SB 3.9.19 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

तिर्यङ्‍मनुष्यविबुधादिषु जीवयोनि- ष्वात्मेच्छयात्मकृतसेतुपरीप्सया य: । रेमे निरस्तविषयोऽप्यवरुद्धदेह- स्तस्मै नमो भगवते पुरुषोत्तमाय ॥ १९ ॥

Verse text

tiryaṅ-manuṣya-vibudhādiṣu jīva-yoniṣv ātmecchayātma-kṛta-setu-parīpsayā yaḥ reme nirasta-viṣayo ’py avaruddha-dehas tasmai namo bhagavate puruṣottamāya

Synonyms

tiryak — animals lower than human beings ; manuṣya — human beings, etc. ; vibudha — ādiṣu — amongst the demigods ; jīva — yoniṣu — in different species of life ; ātma — self ; icchayā — by the will ; ātma — kṛta — self-created ; setu — obligations ; parīpsayā — desiring to preserve ; yaḥ — who ; reme — performing transcendental pastimes ; nirasta — not being affected ; viṣayaḥ — material contamination ; api — certainly ; avaruddha — manifested ; dehaḥ — transcendental body ; tasmai — unto Him ; namaḥ — my obeisances ; bhagavate — unto the Personality of Godhead ; puruṣottamāya — the primeval Lord .

Translation

O my Lord, by Your own will You appear in the various species of living entities, among animals lower than human beings as well as among the demigods, to perform Your transcendental pastimes. You are not affected by material contamination. You come just to fulfill the obligations of Your own principles of religion, and therefore, O Supreme Personality, I offer my obeisances unto You for manifesting such different forms.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

I offer my respects to the Supreme Lord, who is superior to the puruṣāvatāras, who, with no desire for material enjoyment, appears in this world in the forms of animals, men and devatās with a pure spiritual body, and enjoys the offerings of his devotees, with a desire to fulfill his promise to respond to the devotees. Having offered respects to the Lord as the universal form and as the controller of time, Brahmā now offers respects to the Lord as highest object of worship with a form of eternity, knowledge and bliss. Appearing by his will in the forms of animals, men and devatās, with a desire to protect (parīpsayā) the principles he has established, the Lord enjoys, even though he has no desire for material happiness, since he is self-satisfied. The rule he establishes is: patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhakhyā prayacchati tadahaṁ bhakyupahṛtamaśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ I accept that which is offered with love from the genuine devotee, having pure body and mind, who gives just a leaf, flower, fruit or water. BG 9.26 To fulfill this promise, the Lord comes into the material world and enjoys the garlands, fragrances, flowers and beds offered by his devotees. nāham ātmānam āśāse mad-bhaktaiḥ sādhubhir vinā śriyaṁ cātyantikīṁ brahman yeṣāṁ gatir ahaṁ parā O brāhmaṇa! I am the sole shelter of my devotees. Without them, I do not desire to enjoy my own bliss and my six great qualities. SB 9.4.64 Thus, though he is self-satisfied, he is not really satisfied. Even though the items such as garlands are material, when they are utilized for the Lord, at that moment they become spiritual. This is explained in SB 11.25.25-28. Avaruddha-dehaḥ means “uncovered body,” a body of eternity, knowledge and bliss. According to the grammarian Bhāguri, avaruddha can stand for ava and aruddha, which means unrestricted. Ātmakṛtasetuparīsayā can also mean “with a complete (pari) desire, in response to the devotee’s desire, to restrict himself to one form because he is controlled by the devotee’s desire.” He has a restricted body (avaruddha-dehaḥ) because he is bound by mother Yaśodā with ropes, and by other devotees, by the taste of their affection. Puruṣottamāya means unto Kṛṣṇa who is superior to the puruṣāvatāras who create mahat-tattva. He is superior because of his superior qualities. Gītā also says: yasmāt kṣaramatīto ’hamakṣarādapi cottamaḥ ato ’smi loke vede ca prathitaḥ puruṣottamaḥ Because I am superior to the jīvas, to the Brahman and to the puruṣa known as Paramātmā, and even to the other forms of Bhagavān, I am celebrated in the Vedas and the smṛtis, as the Supreme Person. BG 15.18

Purport

The Lord’s incarnations in different species of life are all transcendental. He appears as a human being in His incarnations of Kṛṣṇa, Rāma, etc., but He is not a human being. Anyone who mistakes Him for an ordinary human being is certainly not very intelligent, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (9.11) : avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam. The same principle is applicable when He appears as the hog or fish incarnations. They are transcendental forms of the Lord and are manifested under certain necessities of His own pleasure and pastimes. Such manifestations of the transcendental forms of the Lord are accepted by Him mostly to enliven His devotees. All His incarnations are manifested whenever there is a need to deliver His devotees and maintain His own principles.