Bhagavad Gita · Jnana Vijnana YogaChapter 7, Shloka 24 (7.24)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
अव्यक्तं व्यक्तिमापन्नं मन्यन्ते मामबुद्धयः
परं भावमजानन्तो ममाव्ययमनुत्तमम्
॥ 7.24 ॥
avyaktaṃ vyaktimāpannaṃ manyante māmabuddhayaḥ
paraṃ bhāvamajānanto mamāvyayamanuttamam
Translation
"Not knowing my imperishable and supreme highest nature, people without discernment think of me as 'unmanifest before, now manifested (in an ordinary form)'."
Interpretation
Shankaracharya. Avyaktam aprakāśaṃ vyaktim āpannaṃ prakāśaṃ gatam idānīṃ manyante māṃ nitya-prasiddham īśvaram api santam — I am the eternally established Ishvara, yet people think I was unmanifest before and have now become manifest; paraṃ bhāvaṃ paramātma-svarūpam ajānantaḥ.
Acharya Ramanuja — the purpose of the avatara. Sarvaiḥ karmabhiḥ ārādhyaḥ ahaṃ sarveśvaraḥ … parama-kāruṇyād āśrita-vātsalyāt ca sarva-samāśrayaṇīyatvāya ajahat-svabhāva eva vasudeva-sūnuḥ avatīrṇaḥ — I, the Lord of all, out of supreme compassion and tender love for those who depend on me, so as to become a refuge accessible to all, descended as the son of Vasudeva without giving up my own nature; not knowing this, people take me to be prākṛta-rāja-sūnu-samānam … karma-vaśād janma-viśeṣaṃ prāpya — like an ordinary prince, born under the sway of karma; ato māṃ na śrayante — and so they do not take refuge in me.
The difference: Shankara — Ishvara is eternal, the manifestation is an appearance; Ramanuja — the avatara is real, born of compassion, without giving up his nature (like the reading of 4.6).
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.