Text 22
dehādy-upādher anirūpitatvād
bhavo na sākṣān na bhidātmanaḥ syāt
ato na bandhas tava naiva mokṣaḥ
syātām nikāmas tvayi no ’vivekaḥ
deha — of the body; ādi — and so on; upādheḥ — as material, designative coverings; anirūpitatvāt — because of not being determined; bhavaḥ — birth; na — not; sākṣāt — literal; na — nor; bhidā — duality; ātmanaḥ — for the Supreme Soul; syāt — exists; ataḥ — therefore; na — no; bandhaḥ — bondage; tava — Your; na eva — nor, in fact; mokṣaḥ — liberation; syātām — if they occur; nikāmaḥ — by Your sweet will; tvayi — concerning You; naḥ — our; avivekaḥ — erroneous discrimination.
Since it has never been demonstrated that You are covered by material, bodily designations, it must be concluded that for You there is neither birth in a literal sense nor any duality. Therefore You never undergo bondage or liberation, and if You appear to, it is only because of Your desire that we see You in that way, or simply because of our lack of discrimination.
Here Akrūra states two reasons why the Lord appears to be covered by a material form, or to take birth like a human being. First, when Lord Kṛṣṇa executes His pastimes, His loving devotees think of Him as their beloved child, friend, lover and so on. In the ecstasy of this loving reciprocation, they do not think of Kṛṣṇa as God. For example, because of her extraordinary love for Him, mother Yaśodā worries that Kṛṣṇa will be injured in the forest. That she feels this way is the desire of the Lord, which is here indicated by the word nikāmaḥ. The second reason the Lord may appear material is indicated by the word avivekaḥ: Simply because of ignorance, a lack of discrimination, one may misunderstand the position of the Personality of Godhead. In the Eleventh Canto of the Bhāgavatam, in Lord Kṛṣṇa’s discussion with Śrī Uddhava, the Lord elaborately discusses His transcendental position beyond bondage and liberation. As stated in Vedic literature, deha-dehi-vibhago yaṁ neśvare vidyate kvacit: “There is never a distinction of body and soul in the Supreme Lord.” In other words, Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s body is eternal, spiritual, omniscient and the reservoir of all pleasure.