440
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 2, Ch. 8]
government of the Supreme Lord. No one can artificially claim to the supreme position of the Lord, but everyone is meant to serve the purpose of the supreme whole.
TEXT 17
युगानि युगमानं च धर्मो यश्च युगे युगे । अवतारानुचरितं यदाश्वर्यतमं हरेः ॥१७॥
yugāni yuga-mānam ca dharmo yaś ca yuge yuge avatārānucaritam yad āścaryatamam hareḥ
yugāni —the different ages;  yuga-mānam —the duration of each age;  ca —as well as;  dharmaḥ —the particular occupational duty;  yaḥ ca —and which;  yuge yuge —in each and every  yuga  or particular age;  avatāra —the incarnation;  anucaritam —and the activities of the incarnation;  yat —which;  āścaryatamam —the most wonderful activities;  hareḥ —of the Supreme Lord.
TRANSLATION
Please explain all the different ages in the duration of the creation, and also the duration of such ages. Also tell me about the different activities of the different incarnations of the Lord in different ages.
PURPORT
Lord Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead, and all the incarnations of the Supreme Lord, although nondifferent from Him, are emanations from the Supreme. Mahārāja Parīkṣit inquires from the great learned sage Śukadeva Gosvāmī about the different activities of such incarnations so that the incarnation of the Lord may be confirmed by His activities in the authoritative scriptures. Mahārāja Parīkṣit is not to be carried away by the sentiments of the common man to accept an incarnation of the Lord very cheaply. Instead he wished to accept the incarnation of the Lord by  symptoms  mentioned in the Vedic literatures and confirmed by an  ācārya  like Śukadeva Gosvāmī. The Lord descends by His internal