FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Bhagavad-gītā 4.6

అజోఽపి సన్నవ్యయాత్మా భూతానామీశ్వరోఽపి సన్ । ప్రకృతిం స్వామధిష్ఠాయ సమ్భవామ్యాత్మమాయయా ॥ ౬ ॥
ajo ’pi sann avyayātmā
[ajo ’pi sann avyayaatmaa]
bhūtānām īśvaro ’pi san
[bhootaanaam eeshvaro ’pi san]
prakṛtiṁ svām adhiṣṭhāya
[prakritim svaam adhishthaaya]
sambhavāmy ātma-māyayā
[sambhavaamy aatma-maayayaa]
Word-for-word
ajaḥ — unborn api — although san — being so avyaya — without deterioration ātmā — body bhūtānām — of all those who are born īśvaraḥ — the Supreme Lord api — although san — being so prakṛtim — in the transcendental form svām — of Myself adhiṣṭhāya — being so situated sambhavāmi — I do incarnate ātma - māyayā — by My internal energy .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
ajo ’pi sann avyayātmā
ajaḥ
unborn
api
although
san
being so
avyaya
without deterioration
ātmā
body
bhūtānām īśvaro ’pi san
bhūtānām
of all those who are born
īśvaraḥ
the Supreme Lord
api
although
san
being so
prakṛtiṁ svām adhiṣṭhāya
prakṛtim
in the transcendental form
svām
of Myself
adhiṣṭhāya
being so situated
sambhavāmy ātma-māyayā
sambhavāmi
I do incarnate
ātma - māyayā
by My internal energy .
Important Words
  • ajaḥ — unborn
    A-ja: 'not produced.' Kṛṣṇa is denying birth in the ordinary sense even while affirming His appearance. The descent (avatāra) is real; the birth (janma) is not — at least not in the karma-driven mode every other being undergoes.
  • avyaya — imperishable
    Same root as avyayam in 4.1. The body that appears in the world is not subject to decay. Kṛṣṇa's form is sac-cid-ānanda; physical appearance does not mean physical bondage.
  • ātmā — self, transcendental body
    Here ātmā refers not to the impersonal self but to Kṛṣṇa's own transcendental form. The Gītā uses ātmā polysemously; context tells you whether the reference is to the jīva, the Paramātmā, or the Bhagavān's own body.
  • prakṛtim — (His own internal) nature
    Note the qualifier svām — 'own.' Kṛṣṇa does not descend through *material* prakṛti; He descends through His *internal* energy. This distinguishes avatāra from ordinary birth without losing the reality of the appearance.
  • ātma - māyayā — by His own internal energy
    Ātma + māyā — 'self-power' or 'own arrangement.' The instrumental case names the *mechanism* of descent. He appears by His own will-power, not by being pushed into a womb by karma. This is the technical word for the difference between avatāra and saṁsāra.
Although I am unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the Lord of all living entities, by My internal energy I still appear in every millennium in My original transcendental form.
Purport

