Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.8.29
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesThe Lord Is His Own Support
“As a sandalwood tree is decorated with fragrant flowers and branches, the Lord’s body was decorated with valuable jewels and pearls. He was the self-situated tree, the Lord of all others in the universe. And as a sandalwood tree is covered with many snakes, so the Lord’s body was also covered by the hoods of Ananta.”
What the purport teaches
- The Lord’s jeweled and pearl-decorated body was compared to a sandalwood tree with fragrant flowers and branches. The hoods of Ananta covered Him.
- Unlike an ordinary tree whose roots are unseen, the Lord is His own root. No separate cause supports His existence.
- The Vedas describe Him as svāśrayāśraya: He is His own support. Here avyakta refers to the Supreme Lord Himself and no one else.
Try this today
Pause today to reflect on this teaching: the Supreme Lord is His own support and has no separate cause.
Ask yourself
How does knowing that the Lord needs no other support shape my understanding 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.