Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 12.11.14-15
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesContemplate the Meanings of the Lord’s Weapons
“The club the Lord carries is the chief element, prāṇa, incorporating the potencies of sensory, mental and physical strength. His excellent conchshell is the element water, His Sudarśana disc the element fire, and His sword, pure as the sky, the element ether. His shield embodies the mode of ignorance, His bow, named Śārṅga, time, and His arrow-filled quiver the working sensory organs.”
What the purport teaches
- The Lord’s club is the chief element, prāṇa, incorporating sensory, mental and physical strength.
- His conchshell is water, His Sudarśana disc is fire, and His sword, pure as the sky, is ether.
- His shield embodies the mode of ignorance, His bow Śārṅga is time, and His arrow-filled quiver is the working sensory organs.
Try this today
Write down one of the Lord’s weapons and its meaning, then contemplate that connection for a minute.
Ask yourself
How do these representations help me remember the Lord when I think about strength, the elements or time?
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.