Shloka 11
Satī Desires to Attend Dakṣa’s Sacrifice; Śiva Warns Against the Pain of Relatives’ Insults
त्वय्येतदाश्चर्यमजात्ममायया विनिर्मितं भाति गुणत्रयात्मकम् । तथाप्यहं योषिदतत्त्वविच्च ते दीना दिदृक्षे भव मे भवक्षितिम् ॥ ११ ॥
tvayy etad āścaryam ajātma-māyayā vinirmitaṁ bhāti guṇa-trayātmakam tathāpy ahaṁ yoṣid atattva-vic ca te dīnā didṛkṣe bhava me bhava-kṣitim
This manifested cosmos is a wondrous creation of the Supreme Lord’s māyā, woven from the three guṇas—this truth you know completely. Yet I am but a humble woman, unversed in tattva. Therefore I wish to see my birthplace once more; please grant me leave to go.
Dākṣāyaṇī, Satī, knew very well that her husband, Lord Śiva, was not very much interested in the glaring manifestation of the material world, which is caused by the interaction of the three modes of nature. Therefore she addressed her husband as aja, which refers to one who has transcended the bondage of birth and death, or one who has realized his eternal position. She stated, “The illusion of accepting the perverted reflection, the material or cosmic manifestation, to be real is not present in you, because you are self-realized. For you the attraction of social life and the consideration that someone is father, someone is mother and someone is sister, which are illusory relationships, is already over; but because I am a poor woman, I am not so advanced in transcendental realization. Therefore naturally these appear to me as real.” Only less intelligent persons accept this perverted reflection of the spiritual world to be real. Those who are under the spell of the external energy accept this manifestation to be fact, whereas those who are advanced in spiritual realization know that it is illusion. Actual reality is elsewhere, in the spiritual world. “But as far as I am concerned,” Satī said, “I do not have much knowledge about self-realization. I am poor because I do not know the actual facts. I am attracted by my birthplace, and I want to see it.” One who has attraction for his birthplace, for his body and for other such items mentioned in the Bhāgavatam is considered to be like an ass or a cow. Satī might have heard all this many times from her husband, Lord Śiva, but because she was a woman, yoṣit, she still hankered after the same material objects of affection. The word yoṣit means “one who is enjoyed.” Therefore woman is called yoṣit. In spiritual advancement, association with yoṣit is always restricted because if one is like a play doll in the hands of yoṣit, then all his spiritual advancement is at once stopped. It is said, “Those who are just like playthings in the hands of a woman ( yoṣit-krīḍā-mṛgeṣu ) cannot make any advancement in spiritual realization.”
FAQs
This verse states that the manifested wonder of the world appears as guṇa-trayātmaka—composed of sattva, rajas, and tamas—yet it is ultimately produced by the Lord’s (aja) own potency and rests within Him.
Satī acknowledges the profound metaphysical truth Śiva knows, but admits her own agitation and asks Śiva’s permission to go see her mother at her father Dakṣa’s gathering.
Recognize that material situations are influenced by the guṇas, and respond with humility—seeking guidance from spiritually wiser mentors rather than acting only from emotion.