Shloka 35
Avatāra-kathā — The Puruṣa, the Many Incarnations, and Kṛṣṇa as Svayam Bhagavān
एवं जन्मानि कर्माणि ह्यकर्तुरजनस्य च । वर्णयन्ति स्म कवयो वेदगुह्यानि हृत्पते: ॥ ३५ ॥
evaṁ janmāni karmāṇi hy akartur ajanasya ca varṇayanti sma kavayo veda-guhyāni hṛt-pateḥ
So schildern gelehrte Dichter die Erscheinungen (Geburten) und Taten des Ungeborenen und Nicht-Handelnden, des Herrn des Herzens, die selbst in den Veden als geheimnisvoll verborgen sind.
Both the Lord and the living entities are essentially all spiritual. Therefore both of them are eternal, and neither of them has birth and death. The difference is that the so-called births and disappearances of the Lord are unlike those of the living beings. The living beings who take birth and then again accept death are bound by the laws of material nature. But the so-called appearance and disappearance of the Lord are not actions of material nature, but are demonstrations of the internal potency of the Lord. They are described by the great sages for the purpose of self-realization. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā by the Lord that His so-called birth in the material world and His activities are all transcendental. And simply by meditation on such activities one can attain realization of Brahman and thus become liberated from material bondage. In the śrutis it is said that the birthless appears to take birth. The Supreme has nothing to do, but because He is omnipotent, everything is performed by Him naturally, as if done automatically. As a matter of fact, the appearance and disappearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His different activities are all confidential, even to the Vedic literatures. Yet they are displayed by the Lord to bestow mercy upon the conditioned souls. We should always take advantage of the narrations of the activities of the Lord, which are meditations on Brahman in the most convenient and palatable form.
FAQs
This verse says the Lord is actually unborn (ajana) and not bound to action (akarta), yet sages describe His many “births” and deeds as divine manifestations meant to reveal Vedic mysteries and awaken devotion.
Suta Gosvami speaks this in Naimiṣāraṇya to the assembled sages led by Śaunaka, while explaining the list and significance of the Lord’s avatāras.
Approach the Lord’s pastimes as sacred guidance rather than ordinary history—study and hear them with devotion, and remember that the same Lord resides as the “master of the heart,” guiding inner transformation.