Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 8
Devas in Dvārakā, Brahmā’s Petition, and Uddhava’s Appeal
Prabhāsa Departure Set-Up
त्वं मायया त्रिगुणयात्मनि दुर्विभाव्यं व्यक्तं सृजस्यवसि लुम्पसि तद्गुणस्थ: । नैतैर्भवानजित कर्मभिरज्यते वै यत् स्वे सुखेऽव्यवहितेऽभिरतोऽनवद्य: ॥ ८ ॥
tvaṁ māyayā tri-guṇayātmani durvibhāvyaṁ vyaktaṁ sṛjasy avasi lumpasi tad-guṇa-sthaḥ naitair bhavān ajita karmabhir ajyate vai yat sve sukhe ’vyavahite ’bhirato ’navadyaḥ
ข้าแต่พระผู้ไม่อาจพิชิตได้ พระองค์ทรงอาศัยมายาอันประกอบด้วยสามคุณในพระองค์เอง เพื่อทรงสร้าง ทรงค้ำจุน และทรงทำลายจักรวาลที่ปรากฏอันยากหยั่งถึง แม้ดูประหนึ่งทรงอยู่ท่ามกลางการแปรผันของคุณ แต่พระองค์ไม่เคยถูกกรรมแตะต้อง เพราะทรงดำรงอยู่ในปีติสุขจิตวิญญาณนิรันดร์อันไม่ขาดสาย ปราศจากมลทิน
The word durvibhāvyam is significant here. The ultimate cause of the creation, maintenance and annihilation of the material world is certainly inconceivable even for the greatest mundane scientists, who waste their lives in useless and fruitless speculation. Yet Mahā-Viṣṇu, who is the secondary expansion of an expansion of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, sees the entire cosmos to be like an insignificant atom. So what hope is there for foolish so-called scientists who try to understand Kṛṣṇa by their ridiculous experimental power? Thus the word anavadya is used. No one can find fault or discrepancy in the body, character, activities or instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord is never materially ignorant; therefore He never exhibits cruelty, laziness, foolishness, blindness or material intoxication. Similarly, because the Lord is never polluted by material passion, He never exhibits material pride, lamentation, yearning or violence. And since the Lord is free from material goodness, He never attempts to peacefully enjoy the material world with a sublime materialistic mentality.
FAQs
This verse explains that although the Lord manifests creation through māyā made of the three guṇas, He is not bound by those activities because He remains absorbed in His own uninterrupted, faultless bliss.
Uddhava addresses Krishna as Ajita to emphasize that no material force—karma, guṇas, or māyā—can conquer or bind Him, even though He oversees creation, maintenance, and dissolution.
By remembering that the Supreme is untouched by change, one can cultivate steadiness—performing duties without becoming enslaved by outcomes, and seeking inner peace through devotion to the Lord who is beyond the guṇas.