Devanagari
श्रीनारद उवाच
दृष्टा मया ते बहुशो दुरत्यया
माया विभो विश्वसृजश्च मायिन: ।
भूतेषु भूमंश्चरत: स्वशक्तिभि-
र्वह्नेरिवच्छन्नरुचो न मेऽद्भुतम् ॥ ३७ ॥
Verse text
śrī-nārada uvāca
dṛṣṭā māyā te bahuśo duratyayā
māyā vibho viśva-sṛjaś ca māyinaḥ
bhūteṣu bhūmaṁś carataḥ sva-śaktibhir
vahner iva cchanna-ruco na me ’dbhutam
Synonyms
śrī
—
nāradaḥ uvāca — Śrī Nārada said
;
dṛṣṭā
—
seen
;
mayā
—
by me
;
te
—
Your
;
bahuśaḥ
—
many times
;
duratyayā
—
insurmountable
;
māyā
—
power of illusion
;
vibho
—
O almighty one
;
viśva
—
of the universe
;
sṛjaḥ
—
of the creator (Lord Brahmā)
;
ca
—
and
;
māyinaḥ
—
of the bewilderer (You)
;
bhūteṣu
—
among the created beings
;
bhūman
—
O all-encompassing one
;
carataḥ
—
(of You) who move
;
sva
—
Your own
;
śaktibhiḥ
—
by energies
;
vahneḥ
—
of fire
;
iva
—
as
;
channa
—
covered
;
rucaḥ
—
whose light
;
na
—
not
;
me
—
for me
;
adbhutam
—
amazing .
Translation
Śrī Nārada said: I have seen many times the insurmountable power of Your Māyā, O almighty one, by which You bewilder even the creator of the universe, Brahmā. O all-encompassing Lord, it does not surprise me that You disguise Yourself by Your own energies while moving among the created beings, as a fire covers its own light with smoke.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Śrī Nārada said: I have seen many times the insurmountable power of Your Māyā, O almighty one, by which You bewilder even the creator of the universe, Brahmā. O all-encompassing Lord, it does not surprise me that You disguise Yourself by Your own energies while moving among the created beings, as a fire covers its own light with smoke.
KB 10.70.37
The great sage Nārada spoke as follows: “My dear Lord, You have spoken about the cosmic manifestation created by the Supreme Lord, but I know that You are the all-pervading creator. Your energies are so extensive and inconceivable that even powerful personalities like Brahmā, the lord of this particular universe, cannot measure Your inconceivable power. My dear Lord, You are present as the Supersoul in everyone’s heart by Your inconceivable potency, exactly like the fire which is present in everyone but which no one can see directly. In conditioned life, all living entities are within the jurisdiction of the three modes of material nature. As such, they are unable to see Your presence everywhere with their material eyes. By Your grace, however, I have seen many times the action of Your inconceivable potency, and therefore when You ask me for the news of the Pāṇḍavas, which is not at all unknown to You, I am not surprised at Your inquiry.
Purport
When Lord Kṛṣṇa questioned Nārada Muni about the intentions of the Pāṇḍavas, the sage replied that the Lord is Himself all-powerful and all-knowing, even to the extent that He can bewilder the creator of the universe, Brahmā. Nārada understood that Lord Kṛṣṇa desired to kill Jarāsandha and was thus beginning to arrange for this pastime by inquiring from Nārada about the Pāṇḍavas’ intentions. Understanding the Lord’s own intention, Nārada was not astonished when Lord Kṛṣṇa humbly requested information from him.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
"By your own maya you bewilder the three worlds. Therefore it is astonishing that you are asking about the fearlessness of the people there. But for one playing the role of an ordinary human is not astonishing.’ This is the idea expressed in this verse.
"I have seen many times the insurmountable maya of you who are the bewilderer (mayinah) of even Brahma (visva srjah), of you who are present (caratah) within all beings through your energies such as maya along with your form as paramatma, O all pervading (bhuman). But you cover up your omniscience as speaker because of your own desires in performing pastimes as a human. Therefore it is not surprising for me that you ask such a question."
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Nārada does not answer the proposition of the Lord that Nārada has made the three worlds fearless and in response to the Lord’s statement that Nārada sees everything, he accepts that he has seen everything represented by the śaktis of the Lord. I have seen the effects of māyā--the various universes, the creators within them such as Brahmā and Viṣṇu, and the possessors of the māyā-śakti (māyinaḥ). It does not surprise me that you wander among the living beings hidden like all-pervading fire, by your śaktis or your śakti filled with bhakti. Vyāsa has stated:
tvaṁ paryaṭann arka iva tri-lokīm
antaś-caro vāyur ivātma-sākṣī |
You wander like the sun throughout the three worlds seeing everything and wander like the life air throughout the body as the witness of everyone’s intelligence. SB 1.5.7
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
O Lord spread everywhere (vibho)! I have seen māyā, which you pervade, belonging to you who create illusions (māyinaḥ). You can bewilder even Brahmā. Though the māyā is inconceivable, I have seen it many times. You exist not only externally but internally as well. O unlimited Lord (bhūman)! As the antaryāmī of all jīvas, inspiring the functioning of all their senses, you move within all beings by your śaktis. This is not astonishing since you are the controller of māyā.
Or O all-pervading Lord (bhūman)! Like fire in wood or blazing like fire, you move in all beings
Or your question is not surprising to me, since you hide your powers by śaktis such as avidyā-śakti, a portion of māyā. It is not surprising because I have seen your māyā. The question also arises by your māyā.