Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 2.7.28
Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protectionThe Lord’s Merciful Glance Restores Life
“Then also when the cowherd boys and their animals drank the poisoned water of the river Yamunā, and after the Lord [in His childhood] revived them by His merciful glance, just to purify the water of the river Yamunā He jumped into it as if playing and chastised the venomous Kāliya snake, which was lurking there, its tongue emitting waves of poison. Who can perform such herculean tasks but the Supreme Lord?”
What the purport teaches
- The cowherd boys and their animals drank the poisoned water of the Yamunā. The Lord revived them with His merciful glance.
- To purify the river, the Lord jumped into it as if playing. He chastised the venomous Kāliya snake, whose tongue emitted waves of poison.
- These extraordinary deeds reveal the Lord’s supreme power. Such tasks cannot be performed by anyone other than the Supreme Lord.
Try this today
Offer a short prayer of appreciation for the Lord’s life-restoring mercy described in this verse.
Ask yourself
What touches me most about the Lord’s mercy toward the cowherd boys and their animals?
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.