Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.20.18
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesThe Supreme Lord Is Materially Unbound
“When the curved bow of Indra [the rainbow] appeared in the sky, which had the quality of thundering sound, it was unlike ordinary bows because it did not rest upon a string. Similarly, when the Supreme Lord appears in this world, which is the interaction of the material qualities, He is unlike ordinary persons because He remains free from all material qualities and independent of all material conditions.”
What the purport teaches
- The rainbow appears as a curved bow without a string, unlike an ordinary bow that depends on a bowstring.
- Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead may appear like an ordinary human being when He descends, but He does not depend on any material condition.
- The Lord appears by His internal potency, free from the bondage of the external potency. What binds an ordinary living creature does not bind Him.
Try this today
Reread the translation today and pause over the Lord’s independence from all material conditions.
Ask yourself
Do I mistakenly think the Supreme Lord is limited by the conditions that limit me?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.