कर्तुमिच्छेच्च को मूढः श्रमदं सुखनाशनम् । सर्वथैव नृपश्रेष्ठ सर्वे ब्रह्मादयः सुराः
Who, being foolish, would wish to undertake toil that destroys happiness? Indeed, O best of kings, all the gods beginning with Brahma—
कृतकर्मविपाकेन प्राप्नुवन्ति सुखासुखे । अवश्यमेव भोक्तव्यं कृतं कर्म शुभाशुभम् । देहवद्भिर्नृभिर्देवैस्तिर्यग्भिश्च नृपोत्तम
By the ripening of deeds, they experience pleasure and pain; whatever action is done, good or bad, must certainly be enjoyed by embodied men, gods, and animals, O best of kings.
तपसा दानयज्ञैश्च मानवश्चेन्द्रतां व्रजेत् । क्षीणे पुण्येऽथ शक्रोऽपि पतत्येव न संशयः
By austerity, charity, and sacrifice, a human may attain the status of Indra; but when merit is exhausted, even Indra falls, without doubt.
रामावतारयोगेन देवा वानरतां गताः । तथा कृष्णसहायार्थं देवा यादवतां गताः
By the descent of Rama, the gods took the form of monkeys; likewise, for assisting Krishna, the gods assumed the form of Yadavas.
एवं युगे युगे विष्णुरवताराननेकशः । करोति धर्मरक्षार्थं ब्रह्मणा प्रेरितो भृशम्
Thus, in every age, Vishnu performs numerous descents for the protection of dharma, being earnestly prompted by Brahma.
पुनः पुनर्हरेरेवं नानायोनिषु पार्थिव । अवतारा भवन्त्यन्ये रथचक्रवदद्भुताः
Again and again, O king, Hari's descents occur in various forms; other incarnations arise, wondrous as the wheels of a chariot.
दैत्यानां हननं कर्म कर्तव्यं हरिणा स्वयम् । अंशांशेन पृथिव्यां वै कृत्वा जन्म महात्मना
The slaying of the Daityas must be accomplished by Hari himself, by taking birth on earth through a portion of his own great being.
तदहं संप्रवक्ष्यामि कृष्णजन्मकथां शुभाम् । स एव भगवान्विष्णुरवतीर्णो यदोः कुले
Therefore, I shall now narrate the auspicious story of Krishna’s birth; that very Lord Vishnu descended into the lineage of Yadu.
कश्यपस्य मुनेरंशो वसुदेवः प्रतापवान् । गोवृत्तिरभवद्राजन् पूर्वशापानुभावतः
Vasudeva, the illustrious one, was a portion of the sage Kashyapa; O King, due to a previous curse, he became a cowherd.
कश्यपस्य च द्वे पत्न्यौ शापादत्र महीपते । अदितिः सुरसा चैवमासतुः पृथिवीपते
And, O ruler of the earth, Kashyapa had two wives who, because of a curse, were born here as Aditi and Surasā.
देवकी रोहिणी चोभे भगिन्यौ भरतर्षभ । वरुणेन महाञ्छापो दत्तः कोपादिति श्रुतम्
Devakī and Rohiṇī, both sisters, O best of the Bharatas, received a great curse from Varuṇa, as is well known.
राजोवाच किं कृतं कश्यपेनागो येन शप्तो महानृषिः । सभार्यः स कथं जातस्तद्वदस्व महामते
The king said: What did Kashyapa do, O sage, that caused the great Ṛṣi to be cursed? How was he born with his wives? Tell me this, O wise one.
कथञ्च भगवान्विष्णुस्तत्र जातोऽस्ति गोकुले । वासी वैकुण्ठनिलये रमापतिरखण्डितः
And how did the Lord Vishnu, the undivided consort of Lakshmi, who dwells in Vaikuṇṭha, take birth in Gokula?
निदेशात्कस्य भगवान्वर्तते प्रभुरव्ययः । नारायणः सुरश्रेष्ठो युगादिः सर्वधारकः
By whose command does the imperishable Lord, Nārāyaṇa, the foremost of the gods, the origin of the ages, the sustainer of all, act?
स कथं सदनं त्यक्त्वा कर्मवानिव मानुषे । करोति जननं कस्मादत्र मे संशयो महान्
How does he, abandoning his own abode, act as if bound by karma in a human form? For what reason does he take birth? This is my great doubt.
