Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 35
The Deliverance of Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva
Yamala-Arjuna Līlā Prelude and Culmination
यस्यावतारा ज्ञायन्ते शरीरेष्वशरीरिण: । तैस्तैरतुल्यातिशयैर्वीर्यैर्देहिष्वसङ्गतै: ॥ ३४ ॥ स भवान्सर्वलोकस्य भवाय विभवाय च । अवतीर्णोंऽशभागेन साम्प्रतं पतिराशिषाम् ॥ ३५ ॥
yasyāvatārā jñāyante śarīreṣv aśarīriṇaḥ tais tair atulyātiśayair vīryair dehiṣv asaṅgataiḥ
Appearing in bodies like those of an ordinary fish, tortoise and hog, You exhibit activities impossible for such creatures to perform — extraordinary, incomparable, transcendental activities of unlimited power and strength. These bodies of Yours, therefore, are not made of material elements, but are incarnations of Your Supreme Personality. You are the same Supreme Personality of Godhead, who have now appeared, with full potency, for the benefit of all living entities within this material world.
As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (4.7-8):
FAQs
This verse explains that although the Lord is essentially bodiless (transcendent), He is recognized through His avatāras in embodied forms, displaying incomparable powers untouched by material association.
They emphasize that Krishna’s visible form is not a product of karma or matter; His appearance is a divine descent, and His potency remains unconditioned even while He plays among embodied beings.
It strengthens faith that the Divine can enter our world without being limited by it—encouraging devotion, surrender, and remembrance rather than reducing God to merely human categories.