Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.1.3
Nirodha· Winding upEarthly Power Passes; Kṛṣṇa’s Associates Remain
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead used the Yadu dynasty, which was protected by His own arms, to eliminate the kings who with their armies had been the burden of this earth. Then the unfathomable Lord thought to Himself, “Although some may say that the earth’s burden is now gone, in My opinion it is not yet gone, because there still remains the Yādava dynasty itself, whose strength is unbearable for the earth.””
What the purport teaches
- Kṛṣṇa saw a remaining burden in His own powerful dynasty. His consideration teaches that family closeness does not excuse indifference to His will.
- Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains that the Yadus are eternal associates of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, not ordinary irreligious persons. Their apparent indifference was part of the Lord’s arrangement to teach conditioned souls.
- Their sudden loss of earthly possessions and lives shows that no material position is permanent. Their disappearance was not annihilation: they went with the Lord beyond our sight.
Try this today
During one ordinary activity today, such as walking or sitting, deliberately remember Kṛṣṇa, following the Yadus’ absorption in Him.
Ask yourself
How would remembering the temporary nature of worldly position change what I value today?
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.