Śivasaṃhitā 1.79

The two śaktis of māyā as the dual mechanism of cosmic illusion. Vikṣepa projects diversity outward, creating the illusion of a multiple world. Āvaraṇa veils the true nature of that diversity, preventing the recognition that it is Consciousness. Together, these two forces keep the jīva in saṃsāra. But the verse adds something surprising: their form is happiness—even the veil is bliss in disguise.

Vikṣepa (from the verb vi-kṣip, to throw, to project) is the potency that throws apparent multiplicity onto the screen of Consciousness. Āvaraṇa (from the verb ā-vṛ, to cover, to veil) is the potency that makes Consciousness forget itself while experiencing the projected multiplicity. Durantā (of extreme power, insurmountable) describes the force of both. Sukhātmikā (whose form is pleasure, whose nature is happiness) is the paradoxical attribute that characterizes them.

The paradox that the two forces of māyā have ‘the form of happiness’ connects with the Tantric doctrine that even error is a form of the play (līlā) of Consciousness with itself. One should not combat māyā as an enemy: one should recognize it as the Absolute’s own creativity. This recognition is, in itself, the beginning of liberation.