ŚB 3.5.25
Devanagari
सा वा एतस्य संद्रष्टु: शक्ति: सदसदात्मिका ।
माया नाम महाभाग ययेदं निर्ममे विभु: ॥ २५ ॥
माया नाम महाभाग ययेदं निर्ममे विभु: ॥ २५ ॥
Verse text
sā vā etasya saṁdraṣṭuḥ
śaktiḥ sad-asad-ātmikā
māyā nāma mahā-bhāga
yayedaṁ nirmame vibhuḥ
śaktiḥ sad-asad-ātmikā
māyā nāma mahā-bhāga
yayedaṁ nirmame vibhuḥ
Synonyms
sā — that external energy; vā — is either; etasya — of the Lord; saṁdraṣṭuḥ — of the perfect seer; śaktiḥ — energy; sat-asat-ātmikā — as both the cause and the effect; māyā nāma — called by the name māyā; mahā-bhāga — O fortunate one; yayā — by which; idam — this material world; nirmame — constructed; vibhuḥ — the Almighty.
Translation
The Lord is the seer, and the external energy, which is seen, works as both cause and effect in the cosmic manifestation. O greatly fortunate Vidura, this external energy is known as māyā or illusion, and through her agency only is the entire material manifestation made possible.
Purport
The material nature, known as māyā, is both the material and efficient cause of the cosmos, but in the background the Lord is the consciousness for all activities. As in the individual body the consciousness is the source of all energies of the body, so the supreme consciousness of the Lord is the source of all energies in material nature. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (9.10) as follows:
mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ
sūyate sa-carācaram
hetunānena kaunteya
jagad viparivartate
sūyate sa-carācaram
hetunānena kaunteya
jagad viparivartate
“Throughout all the energies of material nature there is the hand of the Supreme Lord as the final superintendent. Due to this supreme cause only, the activities of material nature appear planned and systematic, and all thing regularly evolve.”