Shloka 6
Mārkaṇḍeya’s Request to See Māyā and the Vision of the Cosmic Deluge
अथाप्यम्बुजपत्राक्ष पुण्यश्लोकशिखामणे । द्रक्ष्ये मायां यया लोक: सपालो वेद सद्भिदाम् ॥ ६ ॥
athāpy ambuja-patrākṣa puṇya-śloka-śikhāmaṇe drakṣye māyāṁ yayā lokaḥ sa-pālo veda sad-bhidām
ഹേ താമരഇലക്കണ്ണനായ പ്രഭോ, ഹേ പുണ്യശ്ലോകങ്ങളുടെ ശിഖാമണേ! നിങ്ങളുടെ ദർശനം മാത്രം കൊണ്ടു ഞാൻ തൃപ്തനായിട്ടും, ലോകവും അതിന്റെ അധിപതിദേവന്മാരും സത്യത്തെ ഭൗതിക വൈവിധ്യമായി കരുതാൻ ഇടയാക്കുന്ന നിങ്ങളുടെ മായാശക്തിയെ ഞാൻ കാണാൻ ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നു।
A conditioned soul sees the material world to be constituted of independent, separate entities. Actually, all things are united, being potencies of the Supreme Lord. Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi is curious to witness the exact process by which māyā, the Lord’s bewildering potency, casts living beings into illusion.
FAQs
This verse acknowledges Krishna’s Māyā as the divine potency by which the world—even its rulers—perceives distinctions and separateness, though Krishna remains the supreme reality beyond illusion.
Śukadeva uses an intimate devotional epithet to glorify Krishna’s beauty and divinity while introducing the profound topic of His Māyā and the extraordinary events surrounding His departure.
Remember that appearances and social labels can be misleading; cultivate devotion and discernment (satsaṅga, śravaṇa) to see beyond temporary distinctions and stay aligned with spiritual truth.