FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.85.20

सूतीगृहे ननु जगाद भवानजो नौ सञ्जज्ञ इत्यनुयुगं निजधर्मगुप्‍त्‍यै । नानातनूर्गगनवद् विदधज्जहासि को वेद भूम्न उरुगाय विभूतिमायाम् ॥ २० ॥
sūtī-gṛhe nanu jagāda bhavān ajo nau
[sootee-grihe nanu jagaada bhavaan ajo nau]
sañjajña ity anu-yugaṁ nija-dharma-guptyai
[sanjajna ity anu-yugam nija-dharma-guptyai]
nānā-tanūr gagana-vad vidadhaj jahāsi
[naanaa-tanoor gagana-vad vidadhaj jahaasi]
ko veda bhūmna uru-gāya vibhūti-māyām
[ko veda bhoomna uru-gaaya vibhooti-maayaam]
sūtī - gṛhe — in the maternity room nanu — indeed jagāda — said bhavān — You ajaḥ — the unborn Lord nau — to us sañjajñe — You have taken birth iti — thus anu - yugam — in one age after another nija — Your own dharma — the principles of religion guptyai — to protect nānā — various tanūḥ — divine bodies gagana - vat — like a cloud vidadhat — assuming jahāsi — You make unmanifest kaḥ — who veda — can understand bhūmnaḥ — of the all-pervading Supreme Lord uru - gāya — O You who are greatly glorified vibhūti — of the opulent expansions māyām — the mystic, deluding potency .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sūtī-gṛhe nanu jagāda bhavān ajo nau
sūtī - gṛhe
in the maternity room
nanu
indeed
jagāda
said
bhavān
You
ajaḥ
the unborn Lord
nau
to us
sañjajña ity anu-yugaṁ nija-dharma-guptyai
sañjajñe
You have taken birth
iti
thus
anu - yugam
in one age after another
nija
Your own
dharma
the principles of religion
guptyai
to protect
nānā-tanūr gagana-vad vidadhaj jahāsi
nānā
various
tanūḥ
divine bodies
gagana - vat
like a cloud
vidadhat
assuming
jahāsi
You make unmanifest
kaḥ
who
ko veda bhūmna uru-gāya vibhūti-māyām
veda
can understand
bhūmnaḥ
of the all-pervading Supreme Lord
uru - gāya
O You who are greatly glorified
vibhūti
of the opulent expansions
māyām
the mystic, deluding potency .
  • sūtī-gṛhe — in the maternity room
    Compound: sūti (childbirth) + gṛha (room). The reference is to SB 10.3 — the Mathurā prison, where the newborn Kṛṣṇa revealed His four-armed Viṣṇu-form to Vasudeva and Devakī. Vasudeva is now placing today's recognition inside that older event.
  • anu-yugam — age after age
    Adverbial compound: anu (following) + yuga (age). The doctrine of recurrent avatāra. BG 4.7–8: yadā yadā hi dharmasya — same teaching now told by the father to the Son who said it first.
  • nija-dharma-guptyai — for the protection of His own principles of religion
    Compound: nija (one's own) + dharma + gupti (protection). The Lord descends to protect dharma — but Gauḍīyas underline 'nija': not abstract dharma, but His own (bhāgavata-dharma, the path of bhakti).
  • gagana-vat — like the sky
    Compound: gagana (sky) + -vat (like). The classical Vedānta image for the changeless substrate from which cloud-forms emerge and into which they dissolve. The avatāra-bodies are real but sky-like in their freedom from material constraint.
  • uru-gāya — O widely-glorified one
    Vocative compound: uru (wide, extensive) + gāya (sung-of). A Vedic epithet of Viṣṇu. The Bhāgavatam's preferred mode: address Bhagavān by names that name His glorification, not just His being.
Indeed, while still in the maternity room You told us that You, the unborn Lord, had already been born several times as our son in previous ages. After manifesting each of these transcendental bodies to protect Your own principles of religion, You then made them unmanifest, thus appearing and disappearing like a cloud. O supremely glorified, all-pervading Lord, who can understand the mystic, deluding potency of Your opulent expansions?

