Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.26.16
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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varṇāḥ trayaḥ
—
three colors
Varṇa (color) + traya (three). The colors are not aesthetic — each marks a yuga-avatāra. Kṛṣṇa's blackish hue is the fourth, completing a cycle and inaugurating the present age.
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anu-yugam tanūḥ
—
transcendental bodies according to the different yugas
Anu (according to) + yuga + tanū (body). The tanū here is not material — these are a-prākṛta forms. Gauḻīya theology is firm: Bhagavān has no material body, ever; each yuga-form is sac-cid-ānanda.
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pītaḥ
—
sometimes yellow
Pīta — golden, yellow. Jīva Gosvāmī's Krama-sandarbha reads this pīta as a coded reference to Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is Kṛṣṇa Himself in Rādhā's golden complexion. The verse is a Gauḻīya proof-text.
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kṛṣṇatām-gataḥ
—
has assumed a blackish color
Kṛṣṇatā (the state of being Kṛṣṇa / dark-hued) + gataḥ (gone). The double meaning is exact: He has 'gone into Kṛṣṇa-ness' — both color and identity. Garga names the present form by name.
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asya
—
by your son Kṛṣṇa
Genitive of ayam — 'of this one,' i.e., Kṛṣṇa. The deictic shows Garga gesturing to the very child Nanda holds. The cosmic span of yuga-avatāras is collapsed into a finger pointing at the boy.
This and the next six verses (17 through 22) are taken from the eighth chapter of this canto, in which Garga Muni instructs Nanda Mahārāja about Nanda’s son Kṛṣṇa. The translations found herein for these verses are based on those of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda. In Chapter Eight, where the verses originally appear, the reader will find extensive purports by Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Nanda repeats Garga’s words till verse 22. One should see the previous verses (SB 10.8.13-19) for the meaning. However in verse 22 there is a slight alteration of the words. In verse 23 Nanda indicates he is repeating the words of Garga.
Nanda quotes Garga’s words (SB 10.8.13-19) to instill faith in the cowherds till verse 22. However in verse 22 there is a slight alteration of the words (na viṣmayaḥ from gopāyasva samāhitaḥ). Nanda’s changed words since Garga’s words did not indicate Kṛṣṇa’s greatness but rather decrease his greatness since he is to be protected by others. Another version is gopāya susamāhitaḥ: be attentive regarding profit (aya) to the cowherds (gopa). This is not suitable since there was no worry of Nanda becoming proud from wealth and power. Garga’s statement would also not indicate his benefit to the world and Nanda thought Kṛṣṇa’s equality with Nārāyaṇa was impossible. Instead he says “Do not be astonished by his astonishing activities.” They were aware of Garga’s words previously for, after the killing of Baka, they said: aho brahma-vidāṁ vāco nāsatyāḥ santi karhicit gargo yad āha bhagavān anvabhāvi tathaiva tat The words of persons in full knowledge of Brahman never become untrue. It is very wonderful that whatever Gargamuni predicted we are now actually experiencing in all detail. SB 10.11.57 However, now the words taken together in seven verses had special significance.
- Which past 'color' of the Lord do I emphasize that might be limiting how I see Him now?
- Where could I broaden my mental catalog of His appearances?
An actor changes costume between scenes — white for one act, red for another, yellow for a third — and the audience that knows him by one color is startled when he steps out in black. Garga is reminding Nanda that this boy's complexion is the latest of four; the actor is older than every costume.
Garga's teaching draws on the Bhāgavatam's broader theology of yuga-avatāras: śukla in Satya, rakta in Tretā, pīta in Dvāpara, kṛṣṇa now (in the Bhāgavata's count). Some Gauḻīya ācāryas, following Jīva Gosvāmī, identify the pīta-yuga form with Gaurāṅga — Kṛṣṇa Himself appearing in Kali-yuga in golden hue as Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Thus Garga's words quietly prophesy not one but two future appearances: the dark Kṛṣṇa of Vraja and the golden Kṛṣṇa of Navadvīpa. The yuga-dharma-pravartaka of Kali sits encoded in this verse.
My note
Source: vedabase.io