Sri Caitanya-caritamrta: Madhya-lila
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter 6
Madhya6.76
TEXT 76
kahena yadi, punarapi yoga-patta diya
samskara kariye uttama-sampradaye aniya’
SYNONYMS
kahena—says; yadi—if; punarapi—again; yoga-patta diya—offering Him saffron cloth; samskara—reformatory process; kariye—I perform; uttama—first-class; sampradaye—to the community; aniya—bringing.
TRANSLATION
Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya then suggested, “If Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu would like, I could bring Him into a first-class sampradaya by offering Him saffron cloth and performing the reformatory process again.”
PURPORT
The Bhattacarya wanted to reinstate Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu into the Sarasvati sampradaya because he did not like the Lord’s belonging to the Bharati sampradaya or Puri sampradaya. Actually, he did not know the position of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. As the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Caitanya Mahaprabhu did not depend on an inferior or superior sampradaya. The Supreme Personality of Godhead remains in the supreme position in all circumstances.
Madhya6.77
TEXT 77
suni’ gopinatha-mukunda dunhe duhkha haila
gopinathacarya kichu kahite lagila
SYNONYMS
suni’-hearing; gopinatha-mukunda—Gopinatha Acarya and Mukunda Datta; dunhe—both; duhkha—unhappy; haila—became; gopinatha-acarya—of the name Gopinatha Acarya; kichu—something; kahite—to speak; lagila—began.
TRANSLATION
Gopinatha Acarya and Mukunda Datta became very unhappy when they heard this. Gopinatha Acarya therefore addressed Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya as follows.
Madhya6.78
TEXT 78
’bhattacarya’ tumi inhara na jana mahima
bhagavatta-laksanera inhatei sima
SYNONYMS
bhattacarya—my dear Bhattacarya; tumi—you; inhara—of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; na—not; jana—know; mahima—the greatness; bhagavatta—of being the Supreme Personality of Godhead; laksanera—of symptoms; inhatei—in Him; sima—the highest degree.
TRANSLATION
“My dear Bhattacarya, you do not know the greatness of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. All the symptoms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are found in Him to the highest degree.”
PURPORT
Since the Bhattacarya was an impersonalist, he had no idea of the Absolute Truth beyond the impersonal effulgence. However, Gopinatha Acarya informed him that Caitanya Mahaprabhu was the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Those who know the Absolute Truth know it in three phases, as explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.11):
vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvam yaj jnanam advayam
brahmeti paramatmeti
bhagavan iti sabdyate
“Those who are in knowledge of the nondual Absolute Truth know very clearly what is Brahman, what is Paramatma, and what is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” The Supreme Personality of Godhead is sad-aisvarya-purna, complete with six opulences. Gopinatha Acarya emphasized that all those six opulences were completely existing in Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Madhya6.79
TEXT 79
tahate vikhyata inho parama-isvara
ajna-sthane kichu nahe vijnera gocara’
SYNONYMS
tahate—therefore; vikhyata—celebrated; inho—Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; parama-isvara—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ajna-sthane—before an ignorant person; kichu—any; nahe—not; vijnera—of the person who knows; gocara—information.
TRANSLATION
Gopinatha Acarya continued, “Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is celebrated as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Those who are ignorant in this connection find the conclusion of knowledgeable men very difficult to understand.”
Madhya6.80
TEXT 80
sisya-gana kahe,--’isvara kaha kon pramane’
acarya kahe,--’vijna-mata isvara-laksane’
SYNONYMS
sisya-gana kahe—the disciples of Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya said; isvara kaha—you say the Supreme Personality of Godhead; kon pramane—by what evidence; acarya kahe—Gopinatha Acarya replied; vijna-mata—statements of authorized persons; isvara-laksane—in understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
TRANSLATION
The disciples of Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya retaliated, “By what evidence do you conclude that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the Supreme Lord?” Gopinatha Acarya replied, “The statements of authorized acaryas who understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead are proof.”
