Devanagari
एवं जन्मानि कर्माणि ह्यकर्तुरजनस्य च ।
वर्णयन्ति स्म कवयो वेदगुह्यानि हृत्पते: ॥ ३५ ॥
Verse text
evaṁ janmāni karmāṇi
hy akartur ajanasya ca
varṇayanti sma kavayo
veda-guhyāni hṛt-pateḥ
Synonyms
evam
—
thus
;
janmāni
—
birth
;
karmāṇi
—
activities
;
hi
—
certainly
;
akartuḥ
—
of the inactive
;
ajanasya
—
of the unborn
;
ca
—
and
;
varṇayanti
—
describe
;
sma
—
in the past
;
kavayaḥ
—
the learned
;
veda
—
guhyāni — undiscoverable by the Vedas
;
hṛt
—
pateḥ — of the Lord of the heart .
Translation
Thus learned men describe the births and activities of the unborn and inactive, which is undiscoverable even in the Vedic literatures. He is the Lord of the heart.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Thus, rejecting the two versions of the universal form, the wise glorify the highest subject of the Vedas--the birth and birth and activities of the Supreme Lord, who resides in the hearts of all beings (unlike the universal form), who has no material birth and no material activities (unlike the jīva).,
Purport
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.
Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Evam means “thus rejecting these two material forms.” Although the Lord is not born he is also born, according to the śruti text ajāyamāno bahudhābhijāyate: not being born, the Lord appears as many. (Mahā-nārāyaṇa Upaniṣad) The Lord is not the doer, but performs actions. According to śruti text na cāsya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate: the Lord has no senses and no body. (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8) And as well śruti says svābhāvikī jṣāna-bala-kriyā ca: by his nature the Lord’s actions are endowed with knowledge and strength. (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8)
“But one also sees birth and actions of the jīva, who actually has no birth and no material actions.” That is true. But the jīva’s birth and actions are related to matter, and the Lord’s birth and actions are without relation to matter at all. This is the difference. These facts about the Lord’s birth and actions are established in the all Vedas because they are the highest, most excellent truths (veda-guhyāni.) This means that the facts about the jīva are different, being inferior, because his birth and actions are related to matter. The Gītā also says janma-karma ca me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ: he who remembers my birth and actions as non-material does not take birth.(BG 4.9) Referring to the Lord as hṛt-pateḥ (Lord in the heart, Paramātmā) indicates that the universal form is not considered among the avatāras, since it does not reside in the heart.