Chapter VII · Śloka 25
Śrī Kṛṣṇa uvāca
नाहं प्रकाशः सर्वस्य योगमायासमावृतः ।
मूढोऽयं नाभिजानाति लोको मामजमव्ययम् ॥
मूढोऽयं नाभिजानाति लोको मामजमव्ययम् ॥
nāhaṃ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ |
mūḍho 'yaṃ nābhijānāti loko mām ajam avyayam ||
mūḍho 'yaṃ nābhijānāti loko mām ajam avyayam ||
I am not manifest to all, being veiled by My yoga-māyā. This deluded world does not know Me as the unborn and imperishable.
Yoga-māyā — the Lord's own creative and concealing power — is distinct from ordinary māyā in that it operates by divine will and can be withdrawn by the same will. The world's failure to recognise Krishna as aja (unborn) and avyaya (imperishable) is therefore not accidental but a feature of the divine economy of manifestation.