PURPORT
Since the appearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, there have been many pseudo incarnations in India who do not present authorized evidence. Five hundred years ago the disciples of Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, being very learned scholars, were certainly right in asking Gopinatha Acarya for evidence. If a person proposes that he himself is God or that someone else is an incarnation of God or God Himself, he must cite evidence from sastra to prove his claim. Thus the request of the Bhattacarya’s disciples is quite bona fide. Unfortunately, at the present moment it has become fashionable to present someone as an incarnation of God without referring to the sastras. Before an intelligent person accepts someone as an incarnation of God, however, he must ask about the evidence. When the disciples of Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya challenged Gopinatha Acarya, he immediately replied correctly: “We must hear the statements of great personalities in order to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” Lord Krsna is established as the Supreme Personality of Godhead by statements from authorized persons like Brahma, Narada, Vyasadeva, Asita, Arjuna and many others. Similarly, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is also established as the Supreme Personality of Godhead by evidence from the same personalities. This will be explained later.
Madhya6.81
TEXT 81
sisya kahe,--’isvara-tattva sadhi anumane’
acarya kahe,--’anumane nahe isvara-jnane
SYNONYMS
sisya kahe—the disciples said; isvara-tattva—the truth of the Absolute; sadhi—derive; anumane—by hypothesis; acarya kahe—Gopinatha Acarya replied; anumane—by hypothesis; nahe—there is not; isvara-jnane—real knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
TRANSLATION
The disciples of the Bhattacarya said, “We derive knowledge of the Absolute Truth by logical hypothesis.” Gopinatha Acarya replied, “One cannot attain real knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by such logical hypothesis and argument.”
PURPORT
The Mayavadi philosophers in particular make certain hypotheses about the Absolute Truth. They reason that in the material world we experience that everything is created. If we trace the history of anything, we find a creator. Therefore there must be a creator of this huge cosmic manifestation. By such reasoning they come to the conclusion that a higher power has created this cosmic manifestation. The Mayavadis do not accept this great power to be a person. Their brains cannot accommodate the fact that this huge cosmic manifestation can be created by a person. They doubt this because as soon as they think of a person, they think of a person within the material world with limited potency. Sometimes the Mayavadi philosophers will accept Lord Krsna or Lord Rama as Bhagavan, but they think of the Lord as a person having a material body. The Mayavadis do not understand that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, has a spiritual body. They think of Krsna as a great personality, a human being, within whom there is the supreme impersonal power, Brahman. Therefore they finally conclude that the impersonal Brahman is the Supreme, not the personality Krsna. This is the basis of Mayavadi philosophy. However, from the sastras we can understand that the Brahman effulgence is the bodily rays of Krsna:
yasya prabha prabhavato jagad-anda-koti-
kotisv asesa-vasudhadi-vibhuti-bhinnam
tad brahma niskalam anantam asesa-bhutam
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
“I serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda, the primeval Lord, the effulgence of whose transcendental body is known as the brahmajyoti. That brahmajyoti, which is unlimited, unfathomed and all-pervasive, is the cause of the creation of unlimited numbers of planets with varieties of climates and specific conditions of life.” (Brahma-samhita 5.40)
Mayavadi philosophers study the Vedic literature, but they do not understand that the Absolute Truth in the last stage of realization is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna. They do accept the fact that there is a creator of this cosmic manifestation, but that is anumana (hypothesis). The Mayavadi philosopher’s logic is something like seeing smoke on a hill. When there is a forest fire on a high hill, smoke is first of all visible. The smoke is created when there is fire. Just as one can conclude that there is fire from seeing smoke, from seeing this cosmic manifestation the Mayavadi philosophers conclude that there must be a creator.
