248 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 7, Ch. 9

tortoise, thus maintaining the entire creation in different plan-
etary systems and killing the demoniac principles. According to
the age, O my Lord, You protect the principles of religion. In the
age of Kali, however, You do not assert Yourself as the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, and therefore You are known as Triyuga,
or the Lord who appears in three yugas.

PURPORT

As the Lord appeared just to maintain Lord Brahma from the attack of
Madhu and Kaitabha, He also appeared to protect the great devotee
Prahlada Maharaja. Similarly, Lord Caitanya appeared in order to protect
the fallen souls of Kali-yuga. There are four yugas, or millenniums—
Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali. In all the yugas but Kali-yuga, the Lord
appears in various incarnations and asserts Himself as the Supreme Per-
sonality of Godhead, but although Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who
appears in Kali-yuga, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He never
asserted Himself as such. On the contrary, whenever Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu was addressed as being as good as Krsna, He blocked His
ears with His hands, denying His identity with Krsna, because He was
playing the part of a devotee. Lord Caitanya knew that in Kali-yuga there
would be many bogus incarnations pretending to be God, and therefore
He avoided asserting Himself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is accepted as the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, however, in many Vedic literatures, especially in Srimad-
Bhagavatam (11.5.32):

krsna-varnam tvisakrsnam
sdngopangastra-parsadam

yajnaih sarkirtana-prayair
yajanti hi sumedhasah

In Kali-yuga, intelligent men worship the Supreme Personality of God-
head in the form of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is always accom-
panied by His associates such as Nityananda, Advaita, Gadadhara and
Srivasa. The entire Krsna consciousness movement is based on the prin-
ciples of the sarkirtana movement inaugurated by Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu. Therefore one who tries to understand the Supreme Per-
