Māyā

evaṁ bahu-savaṁ kālaṁ mahātmāvicalendriyaḥ

evaṁ bahu-savaṁ kālaṁ mahātmāvicalendriyaḥ |
tri-vargaupayikaṁ nītvā putrāyādān nṛpāsanam ||
manyamāna idaṁ viśvaṁ māyā-racitam ātmani |
avidyā-racita-svapna-gandharva-nagaropamam ||
ātma-stry-apatya-suhṛdo balam ṛddha-kośam
antaḥ-puraṁ parivihāra-bhuvaś ca ramyāḥ |
bhū-maṇḍalaṁ jaladhi-mekhalam ākalayya
kālopasṛṣṭam iti sa prayayau viśālām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.12.14–15)

“After passing many years of time conducive to tri-varga [i.e., dharma, artha, and kāma], he of exalted ātmā [i.e., pure citta] and unwavering senses [i.e., Dhruva] gave the king’s seat to his son. Considering this world to be superimposed by māyā onto the ātmā and comparable to a city of Gandharvas fabricated by ignorance, and regarding the ātmā [i.e., the body], wives, children, friends, power [i.e., horses, elephants, soldiers, etc.], treasuries, inner chambers, beautiful parks, and the earth girdled by the oceans to be seized by time [i.e., invariably subject to destruction], he went to Viśālā [i.e. Badarikāśrama].”

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bhakti-yogena manasi samyak praṇihite’male

bhakti-yogena manasi samyak praṇihite’male |
apaśyat puruṣaṁ pūrṇaṁ māyāñ ca tad-apāśrayam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.7.4)

“In his pure heart, which was perfectly fixed by means of bhakti-yoga, Vyāsadeva saw the Complete Puruṣa, as well as māyā sheltered behind him.”

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kasmāt saṅkliśyate vidvān vyarthayārthehayāsakṛt

kasmāt saṅkliśyate vidvān vyarthayārthehayāsakṛt |
kasyacin māyayā nūnaṁ loko’yaṁ suvimohitaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.23.26)

“Why is [even] a learned person repeatedly troubled by meaningless endeavors for wealth? Certainly this world is completely bewildered by someone’s māyā.”

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bālas tāvat krīḍā-saktaḥ taruṇas tāvat taruṇī-saktaḥ

bālas tāvat krīḍā-saktaḥ
taruṇas tāvat taruṇī-saktaḥ |
vṛddhas tāvac cintā-saktaḥ
pare brahmaṇi ko’pi na saktaḥ ||
(Moha-mudgara-stotram: 7)

“As a child, one is absorbed in play.
As a youth, one is absorbed in young women.
As an elder, one is absorbed in worry.
No one is absorbed in Parabrahman.”

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man-māyā-mohita-dhiyaḥ puruṣāḥ puruṣarṣabha

man-māyā-mohita-dhiyaḥ puruṣāḥ puruṣarṣabha |
śreyo vadanty anekāntaṁ yathā-karma yatha-ruci ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.14.9)

[Kṛṣṇa to Uddhava:] “O best of human beings, human beings whose minds are bewildered by my māyā speak of good (śreyas) in many different ways according to [their own] karma and according to [their own] taste.”

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ye māṁ bhajanti dāmpatye tapasā vrata-caryayā

ye māṁ bhajanti dāmpatye tapasā vrata-caryayā |
kāmātmāno’pavargeśaṁ mohitā mama māyayā ||
māṁ prāpya māniny apavarga-sampadaṁ
vāñchanti ye sampada eva tat-patim |
te manda-bhāgā niraye’pi ye nṛṇāṁ
mātrātmakatvān nirayaḥ susaṅgamaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatan: 10.60.52–53; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 16)

“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa to Rukmiṇī Devī:] The desirous who by means of austerity and performance of rites worship me, the master of apavarga [i.e., mokṣa, or, the bestower of prema-bhakti, the ultimate puruṣārtha beyond even mokṣa], for the sake of matrimony [i.e., to enjoy the pleasures of being married] are deluded by my māyā. O Mānini! Those who desire [material] wealth [even] after attaining [alt., propitiating] me, who am the master of that [i.e., of wealth] and the wealth of apavarga, are unfortunate, since that [i.e., wealth] is present even in hell [alt., in births in lower, hellish species and conditions], and hell is a good condition for [such] persons on account of [their] being fixated upon the elements [i.e., on enjoying pleasures of sense objects].”

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mṛga-tṛṣṇāṁ yathā bālā manyanta udakāśayam

mṛga-tṛṣṇāṁ yathā bālā manyanta udakāśayam |
evaṁ vaikārikīṁ māyām ayuktā vastu cakṣate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.73.11)

“As the childish [i.e, the unintelligent] consider a mirage to be a reservoir of water, so the inattentive [i.e., the undiscerning] see transformed māyā [i.e., māyā in its state of being transformed into the manifest elements of sound, touch, sight, and so on] to be a reality.”

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evaṁ vimṛśya guṇato manasas try-avasthā

evaṁ vimṛśya guṇato manasas try-avasthā
man-māyayā mayi kṛtā iti niścitārthāḥ |
sañchidya hārdam anumāna-sad-ukti-tīkṣṇa-
jñānāsinā bhajata mākhila-saṁśayādhim ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.13.33)

“Deliberating in this way and becoming certain, ‘The three states of the mind [i.e., wakefulness, dreaming, and deep sleep] are manifest in me because of my illusion,’ completely cut away the foundation of all doubts [i.e., the ahaṅkāra] with the sharp sword of knowledge in the form of inference and the statements of the sat [i.e., the teachings of sādhus and the śāstra], and worship me situated in the heart.”

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sṛṣṭvā purāṇi vividhāny ajayātma-śaktyā

sṛṣṭvā purāṇi vividhāny ajayātma-śaktyā
vṛkṣān sarīsṛpa-paśūn khaga-dandaśūkān |
tais tair atuṣṭa-hṛdayaḥ puruṣaṁ vidhāya
brahmāvaloka-dhiṣaṇaṁ mudam āpa devaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.9.28)

“After creating trees, reptiles, animals, birds, snakes, and various [other] bodies with his own śakti ajā [i.e., māyā] and being unsatisfied at heart with them, Deva [i.e., Bhagavān] made the human being, endowed with an intellect for perception of Brahman [i.e., with the capacity to realize the him, the Supreme,] and became pleased.”

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