Section 38
The Lord Incarnates in Various Forms 

          Just as there are guëävatäras there are also other incarnations. Brahmä describes them (SB.10.14.20)

          O Lord, O supreme creator and master, You have no material birth, yet to defeat the false pride of the faithless demons and to show mercy to Your saintly devotees, You take birth among the demigods, sages, human beings, animals, and even aquatics.

 

          By the phrase Ajanasya janma, "birth of the unborn", Brahmä informs that the Lord's birth is just an appearance. And not like the birth of an ordinary jiva.

          Lord Kåñëa says, "O my dear Brahmä, In this matter do yo consider that because My this one form is all-pervading, then how can My other forms find a place for display?;  that people in general experience the creation of ordinary material objects like a clay pot. Then objects which are transcendental in nature and distinct from matter such as My forms, take birth or be visible to ordinary eyes; That You are astonished just by the number and amount of My opulence You have seen and considering it the extent of My opulence, you ascertain them as limited; That My expansions in the form of boys and calves were transformed later on into four-handed Visnu forms, and thus you experienced that sometimes a particular form is manifest, and sometimes not."? Is this your conclusion?

          In his Krama Sandarbha Çréla Jéva Gosvämé writes that Lord appeas as Yajïa among the demigods, Nara-Näräyaëa among the sages. King Påthu among humans, Varäha among animals and Matsya and Kürma among aquactics.

          The question posed by Lord Kåñëa serves as an introudction to the following text. He is asking that if His Kåñëa form is all pervading, as established by Brahmä, then where do the other forms like Räma exist? Brahmä said that Lord is Ajana or birthless which also means that all the forms of the Lord are eternal. Moreover if the forms are eternal then how do they seen to take birht. Brahmä witnessed Kåñëa's opulence. If that is the complete opulence of the Lord then Lord is limited. Then why Brahmä has established Him as unlimited? Furthermore, Kåñëa expanded Himself into cowherd boys, calves and son on. Where do they exist now, while Brahmä is seeing only Kåñëa? In the following Text Lord Kåñëa raises further questions. Brahmä responds with the next verse.

 

PURPORT  

          In the pervious Section Brahmä said that ignorant people do not understand that Kåñëa is the Supreme cause of everything.  An obvious question arises, "How can the Lord be known who is beyond sense perception?"  So Brahmä speaks the next verse, which explains that just as the Lord appears as gunävatars, he appears as other ävatars to dispel demonic teachings and establish religious principles.  He appears in different species of life according to necessity and kills the demons who propagate atheism.

          How can the Lord take birth, because He is ajana--birthless?  Brahmä replies "You are Prabhu" meaning that the Lord has inconceivable power and He can accomplish what is ordinarily impossible.  It has already been shown, however, that the Lord is all-pervading, so where is the question of His birth?  Çréla Jéva Gosvämé answers that the Lord's "birth" means He becomes visible and this is referred to as prädurbhäva, or appearance.  He is not bound by material laws before or after His "birth"nor is He forced to take "birth".  He is addressed in this verse as vidhäta, which means that He makes the rules but is not subject to them.