Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvitiya Skandha, Shloka 45
Daśa-lakṣaṇam: The Ten Topics, Virāṭ-Puruṣa Sense-Manifestation, and the Supreme Shelter (Āśraya)
नास्य कर्मणि जन्मादौ परस्यानुविधीयते । कर्तृत्वप्रतिषेधार्थं माययारोपितं हि तत् ॥ ४५ ॥
nāsya karmaṇi janmādau parasyānuvidhīyate kartṛtva-pratiṣedhārthaṁ māyayāropitaṁ hi tat
至上主には、物質界の創造と破壊における直接の「作為」は本来当てはまらない。ヴェーダが主の直接介入を語るのは、「プラクリティこそ創造者である」という考えを打ち砕くためであり、その表現はマーヤーによる便宜的な帰属である。
The Vedic direction for the creation, maintenance and destruction of the material world is this: yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante; yena jātāni jīvanti; yat prayanty abhisaṁviśanti — i.e., everything is created by Brahman, after creation everything is maintained by Brahman, and after annihilation everything is conserved in Brahman. Gross materialists without any knowledge of Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān conclude material nature to be the ultimate cause of the material manifestation, and the modern scientist also shares this view that the material nature is the ultimate cause of all the manifestations of the material world. This view is refuted by all Vedic literature. The Vedānta philosophy mentions that Brahman is the fountainhead of all creation, maintenance and destruction, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the natural commentation on the Vedānta philosophy, says, janmādy asya yato ’nvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ svarāṭ, etc.
FAQs
This verse states that the Supreme is not conditioned by karma in birth or any change; the appearance of doership is only a māyā-based superimposition, not His real nature.
He emphasizes Bhagavān’s transcendence: unlike conditioned souls, the Lord’s actions and appearances are not produced by karma; attributing agency to Him is a teaching device to later negate material conceptions about Him.
It helps a devotee distinguish between the soul’s conditioned sense of “I am the doer” and the Lord’s supreme independence, encouraging humility, surrender, and offering one’s actions to God rather than clinging to ego.