SB 5.3.20
Devanāgarī
बर्हिषि तस्मिन्नेव विष्णुदत्त भगवान् परमर्षिभि: प्रसादितो नाभे: प्रियचिकीर्षया तदवरोधायने मेरुदेव्यां धर्मान्दर्शयितुकामो वातरशनानां श्रमणानामृषीणामूर्ध्वमन्थिनां शुक्लया तनुवावततार ॥ २० ॥
Text
barhiṣi tasminn eva viṣṇudatta bhagavān paramarṣibhiḥ prasādito nābheḥ priya-cikīrṣayā tad-avarodhāyane merudevyāṁ dharmān darśayitu-kāmo vāta-raśanānāṁ śramaṇānām ṛṣīṇām ūrdhva-manthināṁ śuklayā tanuvāvatatāra.
Synonyms
barhiṣi—in the arena of sacrifice;tasmin—that;eva—in this way;viṣṇu-datta—O Mahārāja Parīkṣit;bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead;parama-ṛṣibhiḥ—by the greatṛṣis;prasāditaḥ—being pleased;nābheḥpriya-cikīrṣayā—to please King Nābhi;tat-avarodhāyane—in his wife;merudevyām—Merudevī;dharmān—the principles of religion;darśayitu-kāmaḥ—desiring to exhibit how to perform;vāta-raśanānām—of thesannyāsīs(who have almost no cloth);śramaṇānām—of thevānaprasthas;ṛṣīṇām—of the great sages;ūrdhva-manthinām—of thebrahmacārīs;śuklayātanuvā—in His original spiritual form, which is above the modes of material nature;avatatāra—appeared as an incarnation.
Translation
O Viṣṇudatta, Parīkṣit Mahārāja, the Supreme Personality of Godhead was pleased by the great sages at that sacrifice. Consequently the Lord decided to personally exhibit the method of executing religious principles [as observed by brahmacārīs, sannyāsīs, vānaprasthas and gṛhasthas engaged in rituals] and also satisfy Mahārāja Nābhi’s desire. Consequently He appeared as the son of Merudevī in His original spiritual form, which is above the modes of material nature.
Purport
yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham
“Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion — at that time I descend Myself.”
Unlike ordinary living entities, the Supreme Lord is not forced by the modes of material nature to appear. He appears dharmān darśayitu-kāma — to show how to execute the functions of a human being. The word dharma is meant for human beings and is never used in connection with beings inferior to human beings, such as animals. Unfortunately, without being guided by the Supreme Lord, human beings sometimes manufacture a process of dharma by concoction. Actually dharma cannot be made by man. Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam. ( Bhāg. 6.3.19 ) Dharma is given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, just as the law is given by the state government. Man-made dharma has no meaning. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam refers to man-made dharma as kaitava-dharma, cheating religion. The Supreme Lord sends an avatāra (incarnation) to teach human society the proper way to execute religious principles. Such religious principles are bhakti-mārga. As the Supreme Lord Himself says in Bhagavad-gītā: sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja. The son of Mahārāja Nābhi, Ṛṣabhadeva, appeared on this earth to preach the principles of religion. That will be explained in the Fifth Chapter of this Fifth Canto.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fifth Canto, Third Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “Ṛṣabhadeva’s Appearance in the Womb of Merudevī, the wife of King Nābhi.”