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Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 10, Ch. 13]
PURPORT
Brahmā was completely mystified. He could not understand what he was seeing, and then he was not even able to see. Lord Kṛṣṇa, understanding Brahmā's position, then removed that  yogamāyā  covering. In this verse, Brahmā is referred to as  ireśa .  Irā  means Sarasvatī, the goddess of learning, and  Ireśa  is her husband, Lord Brahmā. Brahmā, therefore, is most intelligent. But even Brahmā, the lord of Sarasvatī, was bewildered about Kṛṣṇa. Although he tried, he could not understand Lord Kṛṣṇa. In the beginning the boys, the calves and Kṛṣṇa Himself had been covered by  yogamāyā , which later displayed the second set of calves and boys, who were Kṛṣṇa's expansions, and which then displayed so many four-armed forms. Now, seeing Brahmā's bewilderment, Lord Kṛṣṇa caused the disappearance of that  yogamāyā . One may think that the  māyā  taken away by Lord Kṛṣṇa was  mahāmāyā , but Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Thākura comments that it was  yogamāyā , the potency by which Kṛṣṇa is sometimes manifest and sometimes not manifest. The potency which covers the actual reality and displays something unreal is  mahāmāyā , but the potency by which the Absolute Truth is sometimes manifest and sometimes not is  yogamāyā . Therefore, in this verse the word  ajā  refers to  yogamāyā .
Kṛṣṇa's energy—His  māyā-śakti , or  svarūpa-śakti —is one, but it is manifested in varieties.  Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate  (Śvetāśvatara Up. 6.8). The difference between Vaiṣṇavas and Māyāvādīs is that Māyāvādīs say that this  māyā  is one, whereas Vaiṣṇavas recognize its varieties. There is unity in variety. For example, in one tree, there are varieties of leaves, fruits and flowers. Varieties of energy are required for performing the varieties of activity within the creation. To give another example, in a machine all the parts may be iron, but the machine includes varied activities. Although the whole machine is iron, one part works in one way, and other parts work in other ways. One who does not know how the machine is working may say that it is all iron; nonetheless, in spite of its being iron, the machine has different elements, all working differently to accomplish the purpose for which the machine was made. One wheel runs this way, another wheel runs that way, functioning naturally in such a way that the work of the machine goes on. Consequently we give different names to the different parts of the machine, saying, "This is a wheel," "This is a screw," "This is a spindle," "This