Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.19.6
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesWitnesses Do Not Know the Lord’s Reality
“As the discus began to revolve in the Lord’s hands and the Lord contended at close quarters with the chief of His Vaikuṇṭha attendants, who had been born as Hiraṇyākṣa, a vile son of Diti, there issued from every direction strange expressions uttered by those who were witnessing from airplanes. They had no knowledge of the Lord’s reality, and they cried, “May victory attend You! Pray dispatch him. Play no more with him.””
What the purport teaches
- The discus revolved in the Lord’s hands as He contended at close quarters with Hiraṇyākṣa.
- Hiraṇyākṣa, described as a vile son of Diti, was the chief of the Lord’s Vaikuṇṭha attendants who had taken this birth.
- Witnesses in airplanes did not know the Lord’s reality. They called for His victory and urged Him to dispatch the demon rather than continue playing with him.
Try this today
Reread the verse and identify one fact about the Lord’s opponent that outward appearances did not reveal.
Ask yourself
How does the witnesses’ limited understanding encourage humility in my own reading?
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.