| Canto 11: General History | Chapter 3: Liberation from the Illusory Energy |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam 11.3.1
sri-rajovaca
SYNONYMS
sri-raja uvaca -- the King said; parasya -- of the Supreme; visnoh -- Visnu; isasya -- the Lord; mayinam -- for the possessors of great mystic power; api -- even; mohinim -- which is bewildering; mayam -- the illusory potency; veditum -- to understand; icchamah -- we desire; bhagavantah -- my lords; bruvantu -- please tell this; nah -- to us.
TRANSLATION
King Nimi said: Now we wish to learn about the illusory potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Visnu, which bewilders even great mystics. My lords, please speak to us about this subject.
PURPORT
According to Srila Sridhara Svami, in this chapter various saintly sons of Rsabhadeva will speak about the illusory energy (maya), the means for crossing beyond it, the characteristics of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and prescribed duties for human beings. The forty-eighth verse of the previous chapter stated, visnor mayam idam pasyan: "A devotee of Krsna should see the entire universe to be the illusory potency of the Lord." Therefore King Nimi is now pursuing this subject matter by requesting more detailed information from the saintly Yogendras.
According to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, the demigods, headed by Lord Brahma, and the human beings of the earth are all driven by their particular desires for material sense gratification. Thus they direct their senses toward research for material knowledge. The subtle celestial senses of the demigods and the gross senses of human beings are all busy in ascertaining the measurements of material sense objects. To understand fully the actual nature of maya, the illusory potency, which causes the conditioned souls to become averse to Krsna consciousness and surrender to bewildering material manifestations, King Nimi is inquiring from another of the nine Yogendras, Sri Antariksa.
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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari
Dravida dasa Brahmacari