मन्यमान इदं विश्वं मायारचितमात्मनि ।
अविद्यारचितस्वप्नगन्धर्वनगरोपमम् ॥१५॥
Text
manyamāna idaṁ viśvaṁ
māyā-racitam ātmani
avidyā-racita-svapna-
gandharva-nagaropamam
Synonyms
manyamanah—realizing; idam—this; viśvam—universe; maya—by the external energy; racitam—manufactured; ātmani—unto the living entity; avidya—by illusion; racita—manufactured; svapna—a dream; gandharva-nagara—phantasmagoria; upamam—like. ¶
Translation
Śrīla Dhruva Mahārāja realized that this cosmic manifestation bewilders living entities like a dream or phantasmagoria because it is a creation of the illusory, external energy of the Supreme Lord. ¶
Purport
In the deep forest it sometimes appears that there are big palaces and nice cities. That is technically called gandharva-nagara. Similarly, in dreams also we create many false things out of imagination. A self-realized person, or a devotee, knows well that this material cosmic manifestation is a temporary, illusory representation appearing to be truth. It is like a phantasmagoria. But behind this shadow creation there is reality—the spiritual world. A devotee is interested in the spiritual world, not its shadow. Since he has realization of the supreme truth, a devotee is not interested in this temporary shadow of truth. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate [Bg. 9.59]). ¶