Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.18.15
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesThe Lord Always Acts Spiritually
“Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: In the tract of land called Ketumāla-varṣa, Lord Viṣṇu lives in the form of Kāmadeva, only for the satisfaction of His devotees. These include Lakṣmījī [the goddess of fortune], the Prajāpati Saṁvatsara and all of Saṁvatsara’s sons and daughters. The daughters of Prajāpati are considered the controlling deities of the nights, and his sons are considered the controllers of the days. The Prajāpati’s offspring number 36,000, one for each day and each night in the lifetime of a human being. At the end of each year, the Prajāpati’s daughters become very agitated upon seeing the extremely effulgent disc of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thus they all suffer miscarriages.”
What the purport teaches
- Lord Viṣṇu lives in Ketumāla-varṣa as Kāmadeva for the satisfaction of His devotees, including Lakṣmījī.
- This Kāmadeva, who appears as Kṛṣṇa’s son Pradyumna, is viṣṇu-tattva. Although He accepts a material body in this form, He still acts spiritually.
- The Lord can act spiritually in any condition of existence. Opinions that regard even Kṛṣṇa’s body as material cannot impede His spiritual activity.
Try this today
Reread the purport once, paying attention to the Lord’s freedom to act spiritually in every condition.
Ask yourself
How does this teaching help me avoid judging the Lord by material limitations?
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.