संसाररजनीदीर्घा माया मनसि मोहिनी । ततोऽहङ्कारदोषेण किरातेनेव वागुरा ॥ ५ ॥
saṁsārarajanīdīrghā māyā manasi mōhinī | tatō’haṅkāradōṣēṇa kirātēnēva vāgurā || 5 ||
Translation
Māyā, deluding the mind, long as the night of the world, is spread through the fault of the ego, as a hunter spreads his net.
Word by word
- saṁsāra
- of the world
- rajanī
- the night
- dīrghā
- long as
- māyā
- māyā
- manasi
- the mind
- mōhinī
- deluding
- tatō
- (tataḥ) is spread
- ahaṅkāra
- of the ego
- dōṣēṇa
- through the fault
- kirātēna
- by a hunter
- iva
- as
- vāgurā
- a net
Meaning
Māyā, the power that makes the unreal seem real, is like a long night in which nothing is seen as it is. But a net does not spread itself; a hunter spreads it. The commentary: as a hunter lays a snare to catch deer, so the fault of the ego has spread this māyā in the dark night of the world to delude the mind. The image places the responsibility exactly. The world is not a trap by its own nature; it becomes one through the sense of "I" and "mine". The reader may notice that the moments of being most deceived are the moments when the "I" is most involved.