Episode 670: BG Chap 4
śrībhagavānuvāca
bahūnimē vyatītāni janmāni tavacārjuna
tānyahaṁ vēda sarvāṇi natvaṁ vēttha parantapaǁ5ǁ
O Arjuna! You & I have many births. I am aware of them but you are not.
If this statement is not understood rightly, we will think that he is bound in rebirth. Arjuna could not know his past births as his Jnana was obscured by merits & sins. As Paramatma is pure & liberated, nothing can obscure His knowledge.
ajō’pi sannavyayātmā bhūtānāmīśvarō’pi san
prakṛtiṁsvāmadhiṣṭhāya sambhavāmyātmamāyayāǁ6ǁ
Although I am birthless, deathless & Lord of all, I retain my prakriti in My control & with the help of my illusion I take births.
‘I am birthless. My knowledge is indestructible. I know prakrti. I am the ruler of all beings starting from Brahma. Yet I subjugate illusion under whose subjugation the universe runs & which deludes beings causing them to not realize Vāsudeva as their ‘Self’. Using it, I take a body & appear to have taken birth when I have no birth’. As He incarnates out of His free will, his birth is addressed as avatara.
In the form of Abhaya-shloka & Varada-shloka, the next 2 verses protect devotees & dharma.
yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānirbhavatibhārata
abhyutthānamadharmasya tadātmānaṁsṛjāmyahamǁ7ǁ
Whenever dharma is endangered & adharma gains strength, I create Myself.
Liberation is the ultimate prosperity. Dharma is the path to it. Dharma bestows the world with peace & happiness. Dharma advocated by the Vedas is His dharma. In the Vedas He taught the righteous duties based on the caste & stage of life. When they are endangered, He incarnates to re-establish them.
Dharma exists by birth in humans. The human is born with humanness (mānava dharma). Thereafter he adheres to other dharmas. Mahabharata says- Food, sleep, fear & sexual needs are equal in humans & animals. However, dharma exists specially in humans. Humans without dharma are animals.
​
Yatō dharmastatō jayaḥ- victory exists where dharma exists. Yatō kriṣnaḥ tatō dharmaḥ- Where dharma exists, Krishna resides.
paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāyacaduṣkṛtām
dharmasansthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yugēyugēǁ8ǁ
For the protection of the virtuous, for the destruction of the wicked & for establishing dharma, I periodically incarnate.
Protecting those on the virtuous path is protecting dharma. Punishing the wicked is destroying adharma.
Some commentators split ‘yugēyuge’ as ‘yuge ayuge’. Then, yuge is the end of the yuga. Ayuge is the middle of the yuga. Bhagavadpada considered the meaning ‘in every yuga’.
Srihari’s incarnations clarify that they were for establishing dharma.
The 10 incarnations.
Matsya: He killed Somaka & rescued the Vedas.
Kurma: He hastened the process of obtaining nectar & helped the Devatas.
Varaha: He protected the earth which is the basis for all Yagnas.
Narasimha: He established dharma & killed the demon who was abusing God.
Vamana: He taught that, even when leading a righteous life, it is incorrect to turn vain due to power.
Parashurama: He taught that peace is ultimate.
Srirama: He showed that the person who abides by dharma becomes God.
Balarama: He showed the importance of agriculture & Yoga.
Krishna: He taught that dharma alone protects; it alone leads us forward & that victory exists where dharma exists.
Kalki: Wiping away evil He will re-establish goodness & trigger good thoughts.
The 24 incarnations
Sanaka & brothers: In forms of Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana & Sanatkumara he took up the arduous Brahmacharya vow for universal wellbeing.
Yagna-varaha: For well-being of the world, he restored the earth that had sunk to Patala.
Narada: He showed that good deeds purify the mind &lead to liberation.
Nara-Narayana: For universal well-being, he undertook severe austerities.
Kapila: He ascertained the principles of creation & propagated Sānkhya.
Datta: He taught Self-knowledge to Alarka, Prahlada, Yadu, Kartavirya & others.
Yagna: He saved Svayambhuva Manvantara.
Rshabha: He taught the path of Jnana to those who seek liberation.
Prithu: He milked the medicinal herbs from the earth
Fish: He saved Vaivasvata Manu during the deluge.
Kurma: He carried the Mandara on his back
Dhanvantari: He emerged from the ocean with nectar. He taught Ayurveda.
Mohini: He deluded the demons who had evil intent while offering nectar to the virtuous Devatas.
Narasimha: He killed Hiranyakashipu.
Vamana: He snatched heaven from Bali & restored it to Indra.
Parashurama: He went around the earth 21 times & freed it from the wicked.
Vedavyasa: He divided the huge heap of Vedas into 4
Srirama: To help the Devatas He killed Ravana & Kumbhakarna.
Balarama-Krishna: He reduced the burden of earth.
Buddha: He deluded those who abuse God and Vedas.
Kalki: In the end of Kali He will destroy the evil.
Hayagriva & Hamsa: Hayagriva showers Jnana. Hamsa resolved the doubts of the Rishis & protected the traditions.