Text 23] Scheduled Incarnations with Specific Functions 375

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asmat-prasdda-sumukhah kalaya kalesa
ikgvaku-vamsa avatirya guror nidese

tisthan vanam sa-dayitanuja avivesa
yasmin virudhya dasa-kandhara artim arcchat

asmat—unto us, beginning from Brahma down to the insignificant ant;
prasdda—causeless mercy; sumukhah—so inclined; kalayd—with His plenary
extensions; kalesah—the Lord of all potencies; iksvaku—Maharaja Iksvaku,
in the dynasty of the sun; vamse—family; avatirya—by descending in;
guroh—of the father or spiritual master; nidese—under the order of; tisthan
—being situated in; vanam—in the forest; sa-dayitd-anujah—along with His
wife and younger brother; dvivesa—entered in; yasmin—unto whom;
virudhya—being rebellious; dasa-kandharah—Ravana, who had ten heads;
artim—great distress; arcchat—achieved.

TRANSLATION

Due to His causeless mercy upon all living entities within the universe,
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, along with His plenary extensions,
appeared in the family of Maharaja Iksvaku as the Lord of His internal
potency, Sita. Under the order of His father, Maharaja Dagaratha, He
entered the forest and lived there for considerable years with His wife and
younger brother. Ravana, who was very materially powerful, with ten
heads on His shoulders, committed a great offense against Him and was
thus ultimately vanquished.

PURPORT

Lord Rama is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His brothers,
namely Bharata, Laksmana and Satrughna, are His plenary expansions. All
four brothers were Visnu-tattva and were never ordinary human beings.
There are many unscrupulous and ignorant commentators on Srimad
Ramayana who present the younger brothers of Lord Ramacandra as
ordinary living entities. But here in the Srimad-Bhdgavatam, the most
