māyāṃ tu prakṛtiṃ vidyān māyinaṃ ca maheśvaram | tasyāvayavabhūtais tu vyāptaṃ sarvam idaṃ jagat ||
"Know that nature (prakṛti) is māyā, and that the wielder of māyā is the Great Lord (Maheśvara). This entire world is pervaded by beings who are parts of him."
What This Means:
This verse gives a name to the mysterious creative power behind everything: it calls nature itself "māyā," the world-spinning energy through which God shapes all forms. And the one who wields that power is the Great Lord. Everything you see around you is pervaded by beings who are, in the end, parts of him.
Going Deeper:
By identifying prakṛti (nature, the material principle) with māyā and the Lord with the māyin who wields it, the verse frames the cosmos as the Great Lord's own creative power rather than an independent reality, a foundational expression of Śvetāśvatara's theistic Vedanta, in which all beings are "parts" (avayava) of the Lord and utterly dependent on him.
How To Apply This:
When the dazzling, ever-changing world pulls at your attention, remember it is the Lord's own creative power at play, and let that turn your awe back toward its source rather than toward the surface of things.
Key Sanskrit Terms: