“But certainly the devatās and ṛṣis know about birth of this body belonging to You, the supreme Brahman, who are unlimited by all time and space.” Placing His index finger on His chest the Lord speaks this verse. “He who knows that I am without birth and am beginningless is free from sin.” “Does not everyone know that Brahmā is not beginningless, but that you, Paramātmā, are called aja, without birth, because of having no beginning (ajam anādim)?” “He who knows that I am unborn, and also born to Vasudeva, and am still without beginning, is freed from all sins.” ca here signifies that He is also born. By using the word mām (me), Kṛṣṇa indicates His particular birth from Vasudeva. This refers back to the Lord’s previous statement in chapter four, “He who knows that My birth and activities are transcendental…..” “I take birth, but because I am Paramātmā, I am eternally without birth.” Both these conditions are absolute truth, a demonstration of the acintya śakti. The Lord has said, ajo’ pi san avyayātmā… sambhavāmi, “Though I am unborn, I appear.” Uddhava also says: karmāṇy anīhasya bhavo ’bhavasya te durgāśrayo ’thāri-bhayāt palāyanam kālātmano yat pramadā-yutāśramaḥ svātman-rateḥ khidyati dhīr vidām iha My Lord, even the learned sages become disturbed in their intelligence when they see that Your Greatness engages in fruitive work although You are free from all desires, that You take birth although You are unborn, that You flee out of fear of the enemy and take shelter in a fort although You are the controller of invincible time, and that You enjoy householder life surrounded by many women although You enjoy in Your Self. SB 3.4.16 The commentary in the Laghu Bhagavatāmṛta says: tat tan na vāstavaṁ cet syād vidāṁ buddhi-bhramas tadā na syād evety ato ’cintyā śaktir līlāsu kāraṇam If all this were not true, then all perceptions would be illusory. But that is not so. Thus the acintya-śakti is the cause of His pastimes. Laghu Bhāgavatamṛta 1.5.119 In My childhood, during the Dāmodara-līlā, it is inconceivable that I could be bound by strings of bells, but not by the cords of mother Yaśodā. In the same way, My birth and non-birth are also inconceivable. The Lord then speaks of His powers, which are hard to understand. He who knows that, though I am your chariot driver, I am also the great controller of all the planets (loka-maheśvaram)—he alone is not bewildered among men, and is free of all sins, which are an obstacle to bhakti. But he who, though accepting that the Lord is unborn, without beginning and is the controller of all beings, thinks that His being born is just a semblance of birth, is bewildered, and is not freed from all sins.

Even those who are knowledgeable of scriptures cannot know about Me by their intelligence. Because intelligence and other elements are generated from the material guṇas like sattva, and though they all originate in Me, in themselves they are not suitable for understanding about Me who am beyond the guṇas. The list of items in these verses is given to show this. Intelligence (buddhi) is capable of discerning the fine meaning of things. Knowledge (jñāna) refers to the ability to distinguish between ātmā and non-ātmā. [Note: Even knowledge of ātmā distinct from the body is only sattva guṇa.] Non-bewilderment (asaṁmoha) means to be devoid of perplexity. These three qualities, though they are regarded as causing knowledge of Me, are not really causes of that knowledge. The other states seen in people which arev mentioned here also do not arise on their own (they come from Me). Tolerance (kṣamā), to speak the truth (satyam), control of the external senses (dama), and control of the internal sense (śama) are sattvic. Happiness is sattvic and sorrow is tamasic. Birth and death, types of sorrow, and fear, are tamasic. Fearlessness arising from knowledge is sattvic, but if it arises from rajas or tamas, it is rajasic or tamasic. Non-violence and seeing others as ones self (samatā) are sattvic. Satisfaction, if unconditional is sattvic, and if conditional, is rajasic. Austerity and charity, if unconditional, are sattvic and if conditional, are rajasic. Fame and infamy are similarly either sattvic or rajasic. All these arise from My energy. Because of the non-difference of the energy and the source of energy, it is said they arise from Me (mattaḥ).

