Shloka 18
स्वर्गगमनम्, अदितिस्तुतिः-मायातत्त्वम्, तथा पारिजात-प्रसङ्गे इन्द्रयुद्धम्
आराध्य त्वाम् अभीप्सन्ते कामान् आत्मभवक्षयम् यद् एते पुरुषा माया सैवेयं भगवंस् तव
ārādhya tvām abhīpsante kāmān ātmabhavakṣayam yad ete puruṣā māyā saiveyaṃ bhagavaṃs tava
Wahai Bhagavān, setelah memuja-Mu, mereka menginginkan kenikmatan yang didamba—bahkan lenyapnya kelahiran-ulang diri mereka. Namun apa pun yang mereka kejar, semuanya hanyalah māyā; dan māyā itu sesungguhnya milik-Mu.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya in the standard Vishnu Purana dialogue frame; this verse reads as an address to Bhagavān/Vishnu)
FAQs
The verse frames māyā not as an independent principle but as the Lord’s own power—what people chase as “real” objects or even as “liberation” is still under Bhagavān’s sovereignty.
He indicates that worshippers may seek worldly boons (kāmān) or even the ending of becoming (bhava-kṣaya), yet the entire field of seeking operates within māyā, which belongs to and is governed by Vishnu.
Vishnu is presented as the Supreme Lord (Bhagavān) whose mastery extends over māyā itself—supporting a theistic Vedanta where liberation is ultimately dependent on His reality and grace, not on an autonomous cosmic principle.