Shloka
अजोऽपि सन्नव्ययात्मा भूतानामीश्वरोऽपि सन् |
प्रकृतिं स्वामधिष्ठाय सम्भवाम्यात्ममायया ||४-६||Transliteration
ajo.api sannavyayātmā bhūtānāmīśvaro.api san .
prakṛtiṃ svāmadhiṣṭhāya sambhavāmyātmamāyayā ||4-6||Translations
Dr.S.Sankaranarayan
4.6. Though [I am] unborn and the changeless Self; though I am the the Lord of [all] beings; yet presiding over My own nature I take birth by My own Trick-of-illusion.
Shri Purohit Swami
4.6 have no beginning. Though I am imperishable, as well as Lord of all that exists, yet by My own will and power do I manifest Myself.
Sri Abhinav Gupta
4.6 See Comment under 4.9
Sri Ramanuja
4.6 Without forsaking any of the My special alities, as supreme rulership, birthless, imperishability etc., I am born by My free will. Prakrti means one’s own nature. The meaning is that by employment of My own Nature and taking a form of My choice, I incarnate by My own will (Maya).
The character of My own Nature becomes evident from the following Srutis: ‘Him who is of sun-like colour, beyond darkness (Tamas)’ (Sve. U., 3.8), ‘Him who abides beyond Rajas (active matter)’ (Sama 17.1.4.2); ‘This Golden Person who is within the sun’ (Cha. U. 1.6.6); ‘Within the heart, there is the Person consisting of mind, immortal and golden’ (Tai. U. 1.6.1); ‘All mortal creatures have come from the self-luminous Person’ (Yaj., 32.2); ‘Whose form is light, whose will is truth, who is the self of ethereal space, who contains all actions, contains all desires, contains all odours, contains all tastes’ (Cha. U., 3.14.2); ‘Like a raiment of golden colour’ (Br. U., 4.3.6).
‘Atma-mayaya’ means through the Maya which belongs to Myself. Here the term Maya is identical with knowledge as stated in the lexicon of Yaska: ‘Maya is wisdom, knowledge.’ Further there is the usage of competent people: ‘By Maya, He knows the good and bad of his creatures.’ Hence by My own knowledge means ‘by My will.’ Hence, without abandoning My essential attributes which belong to Me the Lord of all, such as being free of sins, having auspicious attributes etc., and creating My own form similar to the configuration of gods, men etc., I incarnate in the form of gods etc. The Sruti teaches the same thing: ‘Being unborn, He is born in various forms’ (Tai. A., 3.12.7). The purport is that His birth is ite unlike that of ordinary beings. The dissimilarity consists in that He is born out of His own will unlike ordinary beings whose birth is necessitated by their Karma. Thus constured, there is no contradiction also between what was taught earlier and what is taught later as in the statements: ‘Many births of Mine have passed, O Arjuna, and similarly yours also. I know them all’ (4.5); ‘I incarnate Myself’ (4.7); and ‘He who thus knows in truth My birth and work’ (4.9). [All this elaboration is meant to refute the doctrine of mere apparency of incarnations as taught by the Advaitins. Ramanuja, as stated in his Introduction to the Bhasya, upholds the absolute reality of incarnations.]
Sri Krsna now specifies the times of His incarnations.
Sri Shankaracharya
4.6 Api, san ajah, though I am birthless; and avyayatma, undecaying by nature, though I am naturally possessed of an undiminishing power of Knowledge; and so also api san, though; isvarah, the Lord, natural Ruler; bhutanam, of beings, from Brahma to a clump of grass; (still) adhisthaya, by subjugating; svam, My own; prakrtim, Prakrti, the Maya of Visnu consisting of the three gunas, under whose; spell the whole world exists, and deluded by which one does not know one’s own Self, Vasudeva;-by subjugating that Prakrti of Mine, sambhavami, I take birth, appear to become embodeid, as though born; atma-mayaya, by means of My own Maya; but not in reality like an ordinary man. It is being stated when and why that birth occurs:
Swami Adidevananda
4.6 Though I am birthless and of immutable nature, though I am the Lord of all beings, yet by employing My own Nature (Prakrti) I am born out of My own free will.
Swami Gambirananda
4.6 Though I am birthless, undecaying by nature, and the Lord of beings, (still) by subjugating My Prakriti, I take birth by means of My own Maya.
Swami Sivananda
4.6 Though I am unborn, of imperishable nature, and though I am the Lord of all beings, yet, governing My own Nature, I am born by My own Maya.
Commentaries
Swami Sivananda
4.6 अजः unborn? अपि also? सन् being? अव्ययात्मा of imperishable nature? भूतानाम् of beings? ईश्वरः the Lord? अपि also? सन् being? प्रकृतिम् Nature? स्वाम् My own? अधिष्ठाय governing? संभवामि come into being? आत्ममायया by My own Maya.Commentary Man is bound by Karma. So he takes birth. He is under the clutches of Nature. He,is deluded by the three alities of Nature whereas the Lord has Maya under His perfect control. He rules over Nature? and so He is not under the thraldom of the alities o Nature. He appears to be born and embodied through His own Maya or illusory power? but is not so in reality. His embodiment is ? as a matter of fact? apparent? It cannot affect in the least His true divine nature. (Cf.IX.8).