Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.18.17

tad bhagavato māyāmayam rūpam parama-samādhi-yogena ramā devī samvatsarasya rātrishu prajāpater duhitribhir upetāhahsu ca tad-bhartribhir upāste idam codāharati

SYNONYMS

tat — that; bhagavatah — of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; māyā-mayam — full of affection for the devotees; rūpam — form; parama — highest; samādhi-yogena — by absorption of the mind in the service of the Lord; ramā — the goddess of fortune; devī — divine woman; samvatsarasya — known as Samvatsara; rātrishu — during the nights; prajāpateh — of Prajāpati; duhitribhih — with the daughters; upeta — combined; ahahsu — during the days; ca — also; tat-bhartribhih — with the husbands; upāste — worships; idam — this; ca — also; udāharati — chants.

TRANSLATION

Accompanied during the daytime by the sons of the Prajāpati [the predominating deities of the days] and accompanied at night by his daughters [the deities of the nights], Lakshmīdevī worships the Lord during the period known as the Samvatsara in His most merciful form as Kāmadeva. Fully absorbed in devotional service, she chants the following mantras.

PURPORT

The word māyāmayam used in this verse should not be understood according to the interpretations of the Māyāvādīs. Māyā means affection as well as illusion. When a mother deals with her child affectionately, she is called māyāmaya. In whatever form the Supreme Lord Vishnu appears, He is always affectionate toward His devotees. Thus the word māyāmayam is used here to mean "very affectionate toward the devotees." Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī writes in this regard that māyāmayam can also mean kripā-pracuram, deeply merciful. Similarly, Śrīla Vīrarāghava says, māyā-pracuranātmīya-sańkalpena parigrihītam ity arthah jñāna-paryāyo'tra māyā-śabdah: when one is very affectionate due to an intimate relationship, one is described as māyāmaya. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Thākura explains māyāmayam by dividing it into the words māyā and āmayam. He explains these words to indicate that because the living entity is covered by the disease of illusion, the Lord is always eager to deliver His devotee from the clutches of māyā and cure him of the disease caused by the illusory energy.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness