माया नाम महाभाग ययेदं निर्ममे विभुः ॥२५॥
sÄ vÄ etasya saá¹draá¹£á¹uḥ
Å›aktiḥ sad-asad-ÄtmikÄ
mÄyÄ nÄma mahÄ-bhÄga
yayedaṠnirmame vibhuḥ
sÄ - that external energy; vÄ - is either; etasya - of the Lord; saá¹draá¹£á¹uḥ - of the perfect seer; Å›aktiḥ - energy; sat-asat-ÄtmikÄ - as both the cause and the effect; mÄyÄ nÄma - called by the name mÄyÄ; mahÄ-bhÄga - O fortunate one; yayÄ - by which; idam - this material world; nirmame - constructed; vibhuḥ - the Almighty.
The Lord is the seer, and the external energy, which is seen, works as both cause and effect in the cosmic manifestation. O greatly fortunate Vidura, this external energy is known as mÄyÄ or illusion, and through her agency only is the entire material manifestation made possible.
The material nature, known as mÄyÄ, is both the material and efficient cause of the cosmos, but in the background the Lord is the consciousness for all activities. As in the individual body the consciousness is the source of all energies of the body, so the supreme consciousness of the Lord is the source of all energies in material nature. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (9.10) as follows:
mayÄdhyaká¹£eṇa praká¹›tiḥ
sÅ«yate sa-carÄcaram
hetunÄnena kaunteya
jagad viparivartate
“Throughout all the energies of material nature there is the hand of the Supreme Lord as the final superintendent. Due to this supreme cause only, the activities of material nature appear planned and systematic, and all thing regularly evolve.â€
