Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.44.5
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesThe Lords Only Appeared to Be Hurt
“Forcefully lifting and carrying each other, pushing each other away and holding each other down, the fighters hurt even their own bodies in their great eagerness for victory.”
What the purport teaches
- The fighters forcefully lifted and carried each other, pushed each other away and held each other down.
- Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains that Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma did not harm Themselves. They only appeared to do so to Cāṇūra, Muṣṭika and others of mundane vision.
- The Lords were fully absorbed in the pastime of being wrestlers.
Try this today
Pause today to remember Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma’s wrestling pastime without mistaking Their apparent injury for actual harm.
Ask yourself
How does this purport help me distinguish the Lords’ pastime from its outward appearance?
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.