Devanagari
श्रीराजोवाच
यानि यानीह कर्माणि यैर्यै: स्वच्छन्दजन्मभि: ।
चक्रे करोति कर्ता वा हरिस्तानि ब्रुवन्तु न: ॥ १ ॥
Verse text
śrī-rājovāca
yāni yānīha karmāṇi
yair yaiḥ svacchanda-janmabhiḥ
cakre karoti kartā vā
haris tāni bruvantu naḥ
Synonyms
śrī
—
rājā uvāca — the King said
;
yāni yāni
—
each
;
iha
—
in this world
;
karmāṇi
—
of the activities
;
yaiḥ yaiḥ
—
by each
;
svacchanda
—
assumed independently
;
janmabhiḥ
—
of the appearances
;
cakre
—
He performed
;
karoti
—
is performing
;
kartā
—
will perform
;
vā
—
or
;
hariḥ
—
the Supreme Lord, Hari
;
tāni
—
these
;
bruvantu
—
please tell
;
naḥ
—
us .
Translation
King Nimi said: The Supreme Personality of Godhead descends into the material world by His internal potency and according to His own desire. Therefore, please tell us about the various pastimes Lord Hari has performed in the past, is performing now and will perform in this world in the future in His various incarnations.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
King Nimi said: You should tell us about the activities which the Lord has performed in the past, is performing now and will perform in the future by his various births, chosen by his free will, in this world.
In the Fourth Chapter, Drumila describes Nārāyaṇa, his avatāras, qualities and pastimes. In the last chapter (SB 11.3.48) it was said that the devotee should worship the Supreme Lord in the particular personal form of the Lord the devotee finds most attractive. What are the various forms of the Lord? This is a question about the avatāra forms. It was also said that one should honor the deity with prayers. (SB 11.3.53) Which qualities and activities should be praised? This is a question about the activities of the Lord. Thus he asks this question. Kartā means “will perform.”
Purport
In this Fourth Chapter the son of Jayantī, Drumila, will address King Nimi. The forty-eighth verse of the Third Chapter stated,
mūrtyābhimatayātmanaḥ:
“One should worship the particular form of the Lord most attractive to oneself.” Similarly it was stated in the previous chapter,
stavaiḥ stutvā named dharim:
“One should bow down to Lord Hari after glorifying Him with prayers.” Thus it is assumed that the worshiper has knowledge of the Supreme Lord’s transcendental qualities and pastimes in order to execute the process of worship previously described. King Nimi, therefore, is eagerly inquiring about the various incarnations of the Supreme Lord so that he can ascertain which particular form of the Supreme Lord is most suitable for his personal worship. It is understood that King Nimi is a Vaiṣṇava, or devotee, who is trying to advance in the transcendental loving service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
It is important to note in this regard that the word
abhimata-mūrti,
meaning “one’s most desirable form,” does not indicate that one may concoct a form of the Lord by one’s own whim.
Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam.
All the forms of the Supreme Lord are
anādim,
or eternal. Thus there is no question of concocting a form, because such a concoction would be
ādi,
or the origin of the concocted form.
Abhimata-mūrti
means that among the eternal forms of the Lord one should select that form which most inspires one’s love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such love cannot be imitated, but it is automatically aroused when one follows the prescribed rules and regulations given by the bona fide spiritual master and submissively hears these descriptions of
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.