The disciples of Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya wanted evidence to show that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was actually the creator of the cosmic manifestation. Only then would they accept Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the original cause of creation. Gopinatha Acarya replied that one could not understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead by guesswork. As Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita (7.25):
naham prakasah sarvasya
yoga-maya-samavrtah
mudho ’yam nabhijanati
loko mam ajam avyayam
“I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My eternal creative potency [yogamaya]; and so the deluded world knows Me not, who am unborn and infallible.” (Bg. 7.25) The Supreme Personality of Godhead reserves the right of not being exposed to nondevotees. He can only be understood by bona fide devotees. Lord Krsna says elsewhere in the Bhagavad-gita (18.55), bhaktya mam abhijanati: “One can understand Me only by the devotional process.” In the Fourth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita (4.3) Lord Krsna says, bhakto ’si me sakha ceti rahasyam hy etad uttamam. Here Lord Krsna informs Arjuna that He is disclosing the secrets of Bhagavad-gita to him because he is His devotee. Arjuna was not a sannyasi, nor was he a Vedantist or brahmana. He was, however, a devotee of Krsna. The conclusion is that we have to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead from the devotees. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself says, guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija. (Cc. Madhya 19.151)
More evidence can be cited to show that without the mercy of a devotee or the mercy of Krsna, one cannot understand what is Krsna and what is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is confirmed in the next verse.
Madhya6.82
TEXT 82
anumana pramana nahe isvara-tattva-jnane
krpa vina isvarere keha nahi jane
SYNONYMS
anumana pramana—evidence by hypothesis; nahe—there is not; isvara-tattva-jnane—in understanding the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; krpa vina—without His mercy; isvarere—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; keha—anyone; nahi—not; jane—knows.
TRANSLATION
Gopinatha Acarya continued, “One can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead only by His mercy, not by guesswork or hypothesis.”
PURPORT
One cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead simply by exhibiting some mundane magic. Foolish people are enchanted by magical demonstrations, and when they see a few wonderful things done by mystical power, they accept a magician as the Personality of Godhead or an incarnation. This is not the way of realization. Nor should one guess or speculate about an incarnation of God or the Personality of Godhead. One has to learn from the bona fide person or from the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, as Arjuna did, by the mercy of Krsna. Krsna Himself also gives many hints about His potencies as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One should understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead only through the evidence presented by the sastras and the mahajanas. In any case, one must have the mercy of the Lord in order to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead by devotional service.
Madhya6.83
TEXT 83
isvarera krpa-lesa haya ta’ yahare
sei ta’ isvara-tattva janibare pare
SYNONYMS
isvarera—of the Personality of Godhead; krpa-lesa—a little mercy; haya—there is; ta’-certainly; yahare—upon whom; sei ta’-he certainly; isvara-tattva—the Absolute Truth; janibare—to know; pare—is able.
TRANSLATION
The Acarya continued, "If one receives but a tiny bit of the Lord’s favor by dint of devotional service, he can understand the nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Madhya6.84
TEXT 84
athapi te deva padambuja-dvaya-
prasada-lesanugrhita eva hi
janati tattvam bhagavan-mahimno
na canya eko ’pi ciram vicinvan
SYNONYMS
atha—therefore; api—indeed; te—Your; deva—my Lord; pada-ambuja-dvaya—of the two lotus feet; prasada—of the mercy; lesa—by only a trace; anugrhitah—favored; eva—certainly; hi—indeed; janati—one knows; tattvam—the truth; bhagavat—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; mahimnah—of the greatness; na—never; ca—and; anyah—another; ekah—one; api—although; ciram—for a long period; vicinvan—speculating.
TRANSLATION
“ ’My Lord, if one is favored by even a slight trace of the mercy of Your lotus feet, he can understand the greatness of Your personality. But those who speculate in order to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead are unable to know You, even though they continue to study the Vedas for many years.’ ”
PURPORT
The above verse is from Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.14.29). The Brahma-samhita states, vedesu durlabham adurlabham atma-bhaktau (Brahma-samhita 5.33). Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is the ultimate goal of knowledge (vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah), one who is not a pure devotee and who is not engaged in the service of the Lord cannot understand Him. Lord Brahma therefore confirms this. Vedesu durlabham: “It is very difficult to understand the Supreme Lord simply through one’s studies.” Adurlabham atma-bhaktau: “However, it is very easy for the devotees to capture the Lord.” The Lord is known as ajita (unconquerable). No one can conquer the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the Lord consents to be conquered by His devotees. That is His nature. As stated in the Padma Purana:
atah sri-krsna-namadi
na bhaved grahyam indriyaih
sevonmukhe hi jihvadau
svayam eva sphuraty adah
Being pleased by devotional activities, the Lord reveals Himself to His devotees. That is the way to understand Him.
The verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam quoted by Gopinatha Acarya was originally spoken by Lord Brahma when he was defeated by Lord Krsna. Lord Brahma had stolen all the calves and cowherd boys in order to test Krsna’s power. Lord Brahma admitted that his own extraordinary powers within the universe were not in the least comparable to the unlimited powers of Lord Krsna. If Lord Brahma can make a mistake in understanding Krsna, what to speak of ordinary persons, who either misunderstand Krsna or falsely present a so-called incarnation of Krsna for their own sense gratification.
Madhya6.85-86
TEXTS 85-86
yadyapi jagad-guru tumi--sastra-jnanavan
prthivite nahi pandita tomara samana
isvarera krpa-lesa nahika tomate
ataeva isvara-tattva na para janite
SYNONYMS
yadyapi—although; jagat-guru—a teacher of many disciples; tumi—you; sastra-jnanavan—well versed in Vedic knowledge; prthivite—on this earth; nahi—there is not; pandita—a learned scholar; tomara—your; samana—equal; isvarera—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; krpa—of mercy; lesa—a bit; nahika—there is not; tomate—on you; ataeva—therefore; isvara-tattva—the Absolute Truth (the Supreme personality of Godhead); na para—are not able; janite—to know.
TRANSLATION
Gopinatha Acarya then addressed Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya: "You are a great scholar and a teacher of may disciples. Indeed, there is no other scholar like you on earth. Nonetheless, because you are bereft of even a pinch of the Lord’s mercy, you cannot understand Him, even though He is present in your home.
Madhya6.87
TEXT 87
tomara nahika dosa, sastre ei kahe
pandityadye isvara-tattva-jnana kabhu nahe’
SYNONYMS
tomara—your; nahika—there is not; dosa—fault; sastre—the scriptures; ei—this; kahe—mention; panditya-adye—simply by scholarship, etc.; isvara-tattva-jnana—knowledge of the principles of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; kabhu—ever; nahe—there is not.
TRANSLATION
“It is not your fault; it is the verdict of the scriptures. You cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead simply by scholarship.”
PURPORT
This is a very important verse. Even big scholars cannot understand Krsna, yet they dare comment on the Bhagavad-gita. Reading the Bhagavad-gita means understanding Krsna, yet we actually see many scholars making blunders in trying to understand Krsna. Gopinatha Acarya’s statement is confirmed in many places in Vedic literature. In the Katha Upanisad (1.2.23) it is stated:
nayam atma pravacanena labhyo
na medhaya na bahuna srutena
yam evaisa vrnute tena labhyas
tasyaisa atma vivrnute tanum svam
It is also stated in Katha Upanisad (1.2.9):
naisa tarkena matir apaneya
proktanyenaiva sujnanaya prestha
yam tvam apah satya-dhrtir batasi
tvadrn no bhuyan naciketah prasta
The fact is that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supersoul, cannot be attained simply by explanations, logic and erudite scholarship. One cannot understand Him simply by one’s brain substance. Even by studying all Vedic literature, one cannot understand the Supreme Lord. However, if one is slightly favored by the mercy of the Lord, if the Lord is pleased, one can understand Him. But who are the candidates eligible to receive the mercy of the Lord? Only the devotees. They alone can understand what is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord reveals Himself to the sincere devotee when He is pleased with his service: svayam eva sphuraty adah. One should not try to understand the Lord simply from the statements of the Vedas, nor should one uselessly attempt to decry these statements through reasoning and logic.
Madhya6.88
TEXT 88
sarvabhauma kahe,--acarya, kaha savadhane
tomate isvara-krpa ithe ki pramane
SYNONYMS
sarvabhauma kahe—Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya says; acarya—my dear Gopinatha Acarya; kaha—kindly speak; savadhane—very carefully; tomate—unto you; isvara-krpa—mercy of the Lord; ithe—in this matter; ki pramane—by what evidence.
TRANSLATION
Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya replied, “My dear Gopinatha Acarya, please speak with great care. What is the proof that you have received the mercy of the Lord?”
