SB 5.18.17 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

तद्भ‍गवतो मायामयं रूपं परमसमाधियोगेन रमा देवी संवत्सरस्य रात्रिषु प्रजापतेर्दुहितृभिरुपेताह:सु च तद्भ‍‌र्तृभिरुपास्ते इदं चोदाहरति ॥ १७ ॥

Verse text

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.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Accompanied during the daytime by the predominating deities of the days and accompanied during the night by Prajāpati’s daughters, Lakṣmīdevī worships the Lord in his most merciful form as Kāmadeva by absorption in devotional service, and chants the following mantras. Māyāmayam means merciful. Or it can mean the Lord who produces disease (āmaya) through ignorance (māyā) of the jīva. She worships with the daughters of Prajāpati, presiding deities of the night during the night, and with their husbands, the sons of Prajāpati, the presiding deities of the day during the day.

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 jṣāna-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.