Shloka 15
प्रह्लादस्य अव्यभिचारिणी भक्ति, मायाविनाशः, तथा विष्णोः विश्वरूप-स्तुतिः
नास्माभिः शक्यते हन्तुम् अयं दुर्वृत्तबालकः मायां वेत्ति भवांस् तस्मान् माययैनं निषूदय
nāsmābhiḥ śakyate hantum ayaṃ durvṛttabālakaḥ māyāṃ vetti bhavāṃs tasmān māyayainaṃ niṣūdaya
“We cannot slay this ill-natured boy. He understands the ways of māyā; therefore you, who know illusion’s power, destroy him by māyā itself.”
Unnamed adversaries/assailants (speaking to a māyā-skilled ally or leader) as narrated by Sage Parāśara to Maitreya
Concept: Adharma, frustrated by failure, seeks subtler violence through māyā, but true spiritual insight is not conquered by illusion.
Vedantic Theme: Maya
Application: Cultivate discrimination and steady practice so that psychological ‘illusions’ (fear, propaganda, temptation) do not govern decisions.
Vishishtadvaita: Māyā is not ultimate; the jīva’s clarity arises through dependence on the Lord’s grace, not through autonomous power.
Phase: Persecution
Bhakti Quality: Fearless discernment: seeing through māyā by devotion to Hari
FAQs
Here māyā functions as both a metaphysical concept and a practical weapon—suggesting that direct violence fails, so deception/illusion is proposed as the means to overcome the boy.
Through episodes like this, Parāśara shows that political power often turns to cunning when strength fails, while the Purāṇic frame still implies that dharma and higher protection ultimately govern outcomes.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana’s worldview places māyā and all powers within the supreme sovereignty of Vishnu—so illusion and strategy remain subordinate to the cosmic order upheld by him.