Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.60.2
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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ajaḥ
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unborn
A-ja: not born. The verse's hinge: He whom we just saw recline on a bed is the Unborn. Gauḍīyas read this as the standard svayaṁ-bhagavān doctrine — Kṛṣṇa's appearance is not material birth but prakaṭa-līlā.
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līlayā
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as His play
Instrumental of līlā. Creation, maintenance, and dissolution are līlā — performed without need, like a child at play. The very same word that frames the cosmic acts now frames His marital teasing of Rukmiṇī three verses later.
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yaduṣu
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among the Yadus
Locative plural. The Lord chose this dynasty as the locus of His mādhurī — Dvārakā's queens, Vraja's gopīs, and the cowherds of Nanda all stand in the Yadu-Vṛṣṇi orbit. Gauḍīyas honor the Yadus as the family Bhagavān adopted for His earthly play.
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sva-setūnām
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of His own laws
Compound: sva (own) + setu (boundary, bridge, dharmic limit). He descends to protect the very limits He Himself ordained — dharma is Bhagavān's own form, and Bhagavān defends His own form.
As stated in the Sixth Canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.3.19) dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam: “Religion is the law established by God.” The word setu means a “boundary” or “limit,” as in the case of a dike. Earth is raised up on both sides of a river or canal so that the water will not deviate from its proper path. Similarly, God establishes laws so that people who follow them can peacefully progress along the path back home, back to Godhead. These laws, which are meant to guide human behavior, are thus called setu. A further note on the word setu: Earth that is raised up to separate agricultural fields, or to form a causeway or bridge, is also called setu. Thus in the Ninth Canto the Bhāgavatam uses the word setu to indicate the bridge Lord Rāmacandra built to Śrī Laṅkā. Since the laws of God act as a bridge to take us from material life to liberated, spiritual life, this additional sense of the word setu certainly enriches its use here.
In order to show that the cause of interrupting Rukmini’s service was Krsna’s pastime and nothing else, this verse states that the creation and destruction of the world also is his pastime. Though he is birthless, he appeared in the Yadu dynasty to maintain respect for the laws created by himself (sva setunam gopithaya). Thus it can never be his desire to stop the service of prema of his dear devotee, but rather to cause a strengthening of that prema.
This verse shows how he is jagad-guru. The word tu means it is well known. As the controller of prakṛti (īśvaraḥ), the puruṣa avatāras, he creates this universe with various amazing features (etad). He alone (hi), Svayam Bhagavān alone, has appeared for birth pastimes among the Yadus, even though he is unborn, in order to protect the modes of conduct established by the puruṣa avatāras.
Having indicated the good fortune of Rukmiṇī in serving such a husband, this verse shows how he is jagad-guru. The word tu means it is well known. As the controller of prakṛti (īśvaraḥ), the puruṣa avatāras, he creates this universe with various amazing features (etad). With no dependence on anything, he plays like a child. Or why does he create the world? No one can understand. Or as the protector, he creates the world so that all the jīvas, can reach the supreme abode by enjoying their karmas. He alone (hi), Svayam Bhagavān, has appeared for birth pastimes among the Yadus, even though he is unborn, in order to protect the modes of conduct established by the puruṣa avatāras. Thus it is suitable that he has more astonishing and sweet pastimes than creating the world.
A king's son born in disguise into a humble family is still the prince — the disguise serves a purpose; it does not lessen Him. So Kṛṣṇa is born among the Yadus as if a man, but He is the unborn Lord whose 'birth' is līlā. The cradle does not shrink the cosmos.
Just before Kṛṣṇa's appearance in the prison of Mathurā (SB 10.3), Devakī sees Him as four-armed Viṣṇu, holding conch, disc, club and lotus. Only at her plea does He hide that form and become a child.
The present verse states the same theology compactly: He is aja, the unborn, and His taking birth among the Yadus is play (līlā) for the purpose of preserving His own laws (sva-setu-pālana).
My note
Source: vedabase.io