अथाख्याहि हरेर्धीमन्नवतारकथा शुभा: । लीला विदधत: स्वैरमीश्वरस्यात्म मायया ॥ १८ ॥

athÄkhyÄhi harer dhÄ«mann
avatÄra-kathÄḥ Å›ubhÄḥ
lÄ«lÄ vidadhataḥ svairam
Ä«Å›varasyÄtma-mÄyayÄ

 atha - therefore; ÄkhyÄhi - describe; hareḥ - of the Lord; dhÄ«man - O sagacious one; avatÄra - incarnations; kathÄḥ - narratives; Å›ubhÄḥ - auspicious; lÄ«lÄ - adventures; vidadhataḥ - performed; svairam - pastimes; Ä«Å›varasya - of the supreme controller; Ätma - personal; mÄyayÄ - energies.


Text

O wise Sūta, please narrate to us the transcendental pastimes of the Supreme Godhead’s multi-incarnations. Such auspicious adventures and pastimes of the Lord, the supreme controller, are performed by His internal powers.

Purport

For the creation, maintenance and destruction of the material worlds, the Supreme Lord Personality of Godhead Himself appears in many thousands of forms of incarnations, and the specific adventures found in those transcendental forms are all auspicious. Both those who are present during such activities and those who hear the transcendental narrations of such activities are benefited.