Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.85.20
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesThe Unborn Lord Appears by His Potency
“Indeed, while still in the maternity room You told us that You, the unborn Lord, had already been born several times as our son in previous ages. After manifesting each of these transcendental bodies to protect Your own principles of religion, You then made them unmanifest, thus appearing and disappearing like a cloud. O supremely glorified, all-pervading Lord, who can understand the mystic, deluding potency of Your opulent expansions?”
What the purport teaches
- Although unborn, the Lord had appeared as Vasudeva and Devakī's son in previous ages. His transcendental bodies appear to protect His own principles of religion.
- Lord Kṛṣṇa first appeared to them in their previous lives as Sutapā and Pṛśni, and later as Kaśyapa and Aditi. His appearance as the son of Vasudeva and Devakī was the third.
- The Lord manifests His transcendental bodies and then makes them unmanifest, appearing and disappearing like a cloud. Vasudeva wonders who can understand the mystic potency of His opulent expansions.
Try this today
Read the translation slowly and pause at “the unborn Lord” to reflect on the transcendental nature of His birth.
Ask yourself
How does knowing that the Lord is unborn affect my understanding of His appearances?
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.