Madhya6.89
TEXT 89
acarya kahe,--"vastu-visaye haya vastu-jnana
vastu-tattva-jnana haya krpate pramana
SYNONYMS
acarya kahe—Gopinatha Acarya replied; vastu-visaye—in the matter of the summum bonum; haya—there is; vastu-jnana—knowledge of the Supreme; vastu-tattva—of the Absolute Truth; jnana—knowledge; haya—is; krpate—of the mercy; pramana—the evidence.
TRANSLATION
Gopinatha Acarya replied, “Knowledge of the summum bonum, the Absolute Truth, is evidence of the mercy of the Supreme Lord.”
PURPORT
Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya informed his brother-in-law, Gopinatha Acarya, “The Supreme Personality of Godhead may not have shown mercy to me, but what is the proof of His having shown it to you? Kindly let us know about this.” in reply to this, Gopinatha Acarya said that the summum bonum, the Absolute Truth, and His different potencies are identical. Therefore one can understand the substance of the Absolute Truth by the manifestation of His different potencies. The summum bonum includes all potencies in one unit. The Absolute Truth combined with different characteristics is the original substance (vastu): parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate.
Thus the Vedas state that the Absolute Truth has different potencies. When one understands the characteristics of the potencies of the Absolute Truth, one is aware of the Absolute Truth. On the material platform as well, one can understand the substance by the manifestation of its symptoms. For example, when there is heat, it is to be understood that there is fire. The heat of the fire is perceived directly. The fire may not be visible, but one can search out the fire by feeling heat. Similarly, if one can perceive the characteristics of the Absolute Truth, we can know that he has understood the substance of the Absolute Truth by the mercy of the Lord.
In the Bhagavad-gita (7.25) it is said, naham prakasah sarvasya The Supreme Personality of Godhead reserves the right of not being exposed to everyone. Sevonmukhe hi jihvadau svayam eva sphuraty adah: “The Lord reveals Himself to a devotee when He is completely satisfied by the devotee’s service.” Thus one cannot understand the Supreme Lord without His mercy. The Absolute Truth cannot be understood by speculation, and this is the conclusion of the Bhagavad-gita.
Madhya6.90
TEXT 90
inhara sarire saba isvara-laksana
maha-premavesa tumi panacha darsana
SYNONYMS
inhara—His; sarire—in the body; saba—all; isvara-laksana—characteristics of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; maha-prema-avesa—absorption in transcendental ecstasy; tumi—you; panacha—have obtained; darsana—seeing.
TRANSLATION
Gopinatha Acarya continued, "You have seen the symptoms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the body of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu during His absorption in an ecstatic mood.
Madhya6.91
TEXT 91
tabu ta’ isvara-jnana na haya tomara
isvarera maya ei--bali vyavahara
SYNONYMS
tabu ta’-still, however; isvara-jnana—knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; na—not; haya—there is; tomara—your; isvarera—of the Lord; maya—the illusion; ei—this; bali—saying; vyavahara—the general term.
TRANSLATION
"Despite directly perceiving the symptoms of the Supreme Lord in the body of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, you cannot understand Him. This is commonly called illusion.
PURPORT
Gopinatha Acarya is pointing out that Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya had already seen uncommon symptoms of ecstasy in the body of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
These uncommon symptoms of ecstatic love indicated the Supreme Person, but despite having seen all these symptoms, the Bhattacarya could not understand the Lord’s transcendental nature. He was considering the Lord’s pastimes to be mundane. This was certainly due to illusion.
Madhya6.92
TEXT 92
dekhile na dekhe tare bahirmukha jana"
suni’ hasi’ sarvabhauma balila vacana
SYNONYMS
dekhile—even after seeing; na—not; dekhe—sees; tare—the Supreme Person; bahih-mukha jana—a person influenced by the external energy; suni’-hearing this; hasi’-smiling; sarvabhauma—Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya; balila—said; vacana—the words.
TRANSLATION
“A person influenced by the external energy is called bahirmukha jana, a mundane person, because despite his perception, he cannot understand the real substance.” Hearing Gopinatha Acarya say this, Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya smiled and began to speak as follows.
