Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvitiya Skandha, Shloka 27
Brahmā’s Tapasya, the Vision of Vaikuṇṭha, and the Lord’s Seed Instructions
Catuḥ-śloki
यथात्ममायायोगेन नानाशक्त्युपबृंहितम् । विलुम्पन् विसृजन् गृह्णन् बिभ्रदात्मानमात्मना ॥ २७ ॥
yathātma-māyā-yogena nānā-śakty-upabṛṁhitam vilumpan visṛjan gṛhṇan bibhrad ātmānam ātmanā
தயவுசெய்து அறிவியுங்கள்—உமது சுயஆத்மமாயா யோகத்தால் பல சக்திகளை வெளிப்படுத்தி, அழித்தல், படைத்தல், ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளல், தாங்கிப் பேணல் ஆகியவற்றை நீரே எவ்வாறு செய்கிறீர்?
The whole manifestation is the Lord Himself by diffusion of His different energies only, namely the internal, external and marginal, just as the sunlight is the manifestation of the energy of the sun planet. Such energy is simultaneously one with and different from the Lord, just as the sunshine is simultaneously one with and different from the sun planet. The energies are acting by combination and permutation by the indication of the Lord, and the acting agents, like Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva, are also different incarnations of the Lord. In other words, there is nothing but the Lord, and still the Lord is different from all such manifestive activities. How it is so will be explained later on.
FAQs
This verse explains that the Lord acts through His own māyā, expanded as many energies, by which He manifests, withdraws, accepts, and sustains the cosmos—yet He remains self-supported and independent.
He is instructing Parīkṣit Mahārāja about the Supreme Lord’s absolute sovereignty: all cosmic functions occur by His energies, while He remains unchanged and fully transcendental.
Seeing all changes—gain and loss, creation and destruction—as movements of the Lord’s energies can reduce anxiety and increase devotion, humility, and steadiness in bhakti.