Lord Kṛṣṇa was first born to Vasudeva and Devakī in their previous lives as Sutapā and Pṛśni. Later they again became His parents as Kaśyapa and Aditi. This, then, was the third time He had appeared as their son.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Indeed, while still in the maternity room You told us that You, the unborn Lord, had already been born several times as our son in previous ages. After manifesting each of these transcendental bodies to protect Your own principles of religion, You then made them unmanifest, thus appearing and disappearing like a cloud. O supremely glorified, all-pervading Lord, who can understand the mystic, deluding potency of Your opulent expansions?
Commentary

"I am the supreme Lord and I became your son. So how can this be entanglement or repeated birth for you?" I"n the maternity room you told us ‘ have appeared from the pair of you two repeatedly (anuyugam), as Sutapa and Prsni, then as Kasyapa and Aditi, and now as Vasudeva and Devaki.’ Creating all those bodies for us, you become our son, but being unattached, like the sky, you give us up. You do not stop being born. Therefore, who can understand the powers (vibhuti mayam) of the supreme Lord (bhumnah)?"

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

“Thinking of me as your son is not imaginary, but real, since I was born to you two to fulfill my promise to you. In two previous births I spoke to you.” Hearing this, Vasudeva protests with this verse. “What did I say?” Though without birth, you were born to us, though this was only appearing like a birth, yuga after yuga. He shows the cause with kaimutya. You appear to protect the dharma of your devotees. This means you take birth to protect us two. Or you take birth to maintain your nature (nija-dharma) of fulfilling the desires of your devotees. “If that is so, then my birth as your son is real and full of mercy. Why then do you criticize yourself when you think of me as your son?” You are not touched by fault, like the sky. You accept various bodies, seeing to take birth from humans, in a particular way (vi—dadhat), making an appearance that looks material. Then you give up those bodies, by going to your eternal abode, the source of your appearance here. By your sweet appearance, we also appear like that. It is thus not proper to think of you as my son since it is a temporary position. “I have said you are eternal and will attain my supreme abode. Then why do you two act with such misery?” O Lord famous in the Vedic songs! Who can know the svarūpa -śakti (māyām) in the form of the supreme abode (vibhūti) of you, full of unlimited powers (bhūmnaḥ)? What is the use of such thinking for us fallen souls? Or, “If you deride your thinking of me as your son, then why do you think like that?” You told us that you appear as our son in various yugas. Though it is impossible to have you as a son, I think like that on the authority of your words. “I said that only to indicate that I enter your body, not that I will become your son. You are overextending the statement of the śruti which says that I enter into all jīvas individually and collectively. Tat sṛṣtvā tad evānuprāviśat: having created the world I entered into it.” (Taittirīya Upaniṣad) Like the sky you are unaffected. You enter into various bodies of the jīvas as the antaryāmī and then give up those bodies. Who respects that infant form of yours with little power? Your entering us is praised by the wise. The wise are my proof, though it is impossible for me because of no qualification.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Nanu means O Lord or “it is certain.” Though unborn you have been born (jajñe) as the best son, or with all powers (sam). After manifesting various bodies, especially as Śyāmasundara (vi-dadhat), to protect your dharma you make them disappear. It is not possible to understand how this takes place. By doing that your glory increases. O Lord of great fame (urugāya)! Or not only in this birth have you been our son, but many times. Your words are the proof. You said in the maternity room that you appear to protect bhakti (dharma) of your devotees such as me (nija). “Then why do you lament?” You are like the sky, pervading everywhere and unattached to anything. You appear for your purpose and then completely disappear. You are not concerned if others suffer by your disappearance. “I do not give up my affection for my devotees at any time.” Who knows your māyā? We cannot have faith in you, who is the controller of māyā. Though Vasudeva is successful by hearing the authority of the Lord’s words, he speaks with humility to increase his affection, since this is the nature of great bhakti.

Related values
Sthitaprajna (Steady Wisdom)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Discriminative WisdomAbhaya (Fearlessness)Seva (Service / Selfless Action)Saurya (Heroism / Bravery)Samata (Equanimity / Even-mindedness)Ishvara Pranidhana (Surrender to God)
Related verses
Even in the prison maternity room You told us You had been born several times before. Some teachings are given early but only understood much later — God plants seeds patiently.
Reflection Questions
  • What teaching from years ago has only now begun to make sense to me?
  • Whose early words am I overdue to revisit with mature ears?

A cloud forms in clear sky, releases its rain, dissolves back into the same sky. Bhagavān's appearances and disappearances are gagana-vat — sky-like, leaving no trace where they came from or where they went. The cloud is real; the sky is what the cloud is.

📝 My note

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