132 Srimad-Bhagavatam {Canto 1, Ch. 2

lilavataranurato
deva-tiryan-naradisu

bhavayati—maintains; esah—al] these; sattvena—in the mode of good-
ness; lokdn—all over the universe; vai—generally; loka-bhavanah—the master
of all the universes; lila— pastimes; avatara—incarnation; anuratah— assuming
the role; deva—the demigods; tiryak—lower animals; naradigsu—in the midst
of human beings.

TRANSLATION

Thus the Lord of the universes maintains all planets inhabited by demi-
gods, men and lower animals, and in His play He assumes the roles of
incarnations to reclaim those in the mode of pure goodness.

PURPORT

There are innumerable material universes, and in each and every universe
there are innumerable planets inhabited by different grades of living enti-
ties in different modes of nature. The Lord (Visnu) incarnates Himself in
each and every one of them and in each and every type of living society.
He manifests His transcendental pastimes amongst them just to create the
desire to go back to Godhead. The Lord does not change His original
transcendental position, but He appears to be differently manifested
according to the particular time, circumstances and society.

Sometimes He incarnates Himself or empowers a suitable living being
to act for Him, but in either case the purpose is the same: the Lord wants
the suffering living being to go back home, back to Godhead. The happiness
which the living beings are hankering for is not to be found within any
corner of the innumerable universes and material planets. The eternal
happiness which the living being wants is obtainable in the kingdom of
God, but the forgetful living beings under the influence of the material
modes have no information of the kingdom of God. The Lord, therefore,
comes to propagate the message of the kingdom of God either personally
as an incarnation or through His bona fide representative as the good son
of God. Such incarnations or sons of God are not only making propaganda
for going back to Godhead within human society. Their work is also going
