Shloka 19
Brahmā’s Prayers to Lord Nārāyaṇa and the Lord’s Empowering Instructions for Creation
तिर्यङ्मनुष्यविबुधादिषु जीवयोनि- ष्वात्मेच्छयात्मकृतसेतुपरीप्सया य: । रेमे निरस्तविषयोऽप्यवरुद्धदेह- स्तस्मै नमो भगवते पुरुषोत्तमाय ॥ १९ ॥
tiryaṅ-manuṣya-vibudhādiṣu jīva-yoniṣv ātmecchayātma-kṛta-setu-parīpsayā yaḥ reme nirasta-viṣayo ’py avaruddha-dehas tasmai namo bhagavate puruṣottamāya
हे प्रभु! आप अपनी ही इच्छा से पशु, मनुष्य और देवताओं आदि की विविध योनियों में अवतार लेकर दिव्य लीलाएँ करते हैं। आप भौतिक मलिनता से अछूते हैं; अपने धर्म-सेतु की मर्यादा की पूर्ति हेतु देह धारण करते हैं। इसलिए, हे पुरुषोत्तम भगवान, आपको मेरा नमस्कार है।
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.
FAQs
This verse says He does so by His own will, to establish and protect the divinely made order of dharma (setu) and to enact His līlā, even while remaining transcendental to matter.
Brahmā addresses Him as Puruṣottama because He is the Supreme Person above all conditioned beings, yet He can appear among them without becoming bound by material qualities.
See divine order (dharma) as purposeful and protective, and practice devotion with the understanding that God can be present in the world without being of the world—encouraging detachment and steady bhakti.