Avatarika
दक्षिणेन पथा गच्छतामन्नभाव उक्तः—'तद्देवानामन्नम्''तं देवा भक्षयन्ति' इति ; क्षुद्रजन्तुलक्षणा च कष्टा संसार-गतिरुक्ता ।तदुभयदोषपरिजिहीर्षया वैश्वानरात्तृभावप्रति-पत्त्यर्थमुत्तरो ग्रन्थ आरभ्यते, 'अत्स्यन्नं पश्यसि प्रियम्'इत्यादिलिङ्गात् ।आख्यायिका तु सुखावबोधार्था विद्यासंप्र-दानन्यायप्रदर्शनार्थी च—
In plain words
For those who travel by the southern path, the scripture declares they become food—saying 'That is the food of the gods' and 'The gods consume him'—along with the painful journey of repeated birth as tiny creatures. Wishing to avoid both these evils and to establish the status of being an 'eater' through the meditation on Vaiśvānara, the subsequent text begins, as indicated by scriptural passages like 'You eat food and behold what is dear'. The opening narrative is simply introduced to make the teaching easy to grasp and to show the traditional way in which sacred knowledge is handed down.
Close to the Sanskrit
For those going by the southern path, the state of being food has been stated—'That is the food of the gods', 'The gods consume him'—and the painful transmigratory course characterized by tiny creatures has been stated. With the desire to avoid both those faults, for the purpose of attaining the status of an eater through Vaiśvānara, the subsequent text is commenced, from the indicative mark such as 'You eat food, you see what is pleasing'. But the narrative is for the purpose of easy comprehension and for showing the method of imparting knowledge.