Texts 43-45]
Scheduled Incarnations with Specific Functions
405
Svāyambhuva;  ca —and;  tat-ātmajāḥ   ca —and his children like Priyavrata, Uttānapāda, Devahūti, etc.
TRANSLATION
O Nārada, although the potencies of the Lord are unknowable and immeasurable, still, because we are all surrendered souls, we know how He acts through yogamāyā potencies. And, similarly, the all-powerful Śiva, the great king of the atheist family, namely Prahlāda Mahārāja, Svāyambhuva Manu, his wife Śatarūpā, his sons and daughters like Priyavrata, Uttānapāda, Ākūti, Devahūti, Prasūti, etc., Prācīnabarhi, Rbhu, Anga the father of Vena, Mahārāja Dhruva, Ikṣvāku, Aila, Mucukunda, Mahārāja Janaka, Gādhi, Raghu, Ambarīṣa, Sagara, Gaya, Nāhuṣa, Māndhātā, Alarka, Śatadhanu, Anu, Rantideva, Bhīṣma, Bali, Amūrtaraya, Dilīpa, Saubhari, Utanka, Śibi, Devala, Pippalāda, Sārasvata, Uddhava, Parāśara, Bhūriṣeṇa, Vibhīṣaṇa, Hanūmān, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, Arjuna, Ārṣṭiṣena, Vidura, Śrutadeva, etc., all also know the potencies of the Lord.
PURPORT
All the great devotees of the Lord, as mentioned above, who flourished in the past or present, and all devotees of the Lord who will come in the future, are aware of the different potencies of the Lord along with the potency of His name, quality, pastimes, entourage, personality, etc. And how do they know? Certainly it is not by mental speculation, nor by any attempt by dint of limited instruments of knowledge. By the limited instruments of knowledge (either senses or the material instruments like microscopes and telescopes) one cannot even fully know the Lord's material potencies, which are manifested before our eyes. For example there are many millions and billions of planets far, far beyond the scientist's calculation. But these are only the manifestations of the Lord's material energy. What can the scientist hope to know of the spiritual potency of the Lord by such material efforts? Mental speculations, by adding some dozens of "if's" and "maybe's," cannot aid the advancement of knowledge—on the contrary, such mental speculation will only end in despair by dismissing the case abruptly and declaring the nonexistence of God. The same person, therefore, ceases to speculate on subjects beyond the jurisdiction of his tiny brain, and as a matter of course he tries to learn to surrender unto the Supreme Lord, who alone can lead one to the platform