प्राप्य मानुषदेहं तु करोति च विडम्बनम् । भावान्नानाविधांस्तत्र मानुषे दुष्टजन्मनि
Having obtained a human body, he enacts a semblance, adopting various dispositions in a human birth, even in a wicked one.
कामः क्रोधोऽमर्षशोकौ वैरं प्रीतिश्च कर्हिचित् । सुखं दुःखं भयं नॄणां दैन्यमार्जवमेव च
Desire, anger, jealousy, sorrow, enmity, and sometimes affection; happiness, suffering, fear, poverty, and simplicity among people—
दुष्कृतं सुकृतं चैव वचनं हननं तथा । पोषणं चलनं तापो विमर्शश्च विकत्थनम्
Evil and good deeds, speech, killing, nurturing, movement, pain, deliberation, and boasting—
लोभो दम्भस्तथा मोहः कपटः शोचनं तथा । एते चान्ये तथा भावा मानुष्ये सम्भवन्ति हि
Greed, hypocrisy, delusion, deceit, lamentation, and other such states also arise in human existence.
स कथं भगवान्विष्णुस्त्वक्त्या सुखमनश्वरम् । करोति मानुषं जन्म भावैस्तैस्तैरभिद्रुतम्
How does Lord Vishnu, whose bliss is unchanging and imperishable, take a human birth, beset by such conditions?
किं सुखं मानुषं प्राप्य भुवि जन्म मुनीश्वर । किं निमित्तं हरिः साक्षाद्गर्भवासं करोति वै
What happiness is there in gaining a human birth on earth, O best of sages? For what reason does Hari himself enter the womb?
गर्भदुःखं जन्मदुःखं बालभावे तथा पुनः । यौवने कामजं दुःखं गार्हस्त्येऽतिमहत्तरम्
The suffering of the womb, the pain of birth, and again in childhood; in youth, the suffering born of desire, and in household life, the greatest of all.
दुःखान्येतान्यवाप्नोति मानुषे द्विजसत्तम । कथं स भगवान्विष्णुरवतारान्पुनः पुनः
These sufferings are obtained in human life, O best of twice-born; how does Lord Vishnu repeatedly take incarnations?
प्राप्य रामावतारं हि हरिणा ब्रह्मयोनिना । दुःखं महत्तरं प्राप्तं वनवासेऽतिदारुणे
Having taken the incarnation as Rāma, Hari, born from Brahmā, endured even greater suffering during the exceedingly harsh forest exile.
सीताविरहजं दुःखं संग्रामश्च पुनः पुनः । कान्तात्यागोऽप्यनेनैवमनुभूतो महात्मना
The sorrow born from Sita's separation, and battles again and again, as well as the abandonment of his beloved—these too were experienced by that great-souled one.
तथा कृष्णावतारेऽपि जन्म रक्षागृहे पुनः । गोकुले गमनं चैव गवां चारणमित्युत
Likewise, in the Krishna incarnation, there was birth in the prison house, then going to Gokula, and indeed the tending of cows.
कंसस्य हननं कष्टाद् द्वारकागमनं पुनः । नानासंसारदुःखानि भुक्तवान्भगवान् कथम्
The slaying of Kamsa with great hardship, then the journey to Dvaraka, and various sufferings of worldly existence—how did the Blessed Lord endure them?
स्वेच्छया कः प्रतीक्षेत मुक्तो दुःखानि ज्ञानवान् । संशयं छिन्धि सर्वज्ञ मम चित्तप्रशान्तये
Who, being liberated and wise, would willingly endure sufferings? O Omniscient One, dispel my doubt for the peace of my mind.
दित्या अदित्यै शापदानम् व्यास उवाच कारणानि बहून्यत्राप्यवतारे हरेः किल । सर्वेषां चैव देवानामंशावतरणेष्वपि
Vyasa said: There are indeed many reasons for the incarnations of Hari, and also for the partial descents of all the gods.
वसुदेवावतारस्य कारणं शृणु तत्त्वतः । देवक्याश्चैव रोहिण्या अवतारस्य कारणम्
Hear now, in truth, the reason for Vasudeva's incarnation, and also for the incarnations of Devaki and Rohini.