Shloka 34
Avatāra-kathā — The Puruṣa, the Many Incarnations, and Kṛṣṇa as Svayam Bhagavān
यद्येषोपरता देवी माया वैशारदी मति: । सम्पन्न एवेति विदुर्महिम्नि स्वे महीयते ॥ ३४ ॥
yady eṣoparatā devī māyā vaiśāradī matiḥ sampanna eveti vidur mahimni sve mahīyate
Apabila Dewi Māyā mereda dan, dengan rahmat Tuhan, akal budi diperkaya dengan pengetahuan rohani, maka makhluk hidup segera tercerahkan melalui penyedaran diri dan teguh dalam kemuliaannya sendiri.
Because the Lord is the Absolute Transcendence, all of His forms, names, pastimes, attributes, associates and energies are identical with Him. His transcendental energy acts according to His omnipotency. The same energy acts as His external, internal and marginal energies, and by His omnipotency He can perform anything and everything through the agency of any of the above energies. He can turn the external energy into internal by His will. Therefore by His grace the external energy, which is employed in illusioning those living beings who want to have it, subsides by the will of the Lord in terms of repentance and penance for the conditioned soul. And the very same energy then acts to help the purified living being make progress on the path of self-realization. The example of electrical energy is very appropriate in this connection. The expert electrician can utilize the electrical energy for both heating and cooling by adjustment only. Similarly, the external energy, which now bewilders the living being into continuation of birth and death, is turned into internal potency by the will of the Lord to lead the living being to eternal life. When a living being is thus graced by the Lord, he is placed in his proper constitutional position to enjoy eternal spiritual life.
FAQs
This verse indicates that Māyā is a divine potency that can withdraw, implying she acts under the Lord’s supremacy; when she is withdrawn, His true, flawless discernment and glory are directly recognized.
In the context of listing avatāras and the Lord’s supremacy, Sūta highlights that even the power that bewilders beings (Māyā) is subordinate to Him—therefore His greatness is self-established and complete.
Cultivate devotion and clear discernment: recognize that confusion and illusion are not ultimate, and seek the Lord’s shelter so that clarity (vaiśāradī mati) and steadiness in dharma can prevail.