FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.18.1

श्रीशुक उवाच इत्थं विरिञ्चस्तुतकर्मवीर्य: प्रादुर्बभूवामृतभूरदित्याम् । चतुर्भुज: शङ्खगदाब्जचक्र: पिशङ्गवासा नलिनायतेक्षण: ॥ १ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca
[shree-shuka uvaacha]
itthaṁ viriñca-stuta-karma-vīryaḥ
[ittham virincha-stuta-karma-veeryah]
prādurbabhūvāmṛta-bhūr adityām
[praadurbabhoovaamrita-bhoor adityaam]
catur-bhujaḥ śaṅkha-gadābja-cakraḥ
[chatur-bhujah shankha-gadaabja-chakrah]
piśaṅga-vāsā nalināyatekṣaṇaḥ
[pishanga-vaasaa nalinaayatekshanah]
Word-for-word
śrī-śukaḥ uvāca — 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.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
śrī-śuka uvāca
śrī-śukaḥ uvāca
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
itthaṁ viriñca-stuta-karma-vīryaḥ
ittham
in this way
viriñca-stuta-karma-vīryaḥ
the Personality of Godhead, whose activities and prowess are always praised by Lord Brahmā
prādurbabhūvāmṛta-bhūr adityām
prādurbabhūva
became manifested
amṛta-bhūḥ
whose appearance is always deathless
adityām
from the womb of Aditi
catur-bhujaḥ śaṅkha-gadābja-cakraḥ
catuḥ-bhujaḥ
having four arms
śaṅkha-gadā-abja-cakraḥ
decorated with conchshell, club, lotus and disc
piśaṅga-vāsā nalināyatekṣaṇaḥ
piśaṅga-vāsāḥ
dressed in yellow garments
nalina-āyata-īkṣaṇaḥ
having blooming eyes like the petals of a lotus.
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 ).

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: After Lord Brahmā glorified the Lord's prowess, the Lord, whose appearance is not subject to death, with lotus eyes and yellow garments, appeared from the womb of Aditi with four hands bearing a conch, club, lotus and disc. In the Eighteenth Chapter, Vāmana, wearing a sacred thread, goes to the sacrifice performed by Bali and begs a boon from him. His appearance is without death or destruction (amṛta-bhūḥ). It is said janma-karma ca me divyam: by birth and activities are transcendental. (BG 4.9) śaṅkha-gadā-abja-cakraḥ means “possessing conch, club, lotus and wheel. [Note: Arśādibhyo c: the suffix ac is added to words starting with arśa with a possessive meaning. Pāṇini .2.127]” Another version has śaṅkha-gadā-abja-cakra, without the visarga. It is then part of a compound with piśaṅga-vāsāḥ.
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
After Brahmā's prayers, the Lord — never subject to death like an ordinary being — appeared from Aditi's womb in four-armed form, conch, club, lotus, disc. The birth that looks ordinary is not ordinary at all. Read divine appearances with intelligence.
Reflection Questions
  • Where do I read scriptural 'births' as ordinary biological events, missing their transcendental nature?
  • What sign of the Lord's transcendence have I been overlooking in my own life because it looked ordinary?
📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

← Read full Chapter 18