yogesvaraisvarya-gatir
linga-bhangas tu yoginam
vedopaveda-dharmanam
itihasa-puranayoh
yoga-isvara -- of the master of the mystic powers; aisvarya -- opulence; gatih -- advancement; linga -- astral body; bhangah -- detachment; tu -- but; yoginam -- of the mystics; veda -- transcendental knowledge; upaveda -- knowledge in pursuance of the Veda indirectly; dharmanam -- of the religiosities; itihasa -- history; puranayoh -- of the Puranas.
The yogesvara, or the master of mystic powers, can exhibit eight kinds of wonders of perfection by becoming smaller than the atom or lighter than a feather, getting anything and everything he desires, going anywhere and everywhere he likes, creating even a planet in the sky, etc. There are many yogesvaras having different proficiencies in these wonderful powers, and the topmost of all of them is Lord Siva. Lord Siva is the greatest yogi, and he can perform such wonderful things, far beyond the ordinary living beings. The devotees of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, do not directly practice the process of mystic powers, but, by the grace of the Lord, His devotee can defeat even a great yogesvara like Durvasa Muni, who picked a quarrel with Maharaja Ambarisa and wanted to show the wonderful achievements of his mystic powers. Maharaja Ambarisa was a pure devotee of the Lord, and thus without any effort on his part the Lord saved him from the wrath of Yogesvara Durvasa Muni, and the latter was obliged to beg pardon from the King. Similarly, at the time of Draupadi's precarious position, when she was attacked by the Kurus who wanted to see her naked in the open assembly of the royal order, the Lord saved her from being stripped by supplying an unlimited length of sari to cover her. And Draupadi knew nothing of mystic powers. Therefore the devotees are also yogesvaras by the unlimited power of the Lord, just as a child is powerful by the strength of the parents. They do not try to protect themselves by any artificial means, but are saved by the mercy of the parents.
Maharaja Pariksit inquired from the learned brahmana Sukadeva Gosvami about the ultimate destination of such great mystics or how they attain such extraordinary powers by their own efforts or by the grace of the Lord. He inquired also about their detachment from the subtle and gross material bodies. He inquired also about the purports of the Vedic knowledge. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita (15.15), the whole purport of all the Vedas is to know the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus become a transcendental loving servant of the Lord.
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