The Lord has spoken about the peculiarity of His birth: although He may appear like an ordinary person, He remembers everything of His many, many past “births,” whereas a common man cannot remember what he has done even a few hours before. If someone is asked what he did exactly at the same time one day earlier, it would be very difficult for a common man to answer immediately. He would surely have to dredge his memory to recall what he was doing exactly at the same time one day before. And yet, men often dare claim to be God, or Kṛṣṇa. One should not be misled by such meaningless claims. Then again, the Lord explains His prakṛti, or His form. Prakṛti means “nature,” as well as svarūpa, or “one’s own form.” The Lord says that He appears in His own body. He does not change His body, as the common living entity changes from one body to another. The conditioned soul may have one kind of body in the present birth, but he has a different body in the next birth. In the material world, the living entity has no fixed body but transmigrates from one body to another. The Lord, however, does not do so. Whenever He appears, He does so in the same original body, by His internal potency. In other words, Kṛṣṇa appears in this material world in His original eternal form, with two hands, holding a flute. He appears exactly in His eternal body, uncontaminated by this material world. Although He appears in the same transcendental body and is Lord of the universe, it still appears that He takes His birth like an ordinary living entity. And although His body does not deteriorate like a material body, it still appears that Lord Kṛṣṇa grows from childhood to boyhood and from boyhood to youth. But astonishingly enough He never ages beyond youth. At the time of the Battle of Kurukṣetra, He had many grandchildren at home; or, in other words, He had sufficiently aged by material calculations. Still He looked just like a young man twenty or twenty-five years old. We never see a picture of Kṛṣṇa in old age because He never grows old like us, although He is the oldest person in the whole creation – past, present and future. Neither His body nor His intelligence ever deteriorates or changes. Therefore, it is clear that in spite of His being in the material world, He is the same unborn, eternal form of bliss and knowledge, changeless in His transcendental body and intelligence. Factually, His appearance and disappearance are like the sun’s rising, moving before us and then disappearing from our eyesight. When the sun is out of sight, we think that the sun has set, and when the sun is before our eyes, we think that the sun is on the horizon. Actually, the sun is always in its fixed position, but owing to our defective, insufficient senses, we calculate the appearance and disappearance of the sun in the sky. And because Lord Kṛṣṇa’s appearance and disappearance are completely different from that of any ordinary, common living entity, it is evident that He is eternal, blissful knowledge by His internal potency – and He is never contaminated by material nature. The Vedas also confirm that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is unborn yet He still appears to take His birth in multimanifestations. The Vedic supplementary literatures also confirm that even though the Lord appears to be taking His birth, He is still without change of body. In the Bhāgavatam, He appears before His mother as Nārāyaṇa, with four hands and the decorations of the six kinds of full opulences. His appearance in His original eternal form is His causeless mercy, bestowed upon the living entities so that they can concentrate on the Supreme Lord as He is, and not on mental concoctions or imaginations, which the impersonalist wrongly thinks the Lord’s forms to be. The word māyā, or ātma-māyā, refers to the Lord’s causeless mercy, according to the Viśva-kośa dictionary. The Lord is conscious of all of His previous appearances and disappearances, but a common living entity forgets everything about his past body as soon as he gets another body. He is the Lord of all living entities because He performs wonderful and superhuman activities while He is on this earth. Therefore, the Lord is always the same Absolute Truth and is without differentiation between His form and self, or between His quality and body. A question may now be raised as to why the Lord appears and disappears in this world. This is explained in the next verse.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
6. Though I am unborn and the lord of all entities, having an imperishable body, I appear with My own body by My own energy.
Commentary

In this verse, He describes the manner of His appearance. “Though I am without birth, I appear. I descend in the forms of devas, humans and crawling animals and other forms.” “But what is remarkable about that? The jīva is also actually without birth, and is born again after the destruction of the gross body.” The Lord answers: “I have an indestructible body (avyaya ātmā). The jīva is without birth in the sense that he is a soul apart from his body. He takes birth just because of his relationship with the body which produces ignorance. But My being without birth and My taking birth are not separate from My body, since I am the Lord. Both My birth and My not being born are integral to My svarūpa. As such a condition is difficult to occur, it is certainly astounding and inconceivable. And there is no worry that I will take birth in all sorts of wombs like the jīva who is under the influence of pāpa and puṇya, for I am the lord of all the living entities (bhūtānām īśvaraḥ), not under the control of karma.”

“But the jīva receives bodies of deva, human and animal according to karma by his subtle body which causes his bondage. You, the Supreme Lord, are without a subtle body, and you are all pervading and control karma, time and all other elements. The śruti says bahu syām: may I become many. (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.2.3) From that, it is understood that you are the form of the whole universe. When you say ‘I appear in this particular way,’ I think that must mean that Your birth means simply that You are revealing to people the multitude of bodily forms throughout the universe, which are also eternal as types.” “But how can that be? I make My appearance, situated in My own form (prakṛtiṁ svām adhiṣṭhāya).” If the word prakṛti meant the external material energy, then its controller, the Supreme Lord, becomes, by inference, a material form, not a special object of realization. Therefore, in conformity to the Amara Kośa dictionary meaning (saṁsiddhi-prakṛtī tv ime svarūpaṁ ca svabhāvaś ca), the word prakṛti means svarūpa in this verse. It does not refer to the material energy which arises from His svarūpa. The Lord’s svarūpa is sac-cid-ānanda, full of eternal spiritual knowledge and bliss. Concerning the word prakṛti, Srīdhara Svāmī says, “Accepting a form (prakṛti) which is composed of śuddha-sattva (svām).” Rāmānujācārya says, “Prakṛti means ones own nature (svabhāva). Thus the phrase means ‘Being situated in My nature, I appear with My svarūpa (svam) by My own will.’” In this case, prakṛti means the Lord’s nature, which is condensed sac-cid-ānanda-rasa, which is distinct from material energy. The word svam along with prakṛti thus indicates “My own svarūpa, My true form.” For the śruti says: sa bhagavaḥ kasmin pratiṣṭhitaḥ sva mahimni Dear sir, in what is the supreme situated? It is situated in its own glory. Chāndogya Upaniṣad 7.24.1 Madhusūdana Sarasvatī gives the following meaning. “I appear, situated in My svarūpa. Being situated spiritually, I act without duality of soul and body.” “But if You have indestructible bodies such as Matsya or Kūrma, then why do Your present form and the previous forms not appear all at once? “I appear through My māyā coming from My self (ātmā means self, thus ātma-māyā means My own māyā), through My yoga-māyā, the function of the cit-śakti, which both covers and reveals My svarūpas. I appear revealing My present form, having covered the previous forms.” Śrīdhara Svāmī says sambhāvami ātma-māyayā means, “I appear by My energy of jṣāna, bala and vīrya which strongly manifest.” According to Rāmānuja, ātma-māyayā can also mean “By My own knowledge,” since māya can mean knowledge in this context: māyā vayunam jṣānam. The usage is stated: “He continually knows the sin and piety of all entities by knowledge (māyayā).” Madhusūdana Sarasvatī says: “Māyā means the awareness through that body (ātmā) that I am the Lord, Vāsudeva, devoid of difference between body and soul.”

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
6. Though unborn, the lord of all entities, having imperishable body and qualities, I appear in My own body by My own mercy to deliver the jīvas.
Commentary

In speaking of the uniqueness of His birth and form, the Lord indicates His eternal nature. In this verse, the word prakṛti means form (svarūpa), nature (svabhāva) or manner. Taking support of My own form (svam prakṛti), I appear. Amara Kośa gives this definition of prakṛti: saṁsiddhi-prakṛtī tvime svarūpaṁ ca svabhāvaś ca. I appear with My own spiritual form. The Lord expands on this in the first line, in order to bring out this meaning. Api is used in the emphatic sense. I am indeed without a birth which gives one a body caused by past karma (ajaḥ api). My intelligence and other elements (ātmā) [Note: In the first chapter, introduction Baladeva as given the meaning of ātmā: the word ātmā refers to iśvara, jīva, and their bodies, the mind, intelligence, determination, and effort.] are all without transformation (avyayātmā). This is indicated by statementd such as ātmā puṁsi. [Note: This is perhaps a definition given from a traditional dictionary, but not Amara Kośa.] I am also the controller of all the jīvas, all those beings other than Myself (bhūtānām īśvaraḥ). “I appear in My form” means “I appear in My supreme form of knowledge and bliss with qualities such as being without birth, without transformation, and being the controller of all beings.” The birth of His svarūpa is thus like the appearance of the sun. In this way, His birth and form have been shown to be completely different from those of people of this world, and by this, His eternal nature is also shown. Dependence on karma is rejected. In this regard the śruti says: ajāyamāno bahudhā vijāyate Though unborn, He appears in many forms. Mahānārāyaṇa Upaniṣad 2.3 The smṛti says: pratyakṣaṁ ca harer janma na vikāraḥ kathaṁcana The birth of the Lord, though visible, takes place without transformation of His svarūpa. Padma Purāṇa Thus one should recall His appearance in the delivery room with divine form, decorated with divine ornaments, with the six opulences. The Lord then indicates the purpose of His appearance. I appear for delivering the jīvas out of My extreme mercy for those who worship Me (ātma māyayā). According to Viśva Kosa, māyā means pride and mercy: māyā dambhe kṛpāyāṁ ca. Others say that ātma māyayā means “with My omniscience or through My own will” since māya can also mean knowledge according to the Nighaṇṭu Kośa: māyā vayunaṁ jṣānaṁ ca. All people, even kings, being uninquisitive and ignorant, continue to take birth, giving up the previous body and accepting a new body according to karma. The Lord’s birth is distinct from this. By stating that He is the lord of all living beings, He also distinguishes Himself from perfected jīvas like yogīs, who do not take birth. The Supreme Lord consisting of knowledge and bliss, though devoid of difference between His body and Himself, between attribute and object (guṇa guṇi) has been acknowledged by the wise to possess those distinctions, as a Lord with qualities, through the power of viśeṣa. [Note: Viśeṣa is the power of objects to reveal their qualities as distinct from the object, though the qualities are inseparable from the object.]

