Shloka 15
स्वर्गगमनम्, अदितिस्तुतिः-मायातत्त्वम्, तथा पारिजात-प्रसङ्गे इन्द्रयुद्धम्
अहं ममेति भावो ऽत्र यत् पुंसाम् अभिजायते संसारमातुर् मायायास् तवैतन् नाथ चेष्टितम्
ahaṃ mameti bhāvo 'tra yat puṃsām abhijāyate saṃsāramātur māyāyās tavaitan nātha ceṣṭitam
O Lord, the sense of “I” and “mine” that arises in people here—this is the working of Your Māyā, the very mother of saṃsāra, by which embodied beings cling and wander.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Concept: The ego-notion ‘I’ and possessiveness ‘mine’ are the operative mechanism of the Lord’s māyā, generating saṃsāra and repeated clinging.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Notice ‘I/mine’ reflexes in speech and decision-making; replace them with stewardship and offering (īśvara-arpana) to loosen attachment.
Vishishtadvaita: Egoism is a distortion of the jīva’s true nature as the Lord’s dependent mode (śeṣa); liberation comes by restoring śeṣatva rather than dissolving individuality.
Vishnu Form: Hari
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
This verse treats “I” and “mine” as the core mental construction that binds beings to saṃsāra, making ego and possessiveness the practical seed of repeated worldly experience.
Parāśara presents Māyā as a divinely governed power—called the “mother of saṃsāra”—through which the Lord’s order manifests as delusion for the bound soul and as a field for eventual discernment and release.
Vishnu is shown as sovereign even over Māyā: the arising of ego and ownership is not outside Him, underscoring His status as the supreme controller of both bondage’s mechanism and liberation’s possibility.