Devanagari
श्रीशुक उवाच
इत्थं विरिञ्चस्तुतकर्मवीर्य:
प्रादुर्बभूवामृतभूरदित्याम् ।
चतुर्भुज: शङ्खगदाब्जचक्र:
पिशङ्गवासा नलिनायतेक्षण: ॥ १ ॥
Verse text
śrī-śuka uvāca
itthaṁ viriṣca-stuta-karma-vīryaḥ
prādurbabhūvāmṛta-bhūr adityām
catur-bhujaḥ śaṅkha-gadābja-cakraḥ
piśaṅga-vāsā nalināyatekṣaṇaḥ
Synonyms
śrī
—
śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
;
ittham
—
in this way
;
viriṣca
—
stuta — karma — vīryaḥ — the Personality of Godhead, whose activities and prowess are always praised by Lord Brahmā
;
prādurbabhūva
—
became manifested
;
amṛta
—
bhūḥ — whose appearance is always deathless
;
adityām
—
from the womb of Aditi
;
catuḥ
—
bhujaḥ — having four arms
;
śaṅkha
—
gadā — abja — cakraḥ — decorated with conchshell, club, lotus and disc
;
piśaṅga
—
vāsāḥ — dressed in yellow garments
;
nalina
—
āyata — īkṣaṇaḥ — having blooming eyes like the petals of a lotus .
Translation
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: After Lord Brahmā had thus spoken, glorifying the Supreme Lord’s activities and prowess, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is never subject to death like an ordinary living being, appeared from the womb of Aditi. His four hands were decorated with a conchshell, club, lotus and disc, He was dressed in yellow garments, and His eyes appeared like the petals of a blooming lotus.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: After Lord Brahmā glorified the Lord's prowess, the Lord, whose appearance is not subject to death, with lotus eyes and yellow garments, appeared from the womb of Aditi with four hands bearing a conch, club, lotus and disc.
In the Eighteenth Chapter, Vāmana, wearing a sacred thread, goes to the sacrifice performed by Bali and begs a boon from him. His appearance is without death or destruction (amṛta-bhūḥ). It is said janma-karma ca me divyam: by birth and activities are transcendental. (BG 4.9) śaṅkha-gadā-abja-cakraḥ means “possessing conch, club, lotus and wheel. [Note: Arśādibhyo c: the suffix ac is added to words starting with arśa with a possessive meaning. Pāṇini .2.127]” Another version has śaṅkha-gadā-abja-cakra, without the visarga. It is then part of a compound with piśaṅga-vāsāḥ.
Purport
The word
amṛta-bhūḥ
is significant in this verse. The Lord sometimes appears like an ordinary child taking birth, but this does not mean that He is subject to birth, death or old age. One must be very intelligent to understand the appearance and activities of the Supreme Lord in His incarnations. This is confirmed in
Bhagavad-gītā
(4.9)
:
janma karma ca me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ.
One should try to understand that the Lord’s appearance and disappearance and His activities are all
divyam,
or transcendental. The Lord has nothing to do with material activities. One who understands the appearance, disappearance and activities of the Lord is immediately liberated. After giving up his body, he never again has to accept a material body, but is transferred to the spiritual world (
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ’rjuna
).