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Translation
Although I am unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the Lord of all living entities, I still appear in every millennium in My original transcendental form.
Commentary

Krsna explains why He appears and the word is "atma‑mayaya". This word has many meanings: one of them is "by My internal potency" because Krsna's birth is not ordinary, He is not appearing by force, He is not under the modes of mat nature by is appearing by His internal energy "atma‑mayaya". Another meaning of "atma‑mayaya" is that He is appearing by His mercy, because He desires it. Like the sun appears, it doesn't take birth and it has an orbit. Similarly Krsna, He comes and He goes according to His desire, by His internal energy, by His mercy, and He is not taking birth like an ordinary living being. Krsna is "ajo' pi sann avyayatma", He is "ajo" like the living entity also is ‑ He is unborn. He is like the living entity, unborn, but He is "avyaya", His birth is different because His body is underiorated like that of the living entity. Here it begins to explain how Krsna is different from the living entity. Krsna doesn't take His birth under karma, because He is "isvara" He is the Supreme Lord. Srila Prabhupada in the "Teachings of Queen Kunti", very nicely explains something about Krsna's birth: "Now the Lord comes to deliver the devotees, "paritranaya sadhunam..." but He clear states in Bhagavad‑gita 14.26 that a devotee transcends the material qualities "sagunam samatityatam".(the devotee is in the transcendental position because he is no longer under the control of three modes of material nature. But if a devotee or sadhu, is already delivered because he is free from the modes of material nature, being on the transcendental platform, then where is the necessity for Krsna's descending to deliver him?)."The question may arise...", Srila Prabhupada explains,..."that the Lord comes to deliver the devotee but the Lord is already delivered. The answer to this contradiction is that a sadhu, a devotee does not require deliverence but because he is very much anxious to see the Supreme Lord face to face, Krsna comes not to deliver him from the clutches of matter, from which he has already been delivered, but to satisfy his inner desire. Just as the devotee wants to satisfy the Lord in all respects, the Lord even more wants satisfy the devotee. Such are the exchanges of loving affairs." Krsna comes to engage in pastimes with His devotees and this is a very sweet way of understanding. It is also explained that Krsna comes just because He feels like it, it is His independent desire and it is His mercy upon the l entity.

[ 3 . Krsna advents Himself whenever religion declines and irreligion rises. He delivers the pious, anhilates the miscreants, and re‑establishes religion. (7‑8) ]

Now the next question is : when does Krsna come? And the answer is: according to His whim,

Study Notes — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Gauranga Priya Dāsa Study
Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Theme

COMMON THEME: Krishna reveals His transcendental position about His birth and activities

Text 4.5 and 4.6 talks about ‘His appearance and disappearance’
Text 4.5: My birth and death are not like yours
Text 4.6: I appear in My original transcendental form which is unborn and never dies , I appear by My own will
Texts 4.7 – 4.8 talks about ‘His activities.’ It explains when and why Krishna appears – reasons of descent:
When
Decline in religion
Predominant rise in irreligion
Why
To annihilate the demons
To deliver the devotees (from anxiety to see the Lord)
To re-establish the principles of religion
Text 4.9 – 4.10 talks about the result of understanding the knowledge of ‘transcendental birth’ (Texts 4.5 & 4.6) and ‘activities’ (Texts 4.7 & 4.8)
To be absorbed in Krishna
Become purified
Freed from attachment, fear and anger
Attain love for Krishna
Go back to Krishna (Transcendental abode)
No re-birth in material world

PLEASE NOTE: All Themes of Texts 4.5 – 4.10 are described above under the common theme and their purports

are described in their respective Focus of Learning sections below. Only some points of the purports of Texts 4.5

and 4.6, are described under the Summarsized Theme 4A.

