SB 10.85.20 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

सूतीगृहे ननु जगाद भवानजो नौ सञ्जज्ञ इत्यनुयुगं निजधर्मगुप्‍त्‍यै । नानातनूर्गगनवद् विदधज्जहासि को वेद भूम्न उरुगाय विभूतिमायाम् ॥ २० ॥

Verse text

sūtī-gṛhe nanu jagāda bhavān ajo nau saṣjajṣa ity anu-yugaṁ nija-dharma-guptyai nānā-tanūr gagana-vad vidadhaj jahāsi ko veda bhūmna uru-gāya vibhūti-māyām

Synonyms

sūtī — gṛhe — in the maternity room ; nanu — indeed ; jagāda — said ; bhavān — You ; ajaḥ — the unborn Lord ; nau — to us ; saṣjajṣe — You have taken birth ; iti — thus ; anu — yugam — in one age after another ; nija — Your own ; dharma — the principles of religion ; guptyai — to protect ; nānā — various ; tanūḥ — divine bodies ; gagana — vat — like a cloud ; vidadhat — assuming ; jahāsi — You make unmanifest ; kaḥ — who ; veda — can understand ; bhūmnaḥ — of the all-pervading Supreme Lord ; uru — gāya — O You who are greatly glorified ; vibhūti — of the opulent expansions ; māyām — the mystic, deluding potency .

Translation

Indeed, while still in the maternity room You told us that You, the unborn Lord, had already been born several times as our son in previous ages. After manifesting each of these transcendental bodies to protect Your own principles of religion, You then made them unmanifest, thus appearing and disappearing like a cloud. O supremely glorified, all-pervading Lord, who can understand the mystic, deluding potency of Your opulent expansions?

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Indeed, while still in the maternity room You told us that You, the unborn Lord, had already been born several times as our son in previous ages. After manifesting each of these transcendental bodies to protect Your own principles of religion, You then made them unmanifest, thus appearing and disappearing like a cloud. O supremely glorified, all-pervading Lord, who can understand the mystic, deluding potency of Your opulent expansions? KB 10.85.20 “My dear Lord, at the very moment when You first appeared in Kaṁsa’s prison house, You informed me that You were the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that You had descended for the protection of the principles of religion as well as the destruction of the unfaithful. Although unborn, You descend in every millennium to execute Your mission. My dear Lord, as in the sky there are many forms, appearing and disappearing, You also appear in many eternal forms and then disappear. Who, therefore, can understand Your pastimes or the mystery of Your appearance and disappearance? Our only business should be to glorify Your supreme greatness.”

Purport

Lord Kṛṣṇa was first born to Vasudeva and Devakī in their previous lives as Sutapā and Pṛśni. Later they again became His parents as Kaśyapa and Aditi. This, then, was the third time He had appeared as their son.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

"I am the supreme Lord and I became your son. So how can this be entanglement or repeated birth for you?" I"n the maternity room you told us ‘ have appeared from the pair of you two repeatedly (anuyugam), as Sutapa and Prsni, then as Kasyapa and Aditi, and now as Vasudeva and Devaki.’ Creating all those bodies for us, you become our son, but being unattached, like the sky, you give us up. You do not stop being born. Therefore, who can understand the powers (vibhuti mayam) of the supreme Lord (bhumnah)?"

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

“Thinking of me as your son is not imaginary, but real, since I was born to you two to fulfill my promise to you. In two previous births I spoke to you.” Hearing this, Vasudeva protests with this verse. “What did I say?” Though without birth, you were born to us, though this was only appearing like a birth, yuga after yuga. He shows the cause with kaimutya. You appear to protect the dharma of your devotees. This means you take birth to protect us two. Or you take birth to maintain your nature (nija-dharma) of fulfilling the desires of your devotees. “If that is so, then my birth as your son is real and full of mercy. Why then do you criticize yourself when you think of me as your son?” You are not touched by fault, like the sky. You accept various bodies, seeing to take birth from humans, in a particular way (vi—dadhat), making an appearance that looks material. Then you give up those bodies, by going to your eternal abode, the source of your appearance here. By your sweet appearance, we also appear like that. It is thus not proper to think of you as my son since it is a temporary position. “I have said you are eternal and will attain my supreme abode. Then why do you two act with such misery?” O Lord famous in the Vedic songs! Who can know the svarūpa -śakti (māyām) in the form of the supreme abode (vibhūti) of you, full of unlimited powers (bhūmnaḥ)? What is the use of such thinking for us fallen souls? Or, “If you deride your thinking of me as your son, then why do you think like that?” You told us that you appear as our son in various yugas. Though it is impossible to have you as a son, I think like that on the authority of your words. “I said that only to indicate that I enter your body, not that I will become your son. You are overextending the statement of the śruti which says that I enter into all jīvas individually and collectively. Tat sṛṣtvā tad evānuprāviśat: having created the world I entered into it.” (Taittirīya Upaniṣad) Like the sky you are unaffected. You enter into various bodies of the jīvas as the antaryāmī and then give up those bodies. Who respects that infant form of yours with little power? Your entering us is praised by the wise. The wise are my proof, though it is impossible for me because of no qualification.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Nanu means O Lord or “it is certain.” Though unborn you have been born (jajñe) as the best son, or with all powers (sam). After manifesting various bodies, especially as Śyāmasundara (vi-dadhat), to protect your dharma you make them disappear. It is not possible to understand how this takes place. By doing that your glory increases. O Lord of great fame (urugāya)! Or not only in this birth have you been our son, but many times. Your words are the proof. You said in the maternity room that you appear to protect bhakti (dharma) of your devotees such as me (nija). “Then why do you lament?” You are like the sky, pervading everywhere and unattached to anything. You appear for your purpose and then completely disappear. You are not concerned if others suffer by your disappearance. “I do not give up my affection for my devotees at any time.” Who knows your māyā? We cannot have faith in you, who is the controller of māyā. Though Vasudeva is successful by hearing the authority of the Lord’s words, he speaks with humility to increase his affection, since this is the nature of great bhakti.