Srimad Bhagavatam — Ashtama Skandha, Shloka 8
Lord Śiva Bewildered by Mohinī
Viṣṇu’s Yoga-māyā and the Limits of Ascetic Power
एकस्त्वमेव सदसद्द्वयमद्वयं च स्वर्णं कृताकृतमिवेह न वस्तुभेद: । अज्ञानतस्त्वयि जनैर्विहितो विकल्पो यस्माद् गुणव्यतिकरो निरुपाधिकस्य ॥ ८ ॥
ekas tvam eva sad asad dvayam advayaṁ ca svarṇaṁ kṛtākṛtam iveha na vastu-bhedaḥ ajñānatas tvayi janair vihito vikalpo yasmād guṇa-vyatikaro nirupādhikasya
Mein lieber Herr, Du allein bist Ursache und Wirkung; auch wenn es als zwei erscheint—sat und asat—bist Du der eine advaya. Wie das Gold im Schmuck und das Gold im Erz nicht verschieden sind, so sind auch Ursache und Wirkung dasselbe. Aus Unwissenheit erdichten die Menschen Dualitäten in Dir; Du bist rein und ohne Bedingtheit, und das All ist Wirkung Deiner transzendentalen Qualitäten.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says that the living entities are representations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s marginal potency whereas the various bodies accepted by the living entities are products of the material energy. Thus the body is considered material, and the soul is considered spiritual. The origin of them both, however, is the same Supreme Personality of Godhead. As the Lord explains in Bhagavad-gītā (7.4-5):
FAQs
This verse states that the Supreme Lord is one, nondual reality who may appear as duality (sat and asat) to conditioned perception, but in truth remains without any real division.
In the Mohinī-līlā narrative, Śiva offers prayers acknowledging Viṣṇu’s transcendence—explaining that any perceived contradictions or material qualities are superimposed by ignorance, not inherent in the Lord.
It encourages seeing beyond superficial dualities—success/failure, friend/enemy—by recognizing that many divisions arise from ignorance, and cultivating steady devotion to the one Supreme Reality beyond changing circumstances.