SUMMARISED THEME 4A

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN KRISHNA AND THE CONDITIONED LIVING ENTITY
(4.5 – 4.6 purports)

S.No

Krishna

Conditioned Living entity

Eternal and remembers past, present and future (Acyuta: never forgets – infallible)
Eternal but forgets
Remembers all births because body does not change or deteriorate (Avyayam)
Forgets because body changes and deteriorates
Appears by own will
Forced to appear by karma
Body is transcendental
Body is material
No difference between body and self (Adwaita)
The soul acquires an external body (gross and subtle)

Focus of Learning

(a) Peculiarity of Lord’s birth

Lord appears like an ordinary person
But remembers many many past births
Common man cannot remember past few hours, therefore no-one can claim to be God

(b) Lord has many incarnations but He is original

Ref. Vedas – Analogy: Lord is like the Vaidurya stone which changes color but still remains one (Lord manifests so many innumerable forms)
Ref. Brahma-Samhita 5.33; 5.39

(c) Qualification to understand these multi-forms – and example of such a qualified person

Only by pure unalloyed devotion and not by simple study of the Vedas, can one understand
e.g. Arjuna incarnates as one of the associate devotees in all incarnations

(d) Difference between ‘devotee forgetting the nature of Lord’ and ‘demon not understanding’

Devotee may forget but by His divine grace, one immediately understands the infallible nature of the Lord
Non-devotee never understands

(e) Living entity can never equal the Lord (4.5)

Lord is Achyuta (Infallible) – Never forgets Himself and His previous births even in material contact
Lord is Advaita – There is no distinction between His body and Self, therefore He does not change His spiritual body and never forgets His past births
Living entity, however great, spiritually liberated or materially great, can never equal the Lord, e.g. Arjuna
Materially – He is famous as ‘Parantapa’ (Subduer of enemies)
Spiritually – is one of the liberated associates

(f) ‘Atma-maya’ (4.6) – means

Lord descends by ‘internal potency’ and not by ‘external potency’
Lord’s body and intelligence never deteriorates (‘avyayam’) and is never contaminated by material nature (thus it defeats Mayavada teaching)
Prakriti means nature or ‘svarupa’ (own form)
Analogy: His appearance and disappearance are likes the sun’s rising and setting
He is always the “Lord of all living entities” – evident by wonderful and superhuman acts on Earth
‘Atma-maya’ also means that Lord descends by ‘causeless mercy’ so that we can concentrate on His form as He is and not on ‘Mental concoctions and imaginations’
Ref. Amara-kosa dictionary

(a) Definition of Sadhu – A man in Krishna consciousness, apparently may be irreligious but if he is

wholly and fully Krishna conscious, he is a sadhu

(b) Definition of ‘Duskrtam’ – Does not care for Krishna consciousness

(c) Prime purpose of any Avatara

To appease His unalloyed devotees e.g. Prahlada Maharaja and Devaki
Otherwise the athiests can be dealt with by the Lord’s agents

(d) Ref. Caitanya-caritamrta on (Principles of Incarnation)

The avatara, or incarnation of Godhead, descends from the kingdom of God for material manifestation
And the particular form of the Personality of Godhead who descends is called an incarnation, or avatara
Such incarnations are situated in the spiritual world, the kingdom of God. When they descend to the material creation, they assume the name avatara

(e) Why specifically does Lord Krishna descend (Prime purpose) – To mitigate anxieties of pure

devotees who are anxious to see His Vrindavana pastimes

(a) How the Lord incarnates – By His internal potency – This is indicated by the word ‘Srjami’

Meaning of ‘Srjami’ – Lord is not created or born but “manifests” as per free will
‘Srjami’ is mentioned as “manifests” because Text 4.6 refutes the Lord being born or created, by calling Him as ‘aja’

(b) When does the Lord incarnate – Usual schedule of Lord’s appearance

End of Dvapara-yuga of 28th millennium of seventh Manu of a day of Brahma
But no obligation to rule

(c) For what purpose does the Lord decend – Lord comes to establish “principles of dharma”

