Text 20]
The Birth of Lord Kṛṣṇa
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TEXT 20
स त्वं त्रिलोकस्थितये स्वमायया 
  बिभर्षि शुक्लं खलु वर्णमात्मनः । 
  सर्गाय रक्तं रजसोपवृंहितं 
  कृष्णं च वर्णं तमसा जनात्यये ॥२०॥
sa tvaṁ tri-loka-sthitaye sva-māyayā  
 bibharṣi śuklaṁ khalu varṇam ātmanaḥ  
 sargāya raktaṁ rajasopabṛṁhitaṁ  
 kṛṣṇaṁ ca varṇaṁ tamasā janātyaye
saḥ tvam —Your Lordship, who are the same person, the Transcendence;  tri-loka-sthitaye —to maintain the three worlds, the upper, middle and lower planetary systems;  sva-māyayā —by Your personal energy ( ātma-māyayā );  bibharṣi —assume;  śuklam —the white form of Viṣṇu in goodness;  khalu —as well as;  varṇam —color;  ātmanaḥ —of the same category as You ( viṣṇu-tattva );  sargāya —for the creation of the entire world;  raktam —the reddish color of  rajo-guṇa ;  rajasā —with the quality of passion;  upabṛṁhitam —being charged;  kṛṣṇam ca —and the quality of darkness;  varṇam —the color;  tamasā —which is surrounded by ignorance;  jana-atyaye —for the ultimate destruction of the entire creation.
TRANSLATION
My Lord, Your form is transcendental to the three material modes, yet for the maintenance of the three worlds, You assume the white color of Viṣṇu in goodness; for creation, which is surrounded by the quality of passion, You appear reddish; and at the end, when there is a need for annihilation, which is surrounded by ignorance, You appear blackish.
PURPORT
Vasudeva prayed to the Lord, “You are called  śuklam .  Śuklam , or ‘whiteness,’ is the symbolic representation of the Absolute Truth because it is unaffected by the material qualities. Lord Brahmā is called  rakta , or