SB 8.18.1

Devanāgarī

श्रीशुक उवाच इत्थं विरिञ्चस्तुतकर्मवीर्य: प्रादुर्बभूवामृतभूरदित्याम् । चतुर्भुज: शङ्खगदाब्जचक्र: पिशङ्गवासा नलिनायतेक्षण: ॥ १ ॥

Text

śrī-śuka uvāca itthaṁ viriñca-stuta-karma-vīryaḥ prādurbabhūvāmṛta-bhūr adityām catur-bhujaḥ śaṅkha-gadābja-cakraḥ piśaṅga-vāsā nalināyatekṣaṇaḥ

Synonyms

śrī-śukaḥuvāca—Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said;ittham—in this way;viriñca-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.

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 ).

Chapter 18 SB 8.18.2 →