Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.90.47
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesKṛṣṇa’s Five Unique Glories
“The heavenly Ganges is a holy place of pilgrimage because her waters wash Lord Kṛṣṇa’s feet. But when the Lord descended among the Yadus, His glories eclipsed the Ganges as a holy place. Both those who hated Kṛṣṇa and those who loved Him attained eternal forms like His in the spiritual world. The unattainable and supremely self-satisfied goddess of fortune, for the sake of whose favor everyone else struggles, belongs to Him alone. His name destroys all inauspiciousness when heard or chanted. He alone has set forth the principles of the various disciplic successions of sages. What wonder is it that He, whose personal weapon is the wheel of time, relieved the burden of the earth?”
What the purport teaches
- Kṛṣṇa’s glories eclipsed the holiness of the Ganges, and the Yamunā became greater through contact with the dust of His feet. He liberated both devotees and enemies: devotees entered His eternal pastimes, while demons killed by Him merged into His divine form.
- Even Goddess Lakṣmī could not enter the intimate company of His devotees in Vraja, despite her austerities. His name destroys all inauspiciousness and illusion, surpassing other spiritual practices described in scripture.
- Kṛṣṇa restored religion’s four supports: compassion, austerity, cleanliness and truth. He also established Govardhana-pūjā and cultivated the unequaled love of Vraja’s cowherds.
Try this today
Spend one minute attentively chanting Kṛṣṇa’s name and listening to each repetition.
Ask yourself
Which of these glories most encourages me to hear Kṛṣṇa’s name and deepen my devotion?
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.