Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 8.1.2
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesRecognize Incarnations Through Scripture
“O learned brāhmaṇa, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the great learned persons who are completely intelligent describe the activities and appearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead during the various manvantaras. We are very eager to hear about these narrations. Kindly describe them.”
What the purport teaches
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead has different varieties of incarnations, all described in the śāstras. No one should be accepted as an incarnation without scriptural support.
- An incarnation's identity must be confirmed by the śāstras and by wonderful activities. These activities are not ordinary magic or jugglery.
- Parīkṣit Mahārāja eagerly wanted to hear about the Manus of different ages. There are fourteen Manus during a day of Brahmā, and each Manu's age lasts seventy-one yugas.
Try this today
Note these two standards for recognizing an incarnation: scriptural support and wonderful activities, not ordinary magic.
Ask yourself
Do I look for scriptural support before accepting claims about an incarnation?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.