CC Madhya 20.354 (1975)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Below is the 1996 edition text, ready to be substituted with the 1975 one using the compile form.
TEXT 354
- avatāra nāhi kahe—‘āmi avatāra’
- muni saba lāni’ kare lakṣaṇa-vicāra
SYNONYMS
avatāra—the actual incarnation of Godhead; nāhi—never; kahe—says; āmi avatāra—I am an incarnation; muni—the great sage Mahāmuni Vyāsadeva; saba jāni’—knowing all (past, present and future); kare lakṣaṇa-vicāra—describes the symptoms of the avatāras.
TRANSLATION
“An actual incarnation of God never says ‘I am God’ or ‘I am an incarnation of God.’ The great sage Vyāsadeva, knowing all, has already recorded the characteristics of the avatāras in the śāstras.
PURPORT
In this verse it is clearly stated that a real incarnation of God never claims to be a real incarnation. According to the symptoms described in the śāstra, one can understand who is an avatāra and who is not.