श्रीशुक उवाच
एवमभ्यर्थितोऽदित्या कस्तामाह स्मयन्निव ।
अहो मायाबलं विष्णोः स्नेहबद्धमिदं जगत् ॥१८॥

Å›rÄ«-Å›uka uvÄca
evam abhyarthito 'dityÄ
kas tÄm Äha smayann iva
aho mÄyÄ-balaá¹ viṣṇoḥ
sneha-baddham idaá¹ jagat

 Å›rÄ«-Å›ukaḥ uvÄca - ÅšrÄ« Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« said; evam - in this way; abhyarthitaḥ - being requested; adityÄ - by Aditi; kaḥ - KaÅ›yapa Muni; tÄm - unto her; Äha - said; smayan - smiling; iva - just like; aho - alas; mÄyÄ-balam - the influence of the illusory energy; viṣṇoḥ - of Lord Viṣṇu; sneha-baddham - influenced by this affection; idam - this; jagat - whole world.


Text

Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« continued: When KaÅ›yapa Muni was thus requested by Aditi, he slightly smiled. “Alas,†he said, “how powerful is the illusory energy of Lord Viṣṇu, by which the entire world is bound by affection for children!â€

Purport

Kaśyapa Muni was surely sympathetic to his wife’s affliction, yet he was surprised at how the whole world is influenced by affection.