Verse 1.2.168

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 1.2.168:

কতেক বা তোমার অনন্ত অবতার কার শক্তি আছে ইহা সঙ্খ্যা করিবার? ॥ ১৬৮ ॥

कतेक वा तोमार अनन्त अवतार कार शक्ति आछे इहा सङ्ख्या करिबार? ॥ १६८ ॥

kateka vā tomāra ananta avatāra kāra śakti āche ihā saṅkhyā karibāra? || 168 ||

kateka va tomara ananta avatara kara sakti ache iha sankhya karibara? (168)

English translation:

(168) “Therefore You are the source of innumerable incarnations. Who has the ability to enumerate all of them?

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (11.5.20-27 and 32) it is stated: “In each of the four yugas, or ages—Kṛta, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali—Lord Keśava appears with various complexions, names, and forms and is thus worshiped by various processes.

“In Satya-yuga the Lord is white and four-armed, has matted locks and wears a garment of tree bark. He carries a black deerskin, a sacred thread, prayer beads, and the rod and waterpot of a brahmacārī.

“People in Satya-yuga are peaceful, nonenvious, friendly to every creature, and steady in all situations. They worship the Supreme Personality by austere meditation and by internal and external sense control.

“In Satya-yuga the Lord is glorified by the names Haṃsa, Suparṇa, Vaikuṇṭha, Dharma, Yogeśvara, Amala, Īśvara, Puruṣa, Avyakta, and Paramātmā.

“In Tretā-yuga the Lord appears with a red complexion. He has four arms, golden hair, and wears a triple belt representing initiation into each of the three Vedas. Embodying the knowledge of worship by sacrificial performance, which is contained in the Ṛg, Sāma, and Yajur Vedas, His symbols are the ladle, spoon, and other implements of sacrifice.

“In Tretā-yuga, those members of human society who are fixed in religiosity and are sincerely interested in achieving the Absolute Truth worship Lord Hari, who contains within Himself all the demigods. The Lord is worshiped by the rituals of sacrifice taught in the three Vedas. “In Tretā-yuga the Lord is glorified by the names Viṣṇu, Yajña, Pṛśnigarbha, Sarvadeva, Urukrama, Vṛṣākapi, Jayanta, and Urugāya. “In Dvāpara-yuga the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears with a dark blue complexion, wearing yellow garments. The Lord’s

transcendental body is marked in this incarnation with Śrīvatsa and other distinctive ornaments, and He manifests His personal weapons.

“In the age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of

Kṛṣṇa. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions.”

Elsewhere in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (1.3.26) it is said: “O brāhmaṇas, the incarnations of the Lord are innumerable, like rivulets flowing from inexhaustible sources of water.”