Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 12.8.41
Āśraya· The supreme shelterThe Lord Appears for Everyone’s Ultimate Benefit
“O Supreme Personality of Godhead, these two personal forms of Yours have appeared to bestow the ultimate benefit for the three worlds — the cessation of material misery and the conquest of death. My Lord, although You create this universe and then assume many transcendental forms to protect it, You also swallow it up, just like a spider who spins and later withdraws its web.”
What the purport teaches
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead’s two personal forms appeared for the ultimate benefit of the three worlds.
- That benefit is the cessation of material misery and the conquest of death.
- The Lord creates the universe, assumes many transcendental forms to protect it and later withdraws it. Mārkaṇḍeya compares this to a spider spinning and withdrawing its web.
Try this today
Offer a short prayer of gratitude for the Lord’s forms that appear for the world’s ultimate benefit.
Ask yourself
How does the Lord’s purpose in appearing deepen your appreciation of His protection?
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.