Bhagavad Gita · Jnana Vijnana YogaChapter 7, Shloka 25 (7.25)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
नाहं प्रकाशः सर्वस्य योगमायासमावृतः
मूढोऽयं नाभिजानाति लोको मामजमव्ययम्
॥ 7.25 ॥
nāhaṃ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yogamāyāsamāvṛtaḥ
mūḍho'yaṃ nābhijānāti loko māmajamavyayam
Translation
"Veiled by yogamaya, I am not manifest to all; this deluded world does not recognise me, the unborn, the imperishable."
Interpretation
"Yogamaya" — two readings.
Shankaracharya. Na ahaṃ prakāśaḥ sarvasya lokasya, keṣāṃcid eva mad-bhaktānāṃ prakāśaḥ aham — not to all; I am manifest only to some of my devotees; yogaḥ guṇānāṃ yuktiḥ ghaṭanaṃ saiva māyā yoga-māyā — the yoga (joining/combination) of the gunas is itself maya — yogamaya. And importantly: nāsau yoga-māyā madīyā satī mama īśvarasya māyāvino jñānaṃ pratibadhnāti — this maya is mine, so it does not obstruct the knowledge of me, its wielder — just as a magician's magic does not deceive the magician himself.
Acharya Ramanuja — the human form itself is the "maya". Kṣetrajñāsādhāraṇa-manuṣyatvādi-saṃsthāna-yogākhya-māyayā samāvṛtaḥ — veiled by the "yogamaya" of being joined to a human shape (saṃsthāna) like that of ordinary beings; manuṣyatvādi-saṃsthāna-darśana-mātreṇa mūḍhaḥ — merely by seeing the human shape, the world is deluded; mām ati-vāyv-indra-karmāṇam ati-sūryāgni-tejasam upalabhyamānam api — even when it sees deeds greater than those of Vayu and Indra and a radiance greater than the sun and fire — it does not recognise me.
The difference: Shankara — yogamaya = the combination of the gunas, with no effect on Ishvara; Ramanuja — yogamaya = the very human form of the avatara, which veils the Lord's divinity.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.