Lord Krishna
Divine TeacherThe Supreme Lord, the charioteer and divine guide of Arjuna. Krishna delivers the eternal wisdom of the Gita, revealing the nature of the soul, duty, and the path to liberation.
Speaking: Chapter 4, Verse 6
Verse 6
Hard VerseThe Yoga of Knowledge and Action
Although I am unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the Lord of all living entities, I still appear in every millennium in My original transcendental form.
Context & Meaning
Though eternal and unborn, Krishna takes birth through His own divine power (yoga-maya), not compelled by karma as ordinary souls are — His appearance is a free, conscious act of grace.
Scholar Commentaries
2 commentaries · Public domainAdi Shankaracharya
Advaita VedantaThe word "ātmamāyayā" — by My own maya — is crucial. Ordinary beings are controlled by maya; the Supreme controls maya. His birth is therefore not a bondage but a free descent. This is the fundamental difference between avatāra (divine descent) and janma (birth from karma).
Ramanujacharya
VishishtadvaitaKrishna here distinguishes His appearance from the compelled birth of conditioned souls. He takes on a divine body of His own will, through His own inscrutable power, to fulfil the purpose of protecting the righteous. His body is not material but made of pure sattva — eternally perfect.