[Advaita-l] Bhagavatam - Advaita-friendly verses

[V Subrahmanian]

The context is: Vasudeva, the father of Krishna, expounding the Tattva of
Bhagavan, upon the birth of the Child, and Bhagavan approving it.

https://sa.wikisource.org/s/j55

नश्वरेष्विह भावेषु तदसि त्वमनश्वरम्
यथा द्रव्यविकारेषु द्रव्यमात्रं निरूपितम् १२
सत्त्वम्रजस्तम इति गुणास्तद्वृत्तयश्च याः
त्वय्यद्धा ब्रह्मणि परे कल्पिता योगमायया १३
तस्मान्न सन्त्यमी भावा यर्हि त्वयि विकल्पिताः
त्वं चामीषु विकारेषु ह्यन्यदाव्यावहारिकः १४

The above verses mean: The immutable exists in and through the mutable. The
essence, the material cause, alone is the real in all the effects. The
three guna-s, sattva, etc. and their effects are superimposed by Yoga maya
in Brahman the Supreme. Hence these effects do not exist in Brahman which
is avyavahaaryam.

This last verse above is an allusion to the Mandukya 7th mantra:
नान्तःप्रज्ञं.....अव्यवहार्यं....The above verse uses another form of this
term: avyavahArikaH, that which is not vyAvahArika.  Thereby the Bhagavatam
implies that the entire world of effects, being a projection of Maya of
three guna-s, is vyAvahArika and thereby not real, as stated in this very
verse: तस्मान्न सन्त्यमी भावा यर्हि त्वयि विकल्पिताः.

श्रीभगवानुवाच
आत्मा ह्येकः स्वयंज्योतिर्नित्योऽन्यो निर्गुणो गुणैः
आत्मसृष्टैस्तत्कृतेषु भूतेषु बहुधेयते २४
खं वायुर्ज्योतिरापो भूस्तत्कृतेषु यथाशयम्
आविस्तिरोऽल्पभूर्येको नानात्वं यात्यसावपि २५

Atman is One, self-luminous and eternal, niguNa, different from the guNa-s.
Yet, it is seen as many in the effects which are its own, through the
agency of Maya (as seen in the earlier set of verses). Just as one element,
for example, the prithvi, alone is seen in all its effects, so too the
Atman/Brahman.

Thus in the above sets of verses, the central doctrinal aspects of Vedanta
are very well brought out: The Paramarthika - Vyavaharika, the unreality of
Maya and its effects (the world) and the sole reality of the Nirguna
Brahman.

Om Tat Sat