic life. Thus He enables the living being to return home, back to Godhead.
Materialistic men sometimes ask why God has created the material world for the suffering of the living entities. The material creation is certainly meant for the suffering of the conditioned souls, who are part of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (15.7) :
FAQs
This verse explains that the Lord’s cosmic functions—creation, maintenance, and dissolution—are performed through His māyā and ultimately serve as His mercy, meant to help the soul turn away from material entanglement and attain self-realization.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī speaks this verse while instructing Mahārāja Parīkṣit, presenting the Lord’s governance of the cosmos as spiritually purposeful rather than merely material.
See life’s changes—growth, stability, and endings—as opportunities for detachment and devotion; use them to reduce material fixation and increase remembrance of the Lord, aiming for ātma-lābha (inner realization).