Some person, however, does have this knowledge of Me. With this intention the Lord speaks. Among thousands of men who are endeavoring, he who gets the good fortune of association with devotees who know about Me will know Me, who am without beginning, unborn, the great lord of the universe. He, not being bewildered, will be free of all sins. The Lord is unborn (ajam). That means He is different from the material products, which are unconscious, and from any class of being in the universe, since all entities are born with material bodies (or forms in the case of material objects) which have a beginning, and by transformation, an end. He becomes more specific by saying that He is without beginning (anādim). He is different from all the liberated souls as well, for though liberated souls are without birth now, their liberated state had a beginning, since their previous condition was marked by birth in material bodies. The Lord is also different from the eternally liberated souls, as well as being different from prakṛti and time, by the mention of the word loka maheśvaram. Although these all have no birth and are without beginning, they do not have lordship over all the worlds. The Lord also uses the word “beginningless” to distinguish Himself from Brahmā and Śiva, since they are also lords of the worlds. That He is the lord of Brahmā and Śiva will be explained elsewhere. He who knows that I am distinguished from all others by lack of contact with bad qualities and by eternal lordship of all things becomes freed from all karmas (sarva pāpaiḥ pramucyate), which act as an obstacle to the appearance of devotion to Me. That person then attains devotion to Me. Bewilderment (sammūḍhaḥ) means thinking that something else is knowledge of Me. He is devoid of that bewilderment. Also he is not bewildered, thinking, “How can Kṛṣṇa be called unborn, since he is born from Devakī?” since he knows that Kṛṣṇa can be born from her without giving up His status as unborn. Bg 10.4, Bg 10.5, Bg 10.4-5 buiṬjaRNaMaSaMMaaeh" +aMaa SaTYa& dMa" XaMa" ) Sau%& du"%& >avae_>aavae >aYa& ca>aYaMaev c )) 4 )) Aih&Saa SaMaTaa TauiíSTaPaae daNa& YaXaae_YaXa" ) >aviNTa >aava >aUTaaNaa& Mata Wv Pa*QaiGvDaa" )) 5 )) buddhir jñānam asammohaḥ kṣamā satyaṁ damaḥ śamaḥ sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ bhavo 'bhāvo bhayaṁ cābhayam eva ca ahiṁsā samatā tuṣṭis tapo dānaṁ yaśo 'yaśaḥ bhavanti bhāvā bhūtānāṁ matta eva pṛthag-vidhāḥ buddhiḥ—intelligence; jñānam—knowledge; asammohaḥ—freedom from doubt; kṣamā—forgiveness; satyam—truthfulness; damaḥ—control of the senses; śamaḥ—control of the mind; sukham—happiness; duḥkham—distress; bhavaḥ—birth; abhāvaḥ—death; bhayam—fear; ca—also; abhayam—fearlessness; eva—also; ca—and; ahiṁsā—nonviolence; samatā—equilibrium; tuṣṭiḥ—satisfaction; tapaḥ—penance; dānam—charity; yaśaḥ—fame; ayaśaḥ—infamy; bhavanti—come about; bhāvāḥ—natures; bhūtānām—of living entities; mattaḥ—from Me; eva—certainly; pṛthak-vidhāḥ—variously arranged.

In two verses the Lord expounds His status as the origin of all and the lord of all (which were mentioned in the last verse). Buddhi means the ability to make subtle distinctions. Jñāna means to distinguish spiritual from material (cit from acit). Asammoha is absence of confusion. Kṣama is tolerance. Satyam is to speak for others benefit things as they really are. Dama means restraining the senses such as the ear from useless sense objects. Śama is controlling the mind. Sukha means regarding something as favorable. Duḥka is regarding something as unfavorable. Bhāva means birth, and abhāva means death. Bhaya means fear, which arises from regarding something as a future cause of suffering. Abhaya is absence of that fear. Ahiṁsa is not giving pain to other entities. Samatā is being devoid of attraction and repulsion. Tuṣṭi is satisfaction on attaining whatever comes according to ones karma. Tapa is suffering of the body prescribed in the Vedas. Dāna is offering ones enjoyable items to a qualified person. Yaśa is being known for good qualities. The opposite is ayaśa. All such states of living entities (bhāvāḥ), with differing qualities (pṛthag vidhā), arise from Me, from My will. I alone am their cause.

This is the fulfillement of 'janma karma ca me divyam/ evam yo vetti tattvah', that "one who knows Me in truth about My birth and activities, He is liberated." (4:9) Understanding that the unborn, the beginningless, has taken His birth. Why? Because that is amazing. One who understands this things, he is freed from sins and the result of that is that he will go to Krsna. Someone may think: "This is not so hard to understand, because Krsna is the Brahman who has taken His birth." But Krsna to such persons says 'Yo mam ajam', "I am unborn!" But Lord Brahma is also known as 'ajam', because he has not taken a material birth, he has taken his birth from Garbhodakasayi Visnu. But although Lord Brahma is ajam, he is not 'anadim', he is not beginningless although he has not taken a material birth. And the demigods they are 'loka‑mahesvaram', but they also are not 'anadim'. And the sages they are unborn, ajam, because the soul is unborn and they know that they are anadim because they are spirit, but they are not 'loka‑mahesvaram'. Only Krsna is 'ajam, anadim and loka‑mahesvaram'.

[2. All qualities and attitudes (freedom from illusion, self control, pleasure, birth, fear, austerity, charity, non‑violence, fame, and infamy) are created by Krsna. Even the progenitors of the universe are born from His mind. (4‑6) ]

No one knows Krsna's source but Krsna now explains how He is the source of all qualities. And it should be understood from this, that all these qualities, the good, the bad, they are not sufficient to know Krsna because He is the source of these qualities.