Garuda Purana — Moksha Sadhana Prakarana, Shloka 1
Vīrya, Māyā/Prakṛti, Śrī’s Inseparability, Paramāṇu, and Hari’s Infinitude
नाम द्वितीयो ऽध्यायः श्रीकृष्ण उवाच / बभूवेच्छा मम देवस्य विष्णोः स्रष्टुं सृज्यान्मोक्षयोग्यांश्च मोक्तुम् / इच्छाशक्तिः सर्वदैवास्ति विष्णोस्तथापि तद्व्याहरणं च लौकिकम्
nāma dvitīyo 'dhyāyaḥ śrīkṛṣṇa uvāca / babhūvecchā mama devasya viṣṇoḥ sraṣṭuṃ sṛjyānmokṣayogyāṃśca moktum / icchāśaktiḥ sarvadaivāsti viṣṇostathāpi tadvyāharaṇaṃ ca laukikam
Śrī Kṛṣṇa said: “There arose the will of me—of the divine Lord Viṣṇu—to create the beings to be created, and to liberate those who are fit for liberation. The power of will ever abides in Viṣṇu; yet speaking of it as ‘arising’ is only a worldly manner of expression.”
Śrī Kṛṣṇa (as the voice of Lord Viṣṇu’s teaching)
Concept: Ishvara’s iccha-shakti is eternal; temporal language (‘arose’) is a pedagogical convention (laukika-vyavahara).
Vedantic Theme: Paramarthika vs vyavaharika distinction; timeless Brahman/Ishvara described through provisional language (adhyaropa-apavada).
Application: When reading scripture, distinguish literal narrative from teaching intent; contemplate the timeless ground behind changing descriptions.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Related Themes: Garuda Purana: cosmology/creation and liberation eligibility discussions in didactic chapters
FAQs
This verse states that Viṣṇu’s will-power is eternal, and through that will He both creates beings and grants liberation to those qualified for mokṣa.
It presents Viṣṇu as the source of both processes: creation for embodied existence and liberation for those who become fit—showing that mokṣa is also under divine governance, not merely cosmic mechanics.
Treat spiritual progress as aligning oneself with dharma and fitness for mokṣa (discipline, purity, devotion, knowledge), while remembering that scriptural descriptions of God’s “arising intentions” are often conventional ways to communicate timeless truths.