Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvadasha Skandha, Shloka 41

Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi Meets Lord Śiva: Devotee as Living Tīrtha and the Lord’s Māyā

Devanagari script

एतत् केचिदविद्वांसो मायासंसृतिरात्मन: । अनाद्यावर्तितं नृणां कादाचित्कं प्रचक्षते ॥ ४१ ॥

Transliteration

etat kecid avidvāṁso māyā-saṁsṛtir ātmanaḥ anādy-āvartitaṁ nṝṇāṁ kādācitkaṁ pracakṣate

Translation

尽管此事独一无二、前所未有，仍有一些愚昧之人把它比作至上主为受缚众生所设的幻相物质轮回——自无始以来不断旋转的无尽循环。

Synonyms

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• केचित्: some (people)
• केचित्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; अनिश्चित-प्रयोग (indefinite pronoun)

• अविद्वांसः: ignorant persons
• अविद्वांसः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अविद्वस् (प्रातिपदिक; a- + विद्वस्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘the ignorant’

• मायासंसृतिः: the māyā-born transmigration
• मायासंसृतिः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माया + संसृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘the cycle/flow of māyā’

• आत्मनः: of the self
• आत्मनः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/genitive), एकवचन

• अनादि: beginningless
• अनादि: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनादि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; first member in compound with आवर्तितम्

• आवर्तितम्: whirled/continued in cycles
• आवर्तितम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ+वर्तय् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; with अनादि- as compound: ‘beginninglessly turned/whirled’

• नृणाम्: of men / of people
• नृणाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/genitive), बहुवचन

• कादाचित्कम्: occasional / contingent
• कादाचित्कम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कादाचित्क (प्रातिपदिक; from कदाचित्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of एतत्/आवर्तितम्)

• प्रचक्षते: declare / describe
• प्रचक्षते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र+चक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन, आत्मनेपद

Purport

Mārkaṇḍeya’s being drawn into the Lord’s body by His inhalation and expelled again by His exhalation should not be considered a symbolic description of the perennial cycles of material creation and annihilation. This portion of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam describes a real, historical event experienced by a great devotee of the Lord, and those trying to relegate this story to mere symbolic allegory are here declared to be unintelligent fools.

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about māyā and saṁsāra being beginningless?

This verse states that the soul’s entanglement in māyā-driven saṁsāra is anādi (without a first beginning) and repeatedly recurring, though the ignorant sometimes imagine it started at a particular time.

Why does Śukadeva Gosvāmī criticize the view that bondage began at a certain time?

Because it reflects avidyā (lack of true knowledge): it misunderstands the nature of conditioned existence, which the Bhagavatam presents as a recurring cycle under māyā rather than a one-time historical event.

Practical application of understanding māyā-saṁsṛti in modern life?

Recognize recurring patterns of attachment and suffering as symptoms of māyā, and respond by seeking lasting spiritual solutions—cultivating devotion, discernment, and detachment rather than blaming a single external moment or cause.