Shloka 17
Varṣa-devatā Worship in Jambūdvīpa: Hayagrīva/Hayaśīrṣa, Nṛsiṁha, Kāmadeva (Pradyumna), Matsya, Kūrma, and Varāha
तद्भगवतो मायामयं रूपं परमसमाधियोगेन रमा देवी संवत्सरस्य रात्रिषु प्रजापतेर्दुहितृभिरुपेताह:सु च तद्भर्तृभिरुपास्ते इदं चोदाहरति ॥ १७ ॥
tad bhagavato māyāmayaṁ rūpaṁ parama-samādhi-yogena ramā devī saṁvatsarasya rātriṣu prajāpater duhitṛbhir upetāhaḥsu ca tad-bhartṛbhir upāste idaṁ codāharati.
രമാ ദേവി (ലക്ഷ്മീദേവി) പരമ സമാധിയോഗത്തിൽ ലീനയായി, സംവത്സരകാലത്ത് ഭഗവാന്റെ മായാമയവും അത്യന്തം കരുണാമയവും ആയ കാമദേവസ്വരൂപത്തെ ഉപാസിക്കുന്നു. പകലിൽ പ്രജാപതിയുടെ പുത്രന്മാരോടൊപ്പം (ദിവസങ്ങളുടെ അധിഷ്ഠാതാക്കൾ)യും രാത്രിയിൽ അവന്റെ പുത്രിമാരോടൊപ്പം (രാത്രികളുടെ അധിഷ്ഠാത്രികൾ)യും പ്രഭുവിനെ സേവിച്ച് താഴെ പറയുന്ന മന്ത്രങ്ങൾ ജപിക്കുന്നു।
The word māyāmayam used in this verse should not be understood according to the interpretations of the Māyāvādīs. Māyā means affection as well as illusion. When a mother deals with her child affectionately, she is called māyāmaya. In whatever form the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu appears, He is always affectionate toward His devotees. Thus the word māyāmayam is used here to mean “very affectionate toward the devotees.” Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī writes in this regard that māyāmayam can also mean kṛpā-pracuram, deeply merciful. Similarly, Śrīla Vīrarāghava says, māyā-pracuranātmīya-saṅkalpena parigṛhītam ity arthaḥ jñāna-paryāyo ’tra māyā-śabdaḥ: when one is very affectionate due to an intimate relationship, one is described as māyāmaya. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains māyāmayam by dividing it into the words māyā and āmayam. He explains these words to indicate that because the living entity is covered by the disease of illusion, the Lord is always eager to deliver His devotee from the clutches of māyā and cure him of the disease caused by the illusory energy.
FAQs
This verse states that Ramā Devī (Lakṣmī) worships the Supreme Lord’s divine form with parama-samādhi-yoga, accompanied by Prajāpati’s daughters and their husbands, and offers prayers in that context.
Śukadeva is describing the devotional culture of Bhārata-varṣa and related worship; he notes that Lakṣmī’s worship is performed in the company of Prajāpati’s daughters and their spouses, introducing the prayers that follow.
Cultivate focused remembrance of the Lord—through daily prayer, mantra, and attentive worship—so devotion becomes steady and absorbed rather than distracted.