Devanagari
तम्यां तमोवन्नैहारं खद्योतार्चिरिवाहनि ।
महतीतरमायैश्यं निहन्त्यात्मनि युञ्जत: ॥ ४५ ॥
Verse text
tamyāṁ tamovan naihāraṁ
khadyotārcir ivāhani
mahatītara-māyaiśyaṁ
nihanty ātmani yuṣjataḥ
Synonyms
tamyām
—
on a dark night
;
tamaḥ
—
vat — just as darkness
;
naihāram
—
produced by snow
;
khadyota
—
arciḥ — the light of a glowworm
;
iva
—
just as
;
ahani
—
in the daytime, in the sunlight
;
mahati
—
in a great personality
;
itara
—
māyā — inferior mystic potency
;
aiśyam
—
the ability
;
nihanti
—
destroys
;
ātmani
—
in his own self
;
yuṣjataḥ
—
of the person who attempts to use .
Translation
As the darkness of snow on a dark night and the light of a glowworm in the light of day have no value, the mystic power of an inferior person who tries to use it against a person of great power is unable to accomplish anything; instead, the power of that inferior person is diminished.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
As the darkness of snow on a dark night and the light of a glowworm in the light of day have no value, the mystic power of an inferior person who tries to use it against a person of great power is unable to accomplish anything; instead, the power of that inferior person is diminished.
KB 10.13.45
The influence of his mystic power appeared like snow in darkness or a glowworm in the daytime. During the night’s darkness, the glowworm can show some glittering power, and the snow piled up on the top of a hill or on the ground can shine during the daytime. But at night the snow has no silver glitter, nor does the glowworm have any illuminating power during the daytime. Similarly, when the small mystic power exhibited by Brahmā was before the mystic power of Kṛṣṇa, it was just like snow at night or a glowworm during the day. When a man of small mystic power wants to show potency in the presence of greater mystic power, he diminishes his own influence; he does not increase it. Even such a great personality as Brahmā, when he wanted to show his mystic power before Kṛṣṇa, became ludicrous. Brahmā was thus confused about his own mystic power.
Purport
When one wants to supersede a superior power, one’s own inferior power becomes ludicrous. Just as a glowworm in the daytime and snow at night have no value, Brahmā’s mystic power became worthless in the presence of Kṛṣṇa, for greater mystic power condemns inferior mystic power. On a dark night, the darkness produced by snow has no meaning. The glowworm appears very important at night, but in the daytime its glow has no value; whatever little value it has is lost. Similarly, Brahmā became insignificant in the presence of Kṛṣṇa’s mystic power. Kṛṣṇa’s
māyā
was not diminished in value, but Brahmā’s
māyā
was condemned. Therefore, one should not try to exhibit one’s insignificant opulence before a greater power.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
No type of maya is able to cover the Lord, who is the controller of mahamaya. Rather, that attempt shows the insignificance of the person directing that inferior maya. Two examples are given to show this.
In the dense darkness of night (tamyam) fog (naiharam) has just a resemblance to darkness (tamovat). In other words, in dense darkness the darkness created by fog cannot cover that darkness, but rather makes the darkness darker, and the fog itself gets covered by darkness, and becomes insignificant. In this way Brahma’s maya could not cover the Lord, but rather it made the Lord’s power greater, and Brahma became covered by that, making Brahma insignificant.
As the example only attributes a little causality to Brahma, another more satisfying example is given. As a firefly may desire to the light up the day just as he does the night, he is not able to do so. Rather it becomes known to all that he has lost his power to light. In this way, Brahma, though being powerful in some places, when he desired to show his powers by spreading maya over the Lord, he lost his power. Directing the maya towards a great person (mahati) destroys the power of the person directing that power.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
This is proper. The explanation of Śrīdhara Svāmī is proper, using concepts of āvaraṇa (covering) and vikṣepa (disturbance). The explanation here will follow his commentary. Particles of snow in the dense darkness cannot cover the darkness but rather merge with the darkness and the darkness becomes greater and covers up the snow particles. In the daytime, the sunlight reveals the light of the full moon situated in the daytime sky. The light from a fire fly however cannot reveal the light of the sun. Rather the sun makes the fire fly’s light dim. Māyā which a person employs against a powerful person cannot cover that person’s great power and cannot change its nature into something else. Rather indicating its source, that māyā then destroys whatever ability that person had. The phrase tamovan naihāram can be taken as tamovat naihāram or as tamo va naihāran. The word va means “like” according to Amara-koṣa.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
That bewilderment was proper. The darkness of fog cannot achive its goal in darkness. And example is given. A firefly cannot reveal the sun. Rather the firefly suffers by the brightness of the sun’s rays and is destroyed. For one who uses his powers of māyā against a greater person, his powers are destroyed.