saiá¹£Ä viṣṇor mahÄ-mÄyÄ-
bÄdhyayÄlaká¹£aá¹‡Ä yayÄ
muhyanty asyaivÄtma-bhÅ«tÄ
bhūteṣu guṇa-vṛttibhiḥ
sÄ eá¹£Ä - this very; viṣṇoḥ - of the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu; mahÄ-mÄyÄ - the illusory material energy; abÄdhyayÄ - by her who cannot be checked; alaká¹£aá¹‡Ä - indiscernible; yayÄ - by whom; muhyanti - become bewildered; asya - of the Lord; eva - indeed; Ätma-bhÅ«tÄḥ - the part-and-parcel spirit souls; bhÅ«teá¹£u - within their material bodies; guṇa - of the modes of nature; vá¹›ttibhiḥ - by the functions.
This is indeed the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu’s illusory energy, which is unstoppable and difficult to perceive. Although the individual spirit souls are part and parcel of the Lord, through the influence of this illusory energy they are bewildered by their identification with various material bodies.
The illusory energy of Lord Viṣṇu is so powerful that even the illustrious son of King Parīkṣit was temporarily misdirected. Because he was a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, however, his bewilderment was quickly rectified. On the other hand, an ordinary, materialistic person without the special protection of the Lord plummets to the depths of material ignorance. Factually, materialistic persons are not interested in the protection of Lord Viṣṇu. Therefore their complete ruination is inevitable.
