Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.12.15

manyamāna idaḿ viśvaḿ

māyā-racitam ātmani

avidyā-racita-svapna-

gandharva-nagaropamam

SYNONYMS

manyamānaḥ — realizing; idam — this; viśvam — universe; māyā — by the external energy; racitam — manufactured; ātmani — unto the living entity; avidyā — by illusion; racita — manufactured; svapna — a dream; gandharva-nagara — phantasmagoria; upamam — like.

TRANSLATION

Śrīla Dhruva Mahārāja realized that this cosmic manifestation bewilders living entities like a dream or phantasmagoria because it is a creation of the illusory, external energy of the Supreme Lord.

PURPORT

In the deep forest it sometimes appears that there are big palaces and nice cities. That is technically called gandharva-nagara. Similarly, in dreams also we create many false things out of imagination. A self-realized person, or a devotee, knows well that this material cosmic manifestation is a temporary, illusory representation appearing to be truth. It is like a phantasmagoria. But behind this shadow creation there is reality — the spiritual world. A devotee is interested in the spiritual world, not its shadow. Since he has realization of the supreme truth, a devotee is not interested in this temporary shadow of truth. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (paraḿ dṛṣṭvā nivartate).

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