Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 3 Chapter 9 Verse 19

Canto 3: The Status Quo | Chapter 9: Brahmā's Prayers for Creative Energy

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.9.19

tiryań-manuṣya-vibudhādiṣu jīva-yoniṣv

ātmecchayātma-kṛta-setu-parīpsayā yaḥ

reme nirasta-viṣayo 'py avaruddha-dehas

tasmai namo bhagavate puruṣottamāya

SYNONYMS

tiryak — animals lower than human beings; manuṣya — human beings, etc.; vibudha-ādiṣu — amongst the demigods; jīva-yoniṣu — in different species of life; ātma — self; icchayā — by the will; ātma-kṛta — self-created; setu — obligations; parīpsayā — desiring to preserve; yaḥ — who; reme — performing transcendental pastimes; nirasta — not being affected; viṣayaḥ — material contamination; api — certainly; avaruddha — manifested; dehaḥ — transcendental body; tasmai — unto Him; namaḥ — my obeisances; bhagavate — unto the Personality of Godhead; puruṣottamāya — the primeval Lord.

TRANSLATION

O my Lord, by Your own will You appear in the various species of living entities, among animals lower than human beings as well as among the demigods, to perform Your transcendental pastimes. You are not affected by material contamination. You come just to fulfill the obligations of Your own principles of religion, and therefore, O Supreme Personality, I offer my obeisances unto You for manifesting such different forms.

PURPORT

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 māḿ mūḍhā mānuṣīḿ 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.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness