Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.89.48-49
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesKṛṣṇa’s Apparent Limits Serve His Pastimes
“In that darkness the chariot’s horses — Śaibya, Sugrīva, Meghapuṣpa and Balāhaka — lost their way. Seeing them in this condition, O best of the Bhāratas, Lord Kṛṣṇa, the supreme master of all masters of yoga, sent His Sudarśana disc before the chariot. That disc shone like thousands of suns.”
What the purport teaches
- Śaibya, Sugrīva, Meghapuṣpa and Balāhaka appeared to lose their way in the darkness. Kṛṣṇa sent His Sudarśana disc ahead, shining like thousands of suns.
- Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains that these horses had descended from Vaikuṇṭha to participate in the Lord’s earthly pastimes.
- Kṛṣṇa was pretending to be a finite human being, and His horses acted confused to enhance the drama for future hearers. He remains the supreme master of all masters of yoga.
Try this today
Reread this pastime once, remembering that the horses’ confusion was an act within the Lord’s pastime, not a limit on His mastery.
Ask yourself
How does the purport change my understanding of the horses’ apparent confusion?
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.