This māyā is divine, since it belongs to the divine one, to Me, the Lord, to Viṣṇu, being part of My very nature; this māyā of Mine, made of the qualities, is hard to cross, since the crossing of it, the going beyond it, is achieved only with difficulty. That being so, those who, abandoning all dharmas, take refuge in Me alone, the wielder of māyā, who am their own Self, with their whole being: they cross over this māyā which deludes all beings, they go beyond it, and are freed from the bondage of transmigration. If those who take refuge in You cross over this māyā, why do not all take refuge in You? It is told.

This quality-made maya of Mine, made of sattva, rajas, and tamas, since it is divine, fashioned by Me, the shining one, engaged in play, is for that reason hard for all to pass beyond, hard to overstep. That this is fit to be called by the word 'maya' is because it brings about wondrous effects, like the maya-weapons of demons and rakshasas, as in such texts as 'then by the Blessed One, to protect the child, the supreme discus Sudarshana, garlanded with flame, came, commanded; and by it, swift-moving, the thousand mayas of Shambara, as it guarded the child's body, were destroyed, one by each part'. So the word 'maya' does not denote what is false. Even among conjurors and the like, since by some mantra, herb, or the like they produce a real cognition whose object is false, the word 'mayavin' is used; and the mantra, herb, and the like is itself the maya there, since the single thing that runs through all the usages is the word's meaning. There the use of the word 'maya' for false objects is figurative, by their being the objects of the cognition that is maya's effect, like 'the platforms cry out'. This quality-made, real maya of the Blessed One is what is denoted in such texts as 'let one know matter to be maya, and the great Lord the mayin'. Its effect is the concealing of the Blessed One's own nature and the notion that one's own nature is a thing to be enjoyed; so the whole world, deluded by the Blessed One's maya, does not know the Blessed One, whose own nature is unsurpassed and limitless bliss. The Lord states the means of release from maya: those who take refuge in Me, who am of true resolve, supremely compassionate, the refuge of the whole world without regard to any distinction, they cross over this quality-made maya of Mine. Letting go of maya, they worship Me alone. This is the meaning. Why do not all make the taking-refuge in the Blessed One that brings about the worship of Him? To this the Lord speaks.

How, in beginningless time, does the delusion of the many not pass away? To that Krishna says, with 'the divine'. The intent is this: this maya is the deluding power, and, because it belongs to God, who has creation and the rest and play and the rest for His own, it is hard to cross, since His power is exceeding great. So they read the meaning of the word 'devata' from the root 'div', which is used in the senses of play, the wish to conquer, dealing, shining, praising, exhilaration, joy, dreaming, beauty and motion (Dhatupatha, division one). How is it 'divine' (daivi)? Because it is Mine, for I am God (deva). And the Vyasa-yoga says, 'the great maya, which, distinguished as Shri, Bhu and Durga, is the Vaishnava power, though it falls short of His power by an endless portion, yet, by its dependence on the Lord, is such that the endless Brahma, Rudra and the rest do not have even a fraction of its power; and it is hard for them too to cross, except through the grace of Vishnu'. Then it cannot be crossed in any way? To that Krishna says 'Me alone'. Those who, giving up all else, take refuge in Me alone, and offer even the reverence to teacher and the rest to Me alone, see that He, abiding there, becomes the teacher and the rest. And the Naradiya says, 'the middling among men worship teacher and the rest through their being a wealth that is Mine; the highest worship them, and all beings, as having Me for their adjunct', and 'by the form indwelling the teacher You make plain Your own way'.