SB 10.60.2 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

यस्त्वेतल्ल‍ीलया विश्वं सृजत्यत्त्यवतीश्वर: । स हि जात: स्वसेतूनां गोपीथाय यदुष्वज: ॥ २ ॥

Verse text

yas tv etal līlayā viśvaṁ sṛjaty atty avatīśvaraḥ sa hi jātaḥ sva-setūnāṁ gopīthāya yaduṣv ajaḥ

Synonyms

yaḥ — who ; tu — and ; etat — this ; līlayā — as His play ; viśvam — universe ; sṛjati — sends forth ; atti — devours ; avati — protects ; īśvaraḥ — the supreme controller ; saḥ — He ; hi — indeed ; jātaḥ — born ; sva — His own ; setūnām — of the laws ; gopīthāya — for the protection ; yaduṣu — among the Yadus ; ajaḥ — the unborn Lord .

Translation

The unborn Personality of Godhead, the supreme controller, who creates, maintains and then devours this universe simply as His play, took birth among the Yadus to preserve His own laws.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The unborn Personality of Godhead, the supreme controller, who creates, maintains and then devours this universe simply as His play, took birth among the Yadus to preserve His own laws. KB 10.60.2 Lord Kṛṣṇa’s dealings with Rukmiṇī as a perfect husband are a perfect manifestation of the supreme perfection of the Personality of Godhead. There are many philosophers who propound a concept of the Absolute Truth in which God cannot do this or that. They deny the incarnation of God, or the Supreme Absolute Truth in human form. But actually the fact is different: God cannot be subject to our imperfect sensual activities. He is the all-powerful, omnipresent Personality of Godhead, and by His supreme will He can not only create, maintain and annihilate the whole cosmic manifestation but also descend as an ordinary human being to execute the highest mission. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, whenever there are discrepancies in the discharge of human occupational duties, He descends. He is not forced to appear by any external agency, but He descends by His own internal potency in order to reestablish the standard functions of human activities and simultaneously annihilate the disturbing elements in the progressive march of human civilization. In accordance with this principle of the transcendental pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He descended in His eternal form as Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the dynasty of the Yadus.

Purport

As stated in the Sixth Canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.3.19) dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam: “Religion is the law established by God.” The word setu means a “boundary” or “limit,” as in the case of a dike. Earth is raised up on both sides of a river or canal so that the water will not deviate from its proper path. Similarly, God establishes laws so that people who follow them can peacefully progress along the path back home, back to Godhead. These laws, which are meant to guide human behavior, are thus called setu. A further note on the word setu: Earth that is raised up to separate agricultural fields, or to form a causeway or bridge, is also called setu. Thus in the Ninth Canto the Bhāgavatam uses the word setu to indicate the bridge Lord Rāmacandra built to Śrī Laṅkā. Since the laws of God act as a bridge to take us from material life to liberated, spiritual life, this additional sense of the word setu certainly enriches its use here.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

In order to show that the cause of interrupting Rukmini’s service was Krsna’s pastime and nothing else, this verse states that the creation and destruction of the world also is his pastime. Though he is birthless, he appeared in the Yadu dynasty to maintain respect for the laws created by himself (sva setunam gopithaya). Thus it can never be his desire to stop the service of prema of his dear devotee, but rather to cause a strengthening of that prema.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

This verse shows how he is jagad-guru. The word tu means it is well known. As the controller of prakṛti (īśvaraḥ), the puruṣa avatāras, he creates this universe with various amazing features (etad). He alone (hi), Svayam Bhagavān alone, has appeared for birth pastimes among the Yadus, even though he is unborn, in order to protect the modes of conduct established by the puruṣa avatāras.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Having indicated the good fortune of Rukmiṇī in serving such a husband, this verse shows how he is jagad-guru. The word tu means it is well known. As the controller of prakṛti (īśvaraḥ), the puruṣa avatāras, he creates this universe with various amazing features (etad). With no dependence on anything, he plays like a child. Or why does he create the world? No one can understand. Or as the protector, he creates the world so that all the jīvas, can reach the supreme abode by enjoying their karmas. He alone (hi), Svayam Bhagavān, has appeared for birth pastimes among the Yadus, even though he is unborn, in order to protect the modes of conduct established by the puruṣa avatāras. Thus it is suitable that he has more astonishing and sweet pastimes than creating the world.