Śrīmad Bhāgavata 1.3.6

Synonyms

saḥ — that; eva — very; devaḥ — Supreme Deity [the Puruṣa, who reposes on the Garbhodaka Ocean (yo’mbhasi śayānaḥ);²⁶ immersed in His divine play (devaḥ krīḍā-paraḥ)²⁷]; āśritaḥ — accepted; prathamam²⁸ — the first; sargam — advent [prādurbhāvam āsthitaḥ²⁹]; kaumāram — as the four Kumāras [Sanat, Sananda, Sanaka, and Sanātana]; brahmā — [and] in the form of a brāhmaṇa [lit., “becoming a brāhmaṇa” (brāhmaṇo bhūtvā)³⁰]; cacāra — He observed; duścaram — the formidable [vow]; akhaṇḍitam — [of] unbroken; brahmacaryam — celibacy [doing so personally to set an example for people in general (svayam ācaran lokesu pracārayāmāsety arthaḥ)³¹].

That very Supreme Deity [the Puruṣa] accepted the first advent as the four Kumāras, and, in the form of a brāhmaṇa, He observed the formidable vow of unbroken celibacy.

Notes

26Jīva Gosvāmī.↩

27Giridhara. The word deva is derived from the root √div, meaning “to shine” or “to play.” Giridhara thus takes the word deva to mean “He who is intent on play” (krīḍā-paraḥ). Here, at the very beginning of the description of the avatāras, by referring to the Puruṣa as “Deva,” Sūta’s intent is to say that His acceptance of the avatāras now being enumerated and the deeds He performs corresponding to those forms are all undertaken as a matter of divine play.↩

28Śrīdhara Svāmī, Viśvanātha Cakravartī, and other commentators point out that the numbers assigned to the avatāras in this and the upcoming verses are only for the purpose of specification (prathama dvitīyādi śabdā nirdeśa-mātra vivakṣayā).↩

29Śukadeva.↩

30Śrīdhara Svāmī. The singular is used here for the collective.↩

31Viśvanātha Cakravartī.↩

SB 1.3.6

Synonyms

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