162 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 5, Ch. 18

theoretical knowledge acquired by studying the Vedas is insufficient to
protect one from the clutches of mayd. One must strongly adhere to the
lotus feet of the Lord in devotional service. Then one’s position is secure.

TEXT 5

fares || a
THATSISTAANTT: |

wt a fat a aaa
aaeata safatiah Fagg: U4 UI

visvodbhava-sthana-nirodha-karma te
hy akartur angikrtam apy apavrtah

yuktam na citram tvayi kérya-kdrane
sarvatmani vyatirikte ca vastutah

visva—of the whole universe; udbhava—of the creation; sthana—of
the maintenance; nirodha—of the annihilation; karma—these activities;
te—of You (O dear Lord); hi—indeed; akartuh —aloof ; angikrtam—still
accepted by the Vedic literature; api—although; apavrtah—untouched
by all these activities; ywktam—befitting; na—not; citram—wonderful;
tvayi—in You; kdrya-karane—the original cause of all effects; sarva-dt-
mani—in all respects; vyatirikte—set apart; ca—also; vastutah—the
original substance.

TRANSLATION

O Lord, although You are completely detached from the cre-
ation, maintenance and annihilation of this material world and are
not directly affected by these activities, they are all attributed to
You. We do not wonder at this, for Your inconceivable energies
perfectly qualify You to be the cause of all causes. You are the ac-
tive principle in everything, although You are separate from
everything. Thus we can realize that everything is happening
because of Your inconceivable energy.
