Verse 2.4.38

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.4.38:

इन्द्र-चन्द्रादि-सादृशस् त्रिनेत्रश् चतुराननः ।
चतुर्भुजः सहस्रास्यः केचिद् अष्टभुजास् तथा ॥ ३८ ॥

indra-candrādi-sādṛśas trinetraś caturānanaḥ |
caturbhujaḥ sahasrāsyaḥ kecid aṣṭabhujās tathā || 38 ||

indra–Indra; candra–Candra (the moon-god); ādi–and so forth; sādṛśāḥ–like; tri-netrāḥ–three-eyed Śiva; catur-ānanāḥ–fourheaded Brahmā; catur-bhujāḥ–four-armed; sahasra-āsyāḥ–having a thousand faces; kecit–some; aṣṭa-bhujāḥ–eight arms; tathā–also.

Some looked like Indra, some like Candra, and some like other demigods. Some had three eyes, some had four heads. Some had four arms, some had eight arms, and some had a thousand heads.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

(By Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī himself including a deep purport of that commentary)

Śrī Gopa-kumāra says, “Some of the Vaikuṇṭha residents bore the marks of Indra, the king of heaven who has a thousand eyes and who wields a thunderbolt, while others assumed forms similar to Candra, the moon-god, and other demigods.” The word ādi indicates they assumed the forms of demigods such as Sūrya (the sun-god), Agni (the fire-god), and Vāyu (the wind-god), and others as well. It should be understood that they adopted forms resembling all the demigods. He says, “Among the Vaikuṇṭha residents, some had forms similar to Indra and some were similar to Candra, while others had three eyes (as does Śiva).”

Generally, Indra and all other demigods are not incarnations of Bhagavān. This is made clear by the word sadṛśa, meaning ‘similar,’ indicating that in appearance only, the residents of Vaikuṇṭha were similar to the demigods. However, three-eyed Śiva and four-headed Brahmā are actually guṇa-avatāras, or qualitative incarnations, of Bhagavān. As such, when referring to Vaikuṇṭha residents who had three eyes and those who had four heads, only some difference in their forms is indicated.