PURPORT
When one’s heart is not cleansed, one cannot awaken the transcendental nature of devotional service. As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (7.28):
yesam tv anta-gatam papam
jananam punya-karmanam
te dvandva-moha-nirmukta
bhajante mam drdha-vratah
“Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life and whose sinful actions are completely eradicated are freed from the dualities of delusion, and they engage themselves in My service with determination.”
When one is actually engaged in pure devotional service, it is understood that he has already attained freedom from all reactions to sinful activities. In other words, it is to be understood that devotees are already freed from sin. A sinful person, a miscreant (duskrti, cannot engage in devotional service. Nor can one engage in devotional service simply on the basis of scholarly speculation. One has to wait for the mercy of the Lord in order to render pure devotional service.
Madhya6.93
TEXT 93
ista-gosthi vicara kari, na kariha rosa
sastra-drstye kahi, kichu na la-iha dosa
SYNONYMS
ista-gosthi—discussion among friends; vicara—consideration; kari—we do; na—not; kariha—make; rosa—anger; sastra-drstye—according to the conclusion of scriptures; kahi—we speak; kichu—any; na—not; la-iha—take; dosa—fault.
TRANSLATION
The Bhattacarya said, "We are just having a discussion among friends and considering the points described in the scriptures. Do not become angry. I am simply speaking on the strength of the sastras. Please don’t take any offense.
Madhya6.94
TEXT 94
maha-bhagavata haya caitanya-gosani
ei kali-kale visnura avatara nai
SYNONYMS
maha-bhagavata—a great devotee; haya—is; caitanya-gosani—Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; ei—this; kali-kale—in the Age of Kali; visnura—of Lord Visnu; avatara—incarnation; nai—there is not.
TRANSLATION
"Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is certainly a great, uncommon devotee, but we cannot accept Him as an incarnation of Lord Visnu because, according to sastra, there is no incarnation in this Age of Kali.
Madhya6.95
TEXT 95
ataeva ’tri-yuga’ kari’ kahi visnu-nama
kali-yuge avatara nahi,--sastra-jnana
SYNONYMS
ataeva—therefore; tri-yuga—the Lord, who appears in three yugas only; kari’-making; kahi—we say; visnu-nama—the holy name of Lord Visnu; kali-yuge—in the Age of Kali; avatara—incarnation; nahi—there is not; sastra-jnana—the verdict of the scriptures.
TRANSLATION
“Another name for Lord Visnu is Triyuga because there is no incarnation of Lord Visnu in Kali-yuga. Indeed, this is the verdict of revealed scriptures.”
PURPORT
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Visnu, is known as Triyuga, which means that He is manifest in three yugas. However, this means that in the Age of Kali the Lord appears not directly but in disguise. This is confirmed in Srimad-Bhagavatam (7.9.38):
ittham nr-tiryag-rsi-deva-jhasavatarair
lokan vibhavayasi hamsi jagat-pratipan
dharmam maha-purusa pasi yuganuvrttam
channah kalau yad abhavas tri-yugo ’tha sa tvam
“My Lord, You kill all the enemies of the world in Your multifarious incarnations in the families of men, animals, demigods, rsis, aquatics and so on. Thus You illuminate the worlds with transcendental knowledge. In the Age of Kali, O Mahapurusa, You sometimes appear in a covered incarnation. Therefore You are known as Triyuga [one who appears in only three yugas].”)
Srila Sridhara Svami has also verified that Lord Visnu appears in the Age of Kali but does not act as He does in other ages. Lord Visnu incarnates for two purposes: paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam. That is, He comes to engage in pastimes with His devotees and to annihilate the demons. These purposes are visible in the Satya, Treta and Dvapara yugas, but in Kali-yuga the Lord appears disguised. He does not directly kill demons and give protection to the faithful. Because the Lord is not directly perceived in Kali-yuga but is directly known in the other three yugas, His name is Triyuga.
Madhya6.96
TEXT 96
suniya acarya kahe duhkhi hana mane
sastra-jna karina tumi kara abhimane
SYNONYMS
suniya—hearing this; acarya—Gopinatha Acarya; kahe—says; duhkhi—unhappy; hana—becoming; mane—in the mind; sastra-jna—well versed in Vedic scriptures; karina—taking as; tumi—you; kara—do; abhimane—pride.
