tasya - before him (King Rantideva); tri-bhuvana-adhīśāḥ - the controllers of the three worlds (demigods like Brahmā and Śiva); phaladāḥ - who can bestow all fruitive results; phalam icchatām - of persons who desire material benefit; ātmānam - their own identities; darśayām cakruḥ - manifested; māyāḥ - the illusory energy; viṣṇu - by Lord Viṣṇu; vinirmitāḥ - created.

Demigods like Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, who can satisfy all materially ambitious men by giving them the rewards they desire, then manifested their own identities before King Rantideva, for it was they who had presented themselves as the brāhmaṇa, śūdra, caṇḍāla and so on.