SB 12.8.48 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

यं वै न वेद वितथाक्षपथैर्भ्रमद्धी: सन्तं स्वकेष्वसुषु हृद्यपि द‍ृक्पथेषु । तन्माययावृतमति: स उ एव साक्षा- दाद्यस्तवाखिलगुरोरुपसाद्य वेदम् ॥ ४८ ॥

Verse text

yaṁ vai na veda vitathākṣa-pathair bhramad-dhīḥ santaṁ svakeṣv asuṣu hṛdy api dṛk-patheṣu tan-māyayāvṛta-matiḥ sa u eva sākṣād ādyas tavākhila-guror upasādya vedam

Synonyms

yam — whom ; vai — indeed ; na veda — does not recognize ; vitatha — deceptive ; akṣa — pathaiḥ — by methods of empirical perception ; bhramat — becoming diverted ; dhīḥ — whose intelligence ; santam — present ; svakeṣu — within one’s own ; asuṣu — senses ; hṛdi — within the heart ; api — even ; dṛk — patheṣu — among perceived objects of the external world ; tat — māyayā — by His illusory potency ; āvṛta — covered over ; matiḥ — his understanding ; saḥ — he ; u — even ; eva — indeed ; sākṣāt — directly ; ādyaḥ — originally (in ignorance) ; tava — of You ; akhila — guroḥ — the spiritual master of all living beings ; upasādya — obtaining ; vedam — the knowledge of the Vedas. .

Translation

A materialist, his intelligence perverted by the action of his deceptive senses, cannot recognize You at all, although You are always present within his own senses and heart and also among the objects of his perception. Yet even though one’s understanding has been covered by Your illusory potency, if one obtains Vedic knowledge from You, the supreme spiritual master of all, he can directly understand You.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Persons with intelligence bewildered by deceptive sense perception cannot know you who are situated in their senses, life airs and hearts. Persons whose intelligence is covered by māyā cannot even know you when you appear as an avatāra within their vision. Even Brahmā who obtained the Vedas from you, the guru of all beings, cannot know you. This verse explained that the Lord is difficult to realize. A person with bewildered intelligence caused by deceptive sense perception (vitathākṣa-pathaih) does not know the Lord situated as the controller in the heart, in the life air and the senses. The person whose intelligence is covered by māyā does not know you, who are present visibly (dik-patheṣu) now as avatāra. What to speak of others, even Brahmā (ādyaḥ), though he obtained the Vedas from you, who are the guru of all beings, does not know you.