Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.18.6
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesThe Lord Protects Vedic Knowledge
“At the end of the millennium, ignorance personified assumed the form of a demon, stole all the Vedas and took them down to the planet of Rasātala. The Supreme Lord, however, in His form of Hayagrīva retrieved the Vedas and returned them to Lord Brahmā when he begged for them. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, whose determination never fails.”
What the purport teaches
- Vedic knowledge is imperishable, but in the material world it is sometimes manifest and sometimes not. It disappears when people become too absorbed in ignorance.
- Lord Hayagrīