SB 5.18.17

Srimad-Bhagavatam - Fifth Canto - Chapter 18: The Prayers Offered to the Lord by the Residents of Jambūdvīpa

SB 5.18.16 - SB 5.18.18

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

TEXT 17

tad bhagavato māyāmayaṁ rūpaṁ parama-samādhi-yogena

ramā devī saṁvatsarasya rātriṣu prajāpater duhitṛbhir

upetāhaḥsu ca tad-bhartṛbhir upāste idaṁ codāharati

SYNONYMS

tat — that; bhagavataḥ — of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; māyā-mayam — full of affection for the devotees; rūpam — form; parama — highest; samādhi-yogena — by absorption of the mind in the service of the Lord; ramā — the goddess of fortune; devī — divine woman; saṁvatsarasya — known as Saṁvatsara; rātriṣu — during the nights; prajāpateḥ — of Prajāpati; duhitṛbhiḥ — with the daughters; upeta — combined; ahaḥsu — during the days; ca — also; tat-bhartṛbhiḥ — with the husbands; upāste — worships; idam — this; ca — also; udāharati — chants.

TRANSLATION

Accompanied during the daytime by the sons of the Prajāpati [the predominating deities of the days] and accompanied at night by his daughters [the deities of the nights], Lakṣmīdevī worships the Lord during the period known as the Saṁvatsara in His most merciful form as Kāmadeva. Fully absorbed in devotional service, she chants the following mantras.

PURPORT

The word māyāmayam used in this verse should not be understood according to the interpretations of the Māyāvādīs. Māyā means affection as well as illusion. When a mother deals with her child affectionately, she is called māyāmaya. In whatever form the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu appears, He is always affectionate toward His devotees. Thus the word māyāmayam is used here to mean "very affectionate toward the devotees." Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī writes in this regard that māyāmayam can also mean kṛpā-pracuram, deeply merciful. Similarly, Śrīla Vīrarāghava says, māyā-pracuranātmīya-saṅkalpena parigṛhītam ity arthaḥ jñāna-paryāyo'tra māyā-śabdaḥ: when one is very affectionate due to an intimate relationship, one is described as māyāmaya. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains māyāmayam by dividing it into the words māyā and āmayam. He explains these words to indicate that because the living entity is covered by the disease of illusion, the Lord is always eager to deliver His devotee from the clutches of māyā and cure him of the disease caused by the illusory energy.

SB 5.18.16 - SB 5.18.18