Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.13.42
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesKṛṣṇa Surpasses Brahmā’s Mystic Power
“A similar number of boys and calves have been playing with Kṛṣṇa for one whole year, yet they are different from the ones illusioned by my mystic potency. Who are they? Where did they come from?”
What the purport teaches
- Although appearing like calves, cows and cowherd boys, these forms were all Viṣṇu. They were viṣṇu-tattva, not jīva-tattva.
- Brahmā was surprised that another assembly had kept company with Kṛṣṇa for a whole year while the originals remained where he had placed them.
- Without touching the original cows and cowherd boys, Kṛṣṇa had created another assembly of His own expansions. Thus Brahmā’s mystic power was superseded.
Try this today
Write one sentence explaining why the new assembly was not a group of ordinary living beings.
Ask yourself
What does Brahmā’s surprise show you about the limits of his mystic power?
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.