Srimad Bhagavatam with English Translation and Commentary

Lord Veda Vyasa taught this Purana to his son, who is the foremost among knowers of the self for the well-being of all. It contains the essence of the Vedas and histories || 41 ||

Lord Veda Vyasa created this Purana called Bhagavat, which represents the character of the Lord || 40 ||

Shaunaka and sages! You are quite fortunate and graced, who in this life and in this world filled wit difficulties and obstacles, you feel one with the Lord Krishna. You have exclusive love that is inexplicable, which makes you never again fall into the cycle of birth and death in this world || 39 ||

The Lord, who wields the discuss, has infinite power and prowess, no one can find its limit. Even though he has created the entire world, he transcends it. His true form and his pastimes, the secret of both of these can only be known by one who relentlessly, with no malice, imbibes the perfume of His lotus feet, which means, always contemplates his feet || 38 ||

Just like an ordinary person cannot understand the stage show created by the actions and words of a magician, or an actor, these various names and forms in the world, and the Lord's pastimes cannot be understood by those of limited intellect through logical argumentation || 37 ||

The leela or play of the Lord is incomparable. It is through play along that He creates, sustains and destroys the world, but never gets caught up or attached to it. He hides in the antahakarana or mind of all beings in the form of the controller of the intellect and sensory organs. He also takes in sensory enjoyments, but always stays different from them. He is supremely independent. Those sense enjoyments can never stick to Him.

In reality, the Lord does not have births and actions. But the Lord's unusual births and actions are described as if they were actual births and actions by knowers of the absolute. This is because His births and actions are deep secrets of the Vedas || 35 ||

Knowers of the absolute know: When this maya is removed with the intellect, which is a form of the Lord, then the soul is filled with supreme bliss and becomes established in the glory of the true self || 34 ||

Both the subtle and gross bodies mentioned so far are assumed to be in the self only due to ignorance. When due to the knowledge of the self, this assumption is removed, at that very instant, brahman is realized || 33 ||

Beyond this visible form, there is a subtler, avyakta or unmanifest form of the Lord, which does not have any form like this gross world, not is it perceived or heard. Due to the apparent mix-up of the atma or self with this unmanifest form, it is called the jiva and soul, which takes birth again and again || 32 ||

Clouds exist in the air, and dustiness is a quality of dirt. Those with limited understanding assume clouds to exist in the sky, and dustiness to be a quality of air. Similarly, those who do not have viveka, the ability to discern, assume the self, the witness of all, to be this gross visible world || 31 ||

The Lord, who is chinmaya or composed of pure awareness, is imagined to take the gross form of the  universe due to the gunas of His maya || 30 ||

This tale of the divine births of the Lord contains deep secrets. He who has a focused mind, and methodically studies it with prema or love, mornings and evenings, is freed of all sorrows || 29 ||

All these avataras or incarnations are either amshas (portions) or kalas (fractions) of the Lord. But Shri Krishna is the Lord Himself, the incarnator, not the incarnation. When people are frustrated by the injustices of demons, then the Lord assumes many forms, age after age, for their protection || 28 ||

Sages, monks, gods, Prajapatis, sons of Manu, and all other mighty beings are amshas or parts of the Lord || 27 ||

Shaunaka and sages! Just like thousands of tiny streams emerge from a massive lake, so do innumerable incarnations of Shri Hari. the treasure of the absolute, keep emerging|| 26 ||

After this, when the end of the age of Kali is near, and when most rulers become robbers, then the Lord who is protector of this world will be born as Kalki to a brahmana named Vishnuyasha  || 25 ||

Upon the arrival of the age of Kali, in order to bewilder the demons, enemies of the gods, the Lord will incarnate in the land of Magadha as Lord Buddha, son of Ajana || 24 ||

In the nineteenth and twentieth incarnations, the Lord took the form of Balarama and Shri Krishna in the Yadu clan, in order to rid the earth of its burden.

In His eighteenth incarnation, the Lord incarnated as king Rama, in order to fulfill the tasks of the gods. In this form, the Lord conducted many brave leelas or pastimes including slaying Ravana, building the bridge to Lanka, and others || 22 ||