Text 18] Questions by the Sages 75
activities of the Lord and His transcendental realm are sometimes favored
by the Lord in His adventures as incarnations whérein He displays the
eternal bliss of His association in the transcendental realm. By such
activities He attracts the conditioned souls of the material world. Some of
these conditioned souls are engaged in the false enjoyment of material
senses and others in simply negating their real life in the spiritual world.
These less intelligent persons are known as karmis or fruitive workers, and
the others are known as janis or dry mental speculators. But above these
two classes of men is the transcendentalist known as satvata or the devotee
who is neither busy with rampant material activity nor with material
speculation. He is engaged in the positive service of the Lord, and thereby
he derives the highest spiritual benefit unknown to the karmis and jianis.

As the supreme controller of both the material and spiritual worlds, the
Lord has different incarnations of unlimited categories. Incarnations like
Brahma, Rudra, Manu, Prthu, Vyasa and so on are His material qualitative
incarnations, but His incarnations like Rama, Narasimha, Varaha, Vamana,
and so on are His transcendental incarnations. Lord Sri Krsna is the
fountainhead of all incarnations, and He is therefore the cause of all causes.

TEXT 18
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athakhyahi harer dhimann
avatara-kathah subhah
lila vidadhatah svairam
isvarasyatma-mayaya

atha—therefore; akhyahi—describe; hareh—of the Lord; dhiman—O saga-
cious one; avatdra—incarnations; kathah—narratives; subhah—auspicious;
lila—adventures; vidadhatah—performed; svairam—pastimes; iSvarasya—the
supreme controller’s; dtma—personal; ma@yaya—energies.

TRANSLATION
O wise Sita, please narrate to us the transcendental pastimes of the

Supreme Godhead’s multi-incarnations. Such auspicious adventures and
pastimes of the Lord are performed by His internal powers.
