Shaktyavesha Avatar

Text 16 Sri Nārada said: In the Smrti-śāstra the great sages who have Vyāsa as their leader explain that the Lord descends in six kinds of forms: 1. amsamsa (a part of a part), 2. amsa (a part), 3. āvesha (entrance into a jiva), 4. kalā (a full part), 5. pūrna (full), and 6. paripūrnatama (most full).

Text 17 The amsamsa incarnations begin with Marici, the amsā incarnations begin with Brahmā, the kalā incarnations begin with Kapila and Kūrmā, and the āvesha incarnations begin with Parashurāma.

Text 18 The Smrti-shāstra explains that the pūrna incarnations are 1. Nrsimha, 2. Rāma, 3. Lord Hari, the ruler of Shvetadvīpa, 4. Vaikuntha, 5. Yajna, and 6. Nara-Nārāyana.

Text 19 The paripūrnatama form of the Lord is Sri Krishna, who is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. He is the master of countless universes. He is splendidly manifest in the realm of Goloka.

Text 20 The amsa incarnations are said to oversee the execution of the Lord's mission (in the world). The amsāmsa incarnations are understood to perform the work of executing those missions.

Text 21 O great soul, O king, please know that in the various āveśa incarnations Lord Vishnu enters (a jiva), executes His mission, and then departs.

Text 22 Millennium after millennium Lord Hari's kalā incarnations teach and establish the principles of religion, and then disappear.

Text 23 The pūrna incarnations are said to include the catur-vyūha incarnations. They are said to be the places where heroic powers and the nine rasas are seen.

Text 24 Others say that the form of the Lord where all powers and glories enter is His paripūrnatama form, the original form of the Lord Himself.

Text 25 The transcendental qualities people see distributed among the Lord's pūrna incarnations are all present in the Lord's original, paripūrnatama form.

Text 26 The Lord's original, paripūrṇatama form is Sri Krishna and no one else. Coming (to this world) to execute one mission, He executes millions of missions.

Text 27 He is perfect and complete. He is the oldest. He is the most exalted of exalted persons. He is greater than the greatest. He is the Supreme Person. He is the master of the exalted. Of He who is full of bliss, who is jewel-mine of mercy, who is a jewel-mine of transcendental virtues, I take shelter.

yugāvatāra, āra śaktyāveśāvatāra

"There are incarnations that control the material qualities [guṇa-avatāras], incarnations who appear during the reign of each Manu [manvantara-avatāras], incarnations in different millenniums [yuga-avatāras] and incarnations of empowered living entities [śaktyāveśa-avatāras]."
Purport The śaktyāveśa-avatāras are categorized into (1) forms of divine absorption (bhagavad-āveśa), such as Kapiladeva or Ṛṣabhadeva, and (2) divinely empowered forms (śaktyāveśa), of whom seven are foremost: (1) Śeṣa Nāga in the Vaikuṇṭha world, empowered for the personal service of the Supreme Lord (sva-sevana-śakti), (2) Anantadeva, empowered to bear all the planets within the universe (bhū-dhāraṇa-śakti), (3) Lord Brahmā, empowered with the energy to create the cosmic manifestation (sṛṣṭi-śakti), (4) Catuḥsana, or the Kumāras, specifically empowered to distribute transcendental knowledge (jñāna-śakti), (5) Nārada Muni, empowered to distribute devotional service (bhakti-śakti), (6) Mahārāja Pṛthu, specifically empowered to rule and maintain the living entities (pālana-śakti) and (7) Paraśurāma, specifically empowered to cut down rogues and demons (duṣṭa-damana-śakti).

CC Madhya 20.368: "Empowered incarnations are of two types — primary and secondary. The primary ones are directly empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead and are called incarnations. The secondary ones are indirectly empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead and are called vibhūti.

CC Madhya 20.369: "Some śaktyāveśa-avatāras are the four Kumāras, Nārada, Mahārāja Pṛthu and Paraśurāma. When a living being is empowered to act as Lord Brahmā, he is also considered a śaktyāveśa-avatāra.

CC Madhya 20.370: "Lord Śeṣa in the spiritual world of Vaikuṇṭha and, in the material world, Lord Ananta, who carries innumerable planets on His hoods, are two primary empowered incarnations. There is no need to count the others, for they are unlimited.

CC Madhya 20.371: "The power of knowledge was invested in the four Kumāras, and the power of devotional service was invested in Nārada. The power of creation was invested in Lord Brahmā, and the power to carry innumerable planets was invested in Lord Ananta.

CC Madhya 20.372: "The Supreme Personality of Godhead invested the power of personal service in Lord Śeṣa, and He invested the power to rule the earth in King Pṛthu. Lord Paraśurāma received the power to kill rogues and miscreants.

CC Madhya 20.373: "'Whenever the Lord is present in someone by portions of His various potencies, the living entity representing the Lord is called a śaktyāveśa-avatāra — that is, an incarnation invested with special power.'