Shloka 29
Parīkṣit’s Final Absorption, Takṣaka’s Bite, Janamejaya’s Snake Sacrifice, and the Vedic Sound-Lineage
सैषा विष्णोर्महामायाबाध्ययालक्षणा यया । मुह्यन्त्यस्यैवात्मभूता भूतेषु गुणवृत्तिभि: ॥ २९ ॥
saiṣā viṣṇor mahā-māyā- bādhyayālakṣaṇā yayā muhyanty asyaivātma-bhūtā bhūteṣu guṇa-vṛttibhiḥ
Ésta es, en verdad, la gran māyā ilusoria del Señor Viṣṇu, indomable y difícil de percibir. Aunque las almas son partes del Señor, por su influjo se confunden con las funciones de las guṇas e se identifican con cuerpos materiales.
The illusory energy of Lord Viṣṇu is so powerful that even the illustrious son of King Parīkṣit was temporarily misdirected. Because he was a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, however, his bewilderment was quickly rectified. On the other hand, an ordinary, materialistic person without the special protection of the Lord plummets to the depths of material ignorance. Factually, materialistic persons are not interested in the protection of Lord Viṣṇu. Therefore their complete ruination is inevitable.
FAQs
This verse says Mahāmāyā is Lord Viṣṇu’s great potency that binds and bewilders the jīva through the workings of the material modes (guṇas), causing the soul to identify with material existence.
In Canto 12’s concluding teachings, Śukadeva clarifies how illusion operates—through guṇas—so Parīkṣit can fix his consciousness on the Lord and not be diverted by material identification at life’s end.
Notice how goodness, passion, and ignorance shape thoughts and habits; then deliberately choose bhakti practices—hearing, chanting, and remembering Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa—to reduce bewilderment and regain spiritual clarity.