Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 2.7.1
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesThe Lord Maintains His Creation
“Lord Brahmā said: When the unlimitedly powerful Lord assumed the form of a boar as a pastime, just to lift the planet earth, which was drowned in the great ocean of the universe called the Garbhodaka, the first demon [Hiraṇyākṣa] appeared, and the Lord pierced him with His tusk.”
What the purport teaches
- The unlimitedly powerful Lord assumed a gigantic boar form to lift the earth from the Garbhodaka Ocean. He acted as the maintainer of the whole material creation.
- A genuine incarnation is not a product of imagination. The Lord appears under extraordinary circumstances and performs tasks beyond human capacity.
- Hiraṇyākṣa tried to disturb the Lord’s work and was killed by Him. Śrī Jayadeva Gosvāmī glorifies the Supreme Lord carrying the earth on His tusks.
Try this today
Read Śrī Jayadeva Gosvāmī’s prayer in the purport aloud once, reflecting on the Lord as the maintainer.
Ask yourself
How does the Lord’s care for His creation deepen your appreciation of Him?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.