What are the ‘principles of dharma’ – Direct orders of Supreme Personality of Godhead
Ref. SB 6.3.19 “Dharmam tu…”
What is ‘Highest dharma’ – Surrender unto Him only

(d) Certain facts about ‘Avatara’

Mission: Comes with mission, e.g. Lord Buddha came to establish Vedic principles of ‘Non-violence’
Sanctioned: Mentioned in scriptures – criteria to accept
Place: Can appear anywhere, not only on Indian soil
Message: Speaks as per audience, e.g. higher and lower mathematics
Common mission:
To lead people to God-consciousness,
Obedience to the principles of religion

(e) Bhagavad-gita is for highly advanced people, e.g. Arjuna (higher principles of religion begin with

Varna-asrama)

(a) Liberation of living entity from material bondage is not very easy – Two paths are possible:

Path of impersonalism and yoga
Path of devotees

(b) Path of Impersonalists and yogis

Endeavor – Not very easy - many, many births
Goal – Only partial success, brahmajyoti
Safety – Risk of fall-down

(c) Path of Devotees in Krishna consciousness

Endeavor – Very easy, one has to simply understand the transcendental nature of Lord’s birth and activities (4.9)
Goal – Abode of Krishna – Thus complete success is assured
Safety – Lord protects from falldown again into the material world

(d) Who can attain ‘Perfection of liberation’

A faithful devotee, who accepts Krishna’s protection with faith
One who accepts Krishna as Supreme Personality of Godhead
He has many transcendental forms
These forms have relations with unalloyed devotees
One who does not waste time in philosophical speculations
Ref. Brahma Samhita, Vedas, Svetasvatara Upanisad (study purport)

(e) Fate of other processes like empiric philosophers and puffed-up mundane scholars

Waste of time
May get important roles in material world, not liberation
Analogy: licking the outer surface of a bottle of honey

(f) What is the hope for these speculators etc. – ‘Only causeless mercy of devotee of the Lord’

(g) Conclusive suggestion – Cultivate Krishna consciousness with faith and knowledge and attain

perfection

(f) Who is the ‘Avatara’ for Kali-yuga – Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu

How does he spread religion and deliver miscreants – Propogated Sankirtan Movement throughout India
Sastric proof – This Avatara is mentioned secretly and not directly in Upanisads, Mahabharata and Srimad Bhagavatam
Mission
He does not kill but delivers by causeless mercy
Predicts the broadcast of Sankirtana movement all over the world
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
4.6 Api, san ajah, though I am birthless; and avyayatma, undecaying by nature, though I am naturally possessed of an undiminishing power of Knowledge; and so also api san, though; isvarah, the Lord, natural Ruler; bhutanam, of beings, from Brahma to a clump of grass; (still) adhisthaya, by subjugating; svam, My own; prakrtim, Prakrti, the Maya of Visnu consisting of the three gunas, under whose; spell the whole world exists, and deluded by which one does not know one's own Self, Vasudeva;-by subjugating that Prakrti of Mine, sambhavami, I take birth, appear to become embodeid, as though born; atma-mayaya, by means of My own Maya; but not in reality like an ordinary man. It is being stated when and why that birth occurs:
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
4.6 Without forsaking any of the My special alities, as supreme rulership, birthless, imperishability etc., I am born by My free will. Prakrti means one's own nature. The meaning is that by employment of My own Nature and taking a form of My choice, I incarnate by My own will (Maya). The character of My own Nature becomes evident from the following Srutis: 'Him who is of sun-like colour, beyond darkness (Tamas)' (Sve. U., 3.8), 'Him who abides beyond Rajas (active matter)' (Sama 17.1.4.2); 'This Golden Person who is within the sun' (Cha. U. 1.6.6); 'Within the heart, there is the Person consisting of mind, immortal and golden' (Tai. U. 1.6.1); 'All mortal creatures have come from the self-luminous Person' (Yaj., 32.2); 'Whose form is light, whose will is truth, who is the self of ethereal space, who contains all actions, contains all desires, contains all odours, contains all tastes' (Cha. U., 3.14.2); 'Like a raiment of golden colour' (Br. U., 4.3.6). 'Atma-mayaya' means through the Maya which belongs to Myself. Here the term Maya is identical with knowledge as stated in the lexicon of Yaska: 'Maya is wisdom, knowledge.' Further there is the usage of competent people: 'By Maya, He knows the good and bad of his creatures.' Hence by My own knowledge means 'by My will.' Hence, without abandoning My essential attributes which belong to Me the Lord of all, such as being free of sins, having auspicious attributes etc., and creating My own form similar to the configuration of gods, men etc., I incarnate in the form of gods etc. The Sruti teaches the same thing: 'Being unborn, He is born in various forms' (Tai. A., 3.12.7). The purport is that His birth is ite unlike that of ordinary beings. The dissimilarity consists in that He is born out of His own will unlike ordinary beings whose birth is necessitated by their Karma. Thus constured, there is no contradiction also between what was taught earlier and what is taught later as in the statements: 'Many births of Mine have passed, O Arjuna, and similarly yours also. I know them all' (4.5); 'I incarnate Myself' (4.7); and 'He who thus knows in truth My birth and work' (4.9). [All this elaboration is meant to refute the doctrine of mere apparency of incarnations as taught by the Advaitins. Ramanuja, as stated in his Introduction to the Bhasya, upholds the absolute reality of incarnations.] Sri Krsna now specifies the times of His incarnations.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
4.6 See Comment under 4.9
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
4.6 Though I am unborn, of imperishable nature, and though I am the Lord of all beings, yet, governing My own Nature, I am born by My own Maya.
Commentary

