SB 10.63.27 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

नानाभावैर्लीलयैवोपपन्नै- र्देवान् साधून् लोकसेतून् बिभर्षि । हंस्युन्मार्गान् हिंसया वर्तमानान् जन्मैतत्ते भारहाराय भूमे: ॥ २७ ॥

Verse text

nānā-bhāvair līlayaivopapannair devān sādhūn loka-setūn bibharṣi haṁsy unmārgān hiṁsayā vartamānān janmaitat te bhāra-hārāya bhūmeḥ

Synonyms

nānā — various ; bhāvaiḥ — with intentions ; līlayā — as pastimes ; eva — indeed ; upapannaiḥ — assumed ; devān — the demigods ; sādhūn — the saintly sages ; loka — of the world ; setūn — the codes of religion ; bibharṣi — You maintain ; haṁsi — You kill ; ut — mārgān — those who stray beyond the path ; hiṁsayā — by violence ; vartamānān — living ; janma — birth ; etat — this ; te — Your ; bhāra — the burden ; hārāya — to relieve ; bhūmeḥ — of the earth .

Translation

With various intentions, You perform pastimes to maintain the demigods, the saintly persons and the codes of religion for this world. By these pastimes You also kill those who stray from the right path and live by violence. Indeed, your present incarnation is meant to relieve the earth’s burden.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

With various intentions, You perform pastimes to maintain the demigods, the saintly persons and the codes of religion for this world. By these pastimes You also kill those who stray from the right path and live by violence. Indeed, your present incarnation is meant to relieve the earth's burden. KB 10.63.27 “My dear Lord, Your appearance as the son of Vasudeva in Your role as a human being is one of the pastimes of Your complete freedom. To benefit Your devotees and vanquish the nondevotees, You appear in multi-incarnations. All such incarnations descend in fulfillment of Your promise in the Bhagavad-gītā that You appear as soon as there are discrepancies in the system of progressive life. When there are disturbances by irregular principles, my dear Lord, You appear by Your internal potency. Your main business is to protect and maintain the demigods and spiritually inclined persons and to maintain the standard of material law and order. Considering Your mission of maintaining such law and order, Your violence toward the miscreants and demons is quite befitting. This is not the first time You have incarnated; it is to be understood that You have done so many, many times before.

Purport

As Lord Kṛṣṇa states in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.29) : samo ’haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo ’sti na priyaḥ ye bhajanti tu māṁ bhaktyā mayi te teṣu cāpy aham “I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend — is in Me — and I am also a friend to him.” The demigods and sages ( devān sādhūn ) are dedicated to executing the will of the Supreme Lord. The demigods act as cosmic administrators, and the sages, by their teachings and their good example, illumine the path of self-realization and holiness. But those who transgress the natural law, the law of God, and live by committing violence against others are vanquished by the Supreme Lord in His various pastime incarnations. As the Lord states in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.11) , ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham. He is impartial, but He responds appropriately to the actions of the living beings.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

"If that is so, then why is there seen in me the material qualities of attachment and hatred revealed by my showing favor or punishment?" "You desire, ‘Let me protect the devotees who are favorable to me and kill the demons who are inimical to me.’ By accepting such intentions out of affection for your devotees, for your pastimes, you protect the devas such as Indra, the devotees and munis, who act as the shelter for the people of the world (loka setun), and you destroy those who wander from the path. Thus raga and dvesa, attachment and repulsion, being aspects of your affection for you devotee, are not maya. Thus I have understood that your birth is for relieving the burden of the earth, your own devotee."

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

“If I am without fault why do I sometimes kill?” By pastimes with your devotees which arise at the proper time, consisting of various goals such as protecting those who follow your devotees and killing those opposed to your devotees, you protect Indra and other devatās and the sages who are shelter for the general populace. You kill those who oppose the proper path since you are the avatāra who has appeared to relieve the earth of her burden since she is your great devotee. Because you are so merciful to your topmost devotees such as the earth, your violence against the wicked is your great quality, beyond māyā.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Though you previously gave mercy as Nārāyaṇa and various avatāras, now you have appeared to manifest you unlimited qualities as bhagavān to benefit the world. You support the devatās by pastimes and kill the deviants from the correct path, who cause violence to others. Or unmārgān refers to demons and wicked kings who violent the scriptural path and live by violence or off other’s lives, like Rākṣasas. You have appeared from Devakī (janma) to relieve the burden of the earth by giving mukti and bhakti as suitable to the person. Or now more the previously you are distributing mercy. You support the devatās by pastimes such as infant activities (nānā-bhāvaiḥ), accepted for playing, not like humans who are forced to accept bodies by karma. You perform your childhood actions to give the highest bliss to the devaṭas and others, not as the Lord complete in himself. You nourish those of proper conduct (sādhūn) and devotees (loka-setūn). You create fear (haṁsi) in the demons when they hear about you. They also begin to meditate on you. Or you take those following paths contrary to bhakti and by hearing etc. have them give up the wrong paths and take to the correct path. You take birth to decorate the earth. Since I am most sinful, save me, who have surrendered to you by your mercy at this time, though I should be killed.