TRANSLATION
Upon hearing this, Gopinatha Acarya became very unhappy. He said to the Bhattacarya, "You consider yourself the knower of all Vedic scriptures.
Madhya6.97
TEXT 97
bhagavata-bharata dui sastrera pradhana
sei dui-grantha-vakye nahi avadhana
SYNONYMS
bhagavata—Srimad-Bhagavatam; bharata—Mahabharata; dui—two; sastrera—of all Vedic scriptures; pradhana—the most prominent; sei—those; dui-grantha—of the two scriptures; vakye—in the statements; nahi—there is not; avadhana—attention.
TRANSLATION
"Srimad-Bhagavatam and the Mahabharata are the two most important Vedic scriptures, but you have paid no attention to their statements.
Madhya6.98
TEXT 98
sei dui kahe kalite saksat-avatara
tumi kaha,--kalite nahi visnura pracara
SYNONYMS
sei—those; dui—two; kahe—say; kalite—in this Age of Kali; saksat—direct; avatara—incarnation; tumi—you; kaha—say; kalite—in this Age of Kali; nahi—there is not; visnura—of Lord Visnu; pracara—manifestation.
TRANSLATION
"In Srimad-Bhagavatam and Mahabharata it is stated that the Lord appears directly, but you say that in this age there is no manifestation or incarnation of Lord Visnu.
Madhya6.99
TEXT 99
kali-yuge lilavatara na kare bhagavan
ataeva ’tri-yuga’ kari’ kahi tara nama
SYNONYMS
kali-yuge—in this Age of Kali; lila-avatara—a pastime incarnation; na—not; kare—does; bhagavan—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ataeva—therefore; tri-yuga—of the name Triyuga (manifested in three yugas); kari’-accepting; kahi—I say; tara nama—His holy name.
TRANSLATION
“In this Age of Kali there is no lila-avatara of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; therefore He is known as Triyuga. That is one of His holy names.”
PURPORT
A lila-avatara is an incarnation of the Lord who performs a variety of activities without making any special endeavor. He always has one pastime after another, all full of transcendental pleasure, and these pastimes are fully controlled by the Supreme Person. The Supreme Person is totally independent of all others in these pastimes. While teaching Sanatana Gosvami (Cc. Madhya 20.296-298), Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu pointed out that one cannot count the number of lila-avataras:
lilavatara krsnera na yaya ganana
pradhana kariya kahi dig-darasana
“However,” the Lord told Sanatana, “I shall explain the chief lila-avataras.”
matsya, kurma, raghunatha, nrsimha, vamana
varahadi--lekha yanra na yaya ganana
Thus the Lord’s incarnations were enumerated, including Matsya, the fish incarnation; Kurma, the tortoise; Lord Ramacandra; Nrsimhadeva; Vamanadeva; and Varaha, the boar incarnation. Thus there are innumerable lila-avataras, and all of these exhibit wonderful pastimes. Lord Varaha, the boar incarnation, lifted the entire planet earth from the depths of the Garbhodaka Ocean. The tortoise incarnation, Lord Kurma, became a pivot for the emulsification of the whole sea, and Lord Nrsimhadeva appeared as half-man, half-lion. These are some of the wonderful and uncommon features of lila-avataras.
In his book Laghu-bhagavatamrta, Srila Rupa Gosvami has enumerated the following twenty-five lila-avataras: Catuh-sana, Narada, Varaha, Matsya, Yajna, Nara-Narayana, Kapila, Dattatreya, Hayasirsa (Hayagriva), Hamsa, Prsnigarbha, Rsabha, Prthu, Nrsimha, Kurma, Dhanvantari, Mohini, Vamana, Parasurama, Raghavendra, Vyasa, Balarama, Krsna, Buddha and Kalki.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is not mentioned as a lila-avatara because He is an incarnation in disguise (channa-avatara). In this Age of Kali there are no lila-avataras, but there is an incarnation of the Lord manifested in the body of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. This has been explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam.