Text 355] The Lord Instructs Sanatana Gosvami 201
TEXT 354
Bawa ase seaq—‘onfy Bast’ |
ate 4 aif sca a-faota i oes I
avatara nahi kahe ——‘ami avatdra’
muni saba jani’ kare laksana-vicara
SYNONYMS
avatara—the actual incarnation of Godhead; nahi—never; kahe—says; ami
avatara—| am an incarnation; muni—the great sage Mahamuni Vydsadeva; saba
jani’—knowing all (past, present and future); kare laksana-vicdra—describes the
symptoms of the avataras.
TRANSLATION
“An actual incarnation of God never says, ‘I am God,’ or ‘I am an incarna-
tion of God.’ The great sage Vyasadeva, knowing all, has already recorded the
characteristics of the avataras in the sastras.
PURPORT
In this verse it is clearly stated that a real incarnation of God never claims to be
a real incarnation. According to the symptoms described in the sastra, one can
understand who is an avatara and who is not.
TEXT 355
THASIAN Bs A Fawta fas
CwtBagastentaeccHeTARe: t vce
yasyavatdard jhayante
Saririsv asaririnah
tais tair atulyatisayair
viryair dehisv asangataih
SYNONYMS
yasya—whose; avatarah—incarnations; jAayante—can be known; Saririsu—
among the living entities; asaririnah —of the Lord, who has no material body; taih
taih—all those; atulya—incomparable; atisayaih—extraordinary; viryaih—by
prowess; dehisu—among the living entities; asangataih—impossible.
