570
Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta
TRANSLATION
Śeṣa Saṅkarṣaṇa, who holds all the planets on His head, expands Himself in different bodies to render service to Lord Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 96
এই সব হয় শ্রীকৃষ্ণের অবতার । নিরস্তর দেখি সবার ভক্তির আচার ॥ ৯৬ ॥
ei saba haya śrī-kṛṣṇera avatāra nirantara dekhi sabāra bhaktira ācāra
SYNONYMS
ei saba —all of them;  haya —are;  śrī-kṛṣṇera avatāra —incarnations of Lord Kṛṣṇa;  nirantara —constantly;  dekhi —I see;  sabāra —of all;  bhaktira ācāra —behavior as devotees.
TRANSLATION
These are all incarnations of Lord Kṛṣṇa, yet we always find that they act as devotees.
TEXT 97
এ-সবাকে শাস্ত্রে কহে ‘ভক্ত-অবতার’ । ‘ভক্ত-অবতার’-পদ উপরি সবার ॥ ৯৭ ॥
e-sabāke śāstre kahe ‘bhakta-avatāra’ ‘bhakta-avatāra’-pada upari sabāra
SYNONYMS
e-sabāke —all of them;  śāstre —the scriptures;  kahe —say;  bhakta-avatāra —incarnations as devotees;  bhakta-avatāra —of such an incarnation as a devotee;  pada —the position;  upari sabāra —above all other positions.
TRANSLATION
The scriptures call them incarnations as devotees [bhakta-avatāra]. The position of being such an incarnation is above all others.
PURPORT
The Supreme Personality of Godhead appears in different incarnations, but His appearance in the role of a devotee is more beneficial to the conditioned souls than the other incarnations, with all their opulences. Sometimes a conditioned soul is bewildered when he tries to understand the incarnation of Godhead with full