Text 20] The Birth of Lord Krsna 227

TEXT 20

aad feta aan
raft as ag aware: |
HU FI AAA TAT UlRoll

sa tvam tri-loka-sthitaye sva-mayaya
bibharsi Suklam khalu varnam étmanah
sargaya raktam rajasopabrmhitam
krsnam ca varnam tamasd jandtyaye

sah tuam—Your Lordship, who are the same person, the Transcen-
dence; tri-loka-sthitaye—to maintain the three worlds, the upper, mid-
dle and lower planetary systems; sva-ma@yayd—by Your personal energy
(atma-mayaya); bibharsi—assume; suklam—the white form of Visnu
in goodness; khalu—as well as; varnam—color; dtmanah—of the same
category as You (visnu-tattva); sargéya—for the creation of the entire
world; raktam—the reddish color of rajo-guna; rajasa—with the quality
of passion; upabrmhitam—being charged; krsnam ca—and the quality
of darkness; varnam—the color; tamasd—which is surrounded by ig-
norance; jana-atyaye—for the ultimate destruction of the entire
creation.

TRANSLATION

My Lord, Your form is transcendental to the three material
modes, yet for the maintenance of the three worlds, You assume
the white color of Vignu in goodness; for creation, which is sur-
rounded by the quality of passion, You appear reddish; and at the
end, when there is a need for annihilation, which is surrounded by
ignorance, You appear blackish.

PURPORT

Vasudeva prayed to the Lord, “You are called suklam. Suklam, or
‘whiteness,’ is the symbolic representation of the Absolute Truth because
it is unaffected by the material qualities. Lord Brahma is called rakta, or