4.6 अजः unborn? अपि also? सन् being? अव्ययात्मा of imperishable nature? भूतानाम् of beings? ईश्वरः the Lord? अपि also? सन् being? प्रकृतिम् Nature? स्वाम् My own? अधिष्ठाय governing? संभवामि come into being? आत्ममायया by My own Maya.Commentary Man is bound by Karma. So he takes birth. He is under the clutches of Nature. He,is deluded by the three alities of Nature whereas the Lord has Maya under His perfect control. He rules over Nature? and so He is not under the thraldom of the alities o Nature. He appears to be born and embodied through His own Maya or illusory power? but is not so in reality. His embodiment is ? as a matter of fact? apparent? It cannot affect in the least His true divine nature. (Cf.IX.8).

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
4.6 Though I am birthless, undecaying by nature, and the Lord of beings, (still) by subjugating My Prakriti, I take birth by means of My own Maya.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
4.6 have no beginning. Though I am imperishable, as well as Lord of all that exists, yet by My own will and power do I manifest Myself.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Maitri (Friendship / Goodwill)
Related verses
BG 4.9 BG 7.25 BG 9.11 SB 1.3.28 SB 10.3.13 SB 10.2.39 CC Ādi 2.69 CC Ādi 4.9 CC Madhya 20.263 Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8Īśa Upaniṣad 8
Concepts
Maya
Study Q&A referencing this verse
Sciences essays referencing this verse
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Although I am unborn and imperishable, the Lord of all beings, I appear in every age by My own internal energy.
Practical Applications
  • Distinguish between Kṛṣṇa's appearance (svayam-kṛpā) and ordinary birth (karma-driven).
  • Don't reduce avatāra to mythology; receive it as personal mercy.
  • Honor the descent — His coming is a gift, not a duty.
Reflection Questions
  • How do I distinguish in my own life between karmic flow and divine descent?
  • Where has the Lord 'descended' personally for me?
Analogy

An author who is fully present on every page does not 'enter' his own novel — and yet, by his own will, may step into a chapter as a character. Kṛṣṇa's descent into a yuga is not the karma-bound entry of a soul into a womb; it is the author choosing to walk into His own story without becoming subject to its rules.

Stories
Vāmana stepping out of a sacrifice

When Bali Mahārāja's sacrifice reached its peak, a dwarf brāhmaṇa walked into the assembly. He was Viṣṇu Himself, appearing as Vāmana, fully formed and unaging from the first instant. There was no infancy, no growth, no karmic gestation — only the deliberate emergence of the Lord into the scene where He was needed.

The verse names this exactly: ajaḥ — though unborn — sambhavāmi — I appear. Ātma-māyayā: by His own arrangement, not by anyone else's compulsion.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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