Verse Text
yathā prathame –
etad īśanam īśasya prakṛti-stho ’pi tad-guṇaiḥ |
na yujyate sadātma-sthair yathā buddhis tad-āśrayā ||181||
Translation
An example from the First Canto: This is the divinity of the Personality of Godhead: He is not affected by the qualities of material nature, even though He is in contact with them. Similarly, the devotees who have taken shelter of the Lord do not become influenced by the material qualities. SB 1.11.39
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
This verse explains the nature of the Lordship (īśanam) of He who controls everything (īśasya). Māyā-kāryāvaśī-kṛtaḥ means one who is not controlled by māyā or its effects. The Lord is situated within prakṛti either as the Supersoul or as an avatāra, but He is not contaminated (yujyate) by prakṛti’s effects in the form of the three guṇas--sattva, rajas and tamas. In contrast to this, the jīvas are affected by the guṇas through taking the role of owners of it while being situated within it. A comparison is given. It is just like the intelligence of the devotees, which takes shelter of the Lord. Their intelligence also does not become contaminated. In this way the Lord is shown to be always situated in His svarūpa (sadā-svarūpa-samprāpta). He does not at all deviate from His form and qualities which are actually the product of His svarūpa-śakti. This is another way of saying that He is not affected at all by māyā and its guṇas. In the Bhāgavatam, the śrutis also say:
sa yad ajayā tv ajām anuśayīta guṇāṁś ca juṣan
bhajati sarūpatāṁ tad anu mṛtyum apeta-bhagaḥ
tvam uta jahāsi tām ahir iva tvacam ātta-bhago
mahasi mahīyase ’ṣṭa-guṇite ’parimeya-bhagaḥ
The illusory material nature attracts the minute living entity to embrace her, and as a result he assumes forms composed of her qualities. Subsequently, he loses all his spiritual qualities and must undergo repeated deaths. You, however, avoid the material energy in the same way that a snake abandons its old skin. Glorious in Your possession of eight mystic perfections, You enjoy unlimited opulences. SB 10.87.38
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
In the First Canto, Eleventh Chapter, verse 38, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated that the special prerogative of the supreme controller is that He is not at all affected by the modes of nature. The practical example of this is that devotees who are under the protection of the Lord are also not affected by material nature. To overcome the influence of material nature is very difficult, but the devotees or the saintly persons who are under the protection of the Lord are not affected. So what need is there to speak of the Lord Himself? To be more clear, although the Lord sometimes appears in this material world, He has nothing to do with the modes of material nature, and He acts with full independence in His transcendental position. This is the special quality of the Lord.