athÄpi kÄle sva-janÄbhiguptaye
bibhará¹£i sattvaá¹ khala-nigrahÄya ca
sva-lÄ«layÄ veda-pathaá¹ sanÄtanaá¹
varṇÄÅ›ramÄtmÄ puruá¹£aḥ paro bhavÄn

 atha api - nonetheless; kÄle - at the correct time; sva-jana - of Your devotees; abhiguptaye - for the protection; bibhará¹£i - You assume; sattvam - the mode of goodness; khala - of the wicked; nigrahÄya - for the punishment; ca - and; sva - Your; lÄ«layÄ - by the pastimes; veda-patham - the path of the Vedas; sanÄtanam - eternal; varṇa-ÄÅ›rama - of the divine system of occupational and spiritual divisions of society; ÄtmÄ - the Soul; puruá¹£aḥ - the Personality of Godhead; paraḥ - Supreme; bhavÄn - Your good self.


Text

Nonetheless, at suitable times You assume the pure mode of goodness to protect Your devotees and punish the wicked. Thus You, the Soul of the varṇÄÅ›rama social order, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, maintain the eternal path of the Vedas by enjoying Your pleasure pastimes.

Purport

This verse describes the Lord’s enlightening people in general (jana-saṅgraha) and His imitation of worldly behavior. Because the Personality of Godhead remains always perfect, the body He manifests when He comes to this world is not touched by material goodness; rather, it is a manifestation of the pure goodness known as viśuddha-sattva, the same spiritual substance that constitutes His original form.