Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.13.40
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesThe Earth’s Beauty in the Lord’s Care
“O lifter of the earth, the earth with its mountains, which You have lifted with Your tusks, is situated as beautifully as a lotus flower with leaves sustained by an infuriated elephant just coming out of the water.”
What the purport teaches
- The earth is praised as fortunate because the Lord specifically sustains it.
- The world, with its beautiful mountains, rested on Lord Boar’s tusks.
- Its beauty is compared to a lotus flower with leaves held by an elephant emerging from the water. The comparison expresses appreciation for the earth as the Lord holds it.
Try this today
Notice one beautiful feature of the earth today and offer a brief prayer of appreciation to the Lord who sustains it.
Ask yourself
How does seeing the earth as sustained by the Lord change your appreciation of its beauty?
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.