mÄyÄvÄdam asac-chÄstraá¹
pracchannaá¹ bauddham ucyate
mayaiva vihitaá¹ devi
kalau brÄhmaṇa-mÅ«rtinÄ
mÄyÄvÄdam - the philosophy of MÄyÄvÄda; asat-Å›Ästram - false scriptures; pracchannam - covered; bauddham - Buddhism; ucyate - it is said; mayÄ - by me; eva - only; vihitam - taught; devi - O goddess of the material world; kalau - in the Age of Kali; brÄhmaṇa-mÅ«rtinÄ - having the body of a brÄhmaṇa.
“[Lord Åšiva informed goddess DurgÄ, the superintendent of the material world:] ‘In the Age of Kali I take the form of a brÄhmaṇa and explain the Vedas through false scriptures in an atheistic way, similar to Buddhist philosophy.’ â€
The word brÄhmaṇa-mÅ«rtinÄ in this verse-refers to the founder of MÄyÄvÄda philosophy, Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya, who was born in the MÄlabara district of southern India. MÄyÄvÄda philosophy states that the Supreme Lord, the living entities and the cosmic manifestation are all transformations of illusory energy. To support this atheistic theory, the MÄyÄvÄdÄ«s cite false scriptures, which make people bereft of transcendental knowledge and addicted to fruitive activities and mental speculation.
This verse is a quotation from the Padma PurÄṇa, Uttara-khaṇá¸a (25.7).
