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ŚB 8.16.18

Devanagari

श्रीशुक उवाच
एवमभ्यर्थितोऽदित्या कस्तामाह स्मयन्निव ।
अहो मायाबलं विष्णो: स्‍नेहबद्धमिदं जगत् ॥ १८ ॥

Text

śrī-śuka uvāca
evam abhyarthito ’dityā
kas tām āha smayann iva
aho māyā-balaṁ viṣṇoḥ
sneha-baddham idaṁ jagat

Synonyms

śrī-śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; evam — in this way; abhyarthitaḥ — being requested; adityā — by Aditi; kaḥ — Kaśyapa Muni; tām — unto her; āha — said; smayan — smiling; iva — just like; aho — alas; māyā-balam — the influence of the illusory energy; viṣṇoḥ — of Lord Viṣṇu; sneha-baddham — influenced by this affection; idam — this; jagat — whole world.

Translation

Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: When Kaśyapa Muni was thus requested by Aditi, he slightly smiled. “Alas,” he said, “how powerful is the illusory energy of Lord Viṣṇu, by which the entire world is bound by affection for children!”

Purport

Kaśyapa Muni was surely sympathetic to his wife’s affliction, yet he was surprised at how the whole world is influenced by affection.