Vedic matters strengthened by the holy Parasara, who through the favour
of Pulastya and Vasishtha had obtained an insight into the true nature
of the highest divinity, began to question Parasara, 'I am desirous to
hear from thee how this world originated, and how it will again
originate in future, and of what it consists, and whence proceed animate
and inanimate things; how and into what it has been resolved, and into
what it will in future be resolved?' &c. (Vi. Pu. I, 1). The questions
asked refer to the essential nature of Brahman, the different modes of
the manifestation of its power, and the different results of
propitiating it. Among the questions belonging to the first category,
the question 'whence proceed animate and inanimate things?' relates to
the efficient and the material cause of the world, and hence the clause
'of what the world consists' is to be taken as implying a question as to
what constitutes the Self of this world, which is the object of creation,
sustentation, and dissolution. The reply to this question is given in
the words 'and the world is He.' Now the identity expressed by this
clause is founded thereon that he (i.e. Brahman or Vishnu) pervades the
world as its Self in the character of its inward Ruler; and is not
founded on unity of substance of the pervading principle and the world
pervaded. The phrase 'consists of' (-maya) does not refer to an effect
(so that the question asked would be as to the causal substance of which
this world is an effect), for a separate question on this point would be
needless. Nor does the--maya express, as it sometimes does-e.g. in the
case of prana-maya [FOOTNOTE 92:1], the own sense of the word to which it
is attached; for in that case the form of the reply 'and the world is
He' (which implies a distinction between the world and Vishnu) would be
inappropriate; the reply would in that case rather be 'Vishnu only.'
What 'maya' actually denotes here is abundance, prevailingness, in
agreement with Panini, V, 4, 21, and the meaning is that Brahman
prevails in the world in so far as the entire world constitutes its body.