Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
I offer my respects to the Supreme Lord, who is superior to the puruṣāvatāras, who, with no desire for material enjoyment, appears in this world in the forms of animals, men and devatās with a pure spiritual body, and enjoys the offerings of his devotees, with a desire to fulfill his promise to respond to the devotees.
Having offered respects to the Lord as the universal form and as the controller of time, Brahmā now offers respects to the Lord as highest object of worship with a form of eternity, knowledge and bliss. Appearing by his will in the forms of animals, men and devatās, with a desire to protect (parīpsayā) the principles he has established, the Lord enjoys, even though he has no desire for material happiness, since he is self-satisfied. The rule he establishes is:
patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhakhyā prayacchati
tadahaṁ bhakyupahṛtamaśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ
I accept that which is offered with love from the genuine devotee, having pure body and mind, who gives just a leaf, flower, fruit or water. BG 9.26
To fulfill this promise, the Lord comes into the material world and enjoys the garlands, fragrances, flowers and beds offered by his devotees.
nāham ātmānam āśāse mad-bhaktaiḥ sādhubhir vinā
śriyaṁ cātyantikīṁ brahman yeṣāṁ gatir ahaṁ parā
O brāhmaṇa! I am the sole shelter of my devotees. Without them, I do not desire to enjoy my own bliss and my six great qualities. SB 9.4.64
Thus, though he is self-satisfied, he is not really satisfied. Even though the items such as garlands are material, when they are utilized for the Lord, at that moment they become spiritual. This is explained in SB 11.25.25-28.
Avaruddha-dehaḥ means “uncovered body,” a body of eternity, knowledge and bliss. According to the grammarian Bhāguri, avaruddha can stand for ava and aruddha, which means unrestricted. Ātmakṛtasetuparīsayā can also mean “with a complete (pari) desire, in response to the devotee’s desire, to restrict himself to one form because he is controlled by the devotee’s desire.” He has a restricted body (avaruddha-dehaḥ) because he is bound by mother Yaśodā with ropes, and by other devotees, by the taste of their affection. Puruṣottamāya means unto Kṛṣṇa who is superior to the puruṣāvatāras who create mahat-tattva. He is superior because of his superior qualities. Gītā also says:
yasmāt kṣaramatīto ’hamakṣarādapi cottamaḥ
ato ’smi loke vede ca prathitaḥ puruṣottamaḥ
Because I am superior to the jīvas, to the Brahman and to the puruṣa known as Paramātmā, and even to the other forms of Bhagavān, I am celebrated in the Vedas and the smṛtis, as the Supreme Person. BG 15.18