Text 42] Bhagavatam is the Answer 597

sa evedam jagad-dhata
bhagavan dharma-riipa-dhrk

pusnati sthapayan visvam
tiryan-nara-suradibhih

sah—He; eva—certainly; idam—this; jagat-dhata—the maintainer of the
entire universe; bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; dharma-riipa-dhrk
—assuming the form of religious principles; pusnati— maintains; sthapayan
—after establishing; visvam—the universes; tiryak— living entities lower
than the human beings; nara—the human beings; sura-adibhih—by the
demigodly incarnations.

TRANSLATION

He, the Personality of Godhead, as maintainer of all in the universe,
appears in different incarnations after establishing the creation, and thus
He reclaims all kinds of conditioned souls amongst the humans, nonhumans
and the demigods.

PURPORT

The Supreme Personality of Godhead Visnu incarnates Himself in
different societies of living entities to reclaim them from the clutches of
illusion, and such activities of the Lord are not limited only to the human
society. He incarnates Himself even as a fish, hog, tree and many other
forms, but less intelligent persons who have no knowledge of Him deride
Him even if He is in the human society as a human being. The Lord there-
fore says in the Bhagavad-gita:

avajananti mam miidha manusim tanum asritam
param bhavam ajanante mama bhita-mahesvaram. (Bg. 9.11)

As we have already discussed in the previous verses, it is concluded that
the Lord is never a product of the material creation. His transcendental
position is always unchanged. He is the eternal form of knowledge and
bliss, and He executes His almighty will by His different energies. As such
He is never the subject of reaction for all His acts. He is transcendental to
all such conceptions of action and reactions. Even if He is visible in the
material world, the exhibition is only of His internal energy, for He is
above the good and bad conceptions of this material world. In the material
world the fish or the hog may be considered lower than the man, but
