Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 24
Viṣṇupadī Gaṅgā: Descent, Cosmic Pathways, and Śiva’s Praise of Saṅkarṣaṇa
यन्निर्मितां कर्ह्यपि कर्मपर्वणींमायां जनोऽयं गुणसर्गमोहित: । न वेद निस्तारणयोगमञ्जसातस्मै नमस्ते विलयोदयात्मने ॥ २४ ॥
yan-nirmitāṁ karhy api karma-parvaṇīṁ māyāṁ jano ’yaṁ guṇa-sarga-mohitaḥ na veda nistāraṇa-yogam añjasā tasmai namas te vilayodayātmane
The Lord’s illusory potency binds the conditioned soul to this world through the successive stages of karma and bewilders him in the creation of the modes. Therefore, without His favor, one cannot know the easy means to cross beyond that māyā. I offer my obeisances to the Lord, the very cause of creation and annihilation.
Kṛṣṇa clearly states in Bhagavad-gītā (7.14) :
FAQs
This verse says people, deluded by the guṇas, fail to know the direct means to cross the Lord’s māyā; liberation comes by taking shelter of the Lord who controls creation and dissolution.
He emphasizes that the same Supreme Lord who expands the universe also withdraws it; recognizing His supremacy helps the listener understand that māyā and karma operate under Him, not independently.
Instead of being carried by endless karmic “stages” (career, status, consumption), one can seek the direct path—regular bhakti practices (hearing, chanting, remembrance)—to rise above guṇa-driven confusion.