śrī-mārkaṇḍeya uvāca
prapanno 'smy ańghri-mūlaḿ te
prapannābhaya-daḿ hare
yan-māyayāpi vibudhā
muhyanti jñāna-kāśayā
sri-markandeyah uvaca -- Sri Markandeya said; prapannah -- surrendered; asmi -- I am; anghri-mulam -- to the soles of the lotus feet; te -- Your; prapanna -- of those who surrender; abhaya-dam -- the giver of fearlessness; hare -- O Lord Hari; yat-mayaya -- by whose illusory potency; api -- even; vibudhah -- intelligent demigods; muhyanti -- become bewildered; jnana-kasaya -- which falsely appears as knowledge.
Sri Markandeya said: O Lord Hari, I take shelter of the soles of Your lotus feet, which bestow fearlessness upon all who surrender to them. Even the great demigods are bewildered by Your illusory energy, which appears to them in the guise of knowledge.
Conditioned souls are attracted to material sense gratification, and thus they meticulously study the workings of nature. Although they appear to be advancing in scientific knowledge, they become increasingly entangled in their false identification with the material body and therefore increasingly merge into ignorance.
