Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 11

The Freed Kings Glorify Kṛṣṇa; Instruction on Kingship, Detachment, and Remembrance

Devanagari script

मृगतृष्णां यथा बाला मन्यन्त उदकाशयम् । एवं वैकारिकीं मायामयुक्ता वस्तु चक्षते ॥ ११ ॥

Transliteration

mṛga-tṛṣṇāṁ yathā bālā manyanta udakāśayam evaṁ vaikārikīṁ māyām ayuktā vastu cakṣate

Translation

正如童稚之人把沙漠中的海市蜃楼当作水池，无明之人也把摩耶的幻变当作真实之物。

Synonyms

• mṛga-tṛṣṇām: a mirage
• mṛga-tṛṣṇām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛga (प्रातिपदिक) + tṛṣṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः: 'मृगाणां तृष्णा' इति (mirage; lit. 'deer-thirst')

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Upamāna-dyotaka (उपमानद्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानार्थक-अव्यय (comparative adverb: 'just as')

• bālāḥ: children/naive ones
• bālāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (or common gender), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• manyante: think/consider
• manyante: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √man (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद

• udaka-āśayam: as water (a seeming pool)
• udaka-āśayam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: udaka (प्रातिपदिक) + āśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः: 'उदकस्य आशयः' (appearance/receptacle of water; seeming water)

• evam: thus
• evam: Prakāra-dyotaka (प्रकारद्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारार्थक-अव्यय (adverb: 'thus/in this way')

• vaikārikīm: transformative/illusory (of modification)
• vaikārikīm: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vaikārika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; 'मायाम्' इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• māyām: māyā, illusion
• māyām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• ayuktāḥ: undiscerning/unconnected (to right understanding)
• ayuktāḥ: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ayukta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; कर्तृविशेषणम्

• vastu: a real thing/reality
• vastu: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vastu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• cakṣate: see/regard as
• cakṣate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √cakṣ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about māyā being like a mirage?

This verse says that material appearance is like a mirage—mistaken as real by the immature—because it is a transformation of the modes and not the ultimate reality.

Who is speaking this verse in Bhagavatam Canto 10 Chapter 73?

Śukadeva Gosvāmī is speaking to Mahārāja Parīkṣit, explaining the deluding power of material nature and how the undiscerning misread it as reality.

How can I apply the mirage teaching of māyā in modern life?

Treat status, possessions, and fleeting pleasures as temporary appearances; anchor decisions in lasting spiritual practice—especially devotion to Kṛṣṇa—so you don’t mistake the temporary for the real.