The unintelligent, the undiscerning, think Me, the unmanifest, the unrevealed, to have now come into manifestation, to have arrived at the revealed state, though I am the ever-renowned Lord. Not knowing My supreme state, My nature as the supreme Self, not knowing My imperishable, unsurpassed, matchless state, they think so. What is the cause of that ignorance? It is told.

I, the Lord of all, to be worshipped by all actions, whose own form and own nature cannot be bounded by speech and mind, out of supreme compassion and out of tender love for those who take refuge in Me, so that all might take refuge in Me, have come down as the son of Vasudeva without giving up My own nature. Not knowing this supreme state of Mine, imperishable and unsurpassed, the unwise think Me, who am like the son of an ordinary king, to be one who, unmanifest before, has now, by the sway of karma, gained a particular birth and come to manifestation; so they do not resort to Me, nor worship Me with actions. Why is He not made manifest thus? To this the Lord speaks.

What is your distinction from others? To that Krishna says, with 'the unmanifest'. 'Unmanifest' means free of an effect-body and the rest. But you are perceived as if possessing such a body; to that He says, 'come to manifestation', which means as though come to an effect-body and the rest. So it is said, 'beyond the existent and the non-existent', 'He has no effect', 'without hands and feet' (Shvetashvatara Upanishad 3.19), 'they think the Person, whose body is bliss, to have a body in the secondary sense', and the like. 'The disposition' (bhava) means the way He truly is; and so it is said, 'not knowing the true state of the Supreme, they are deluded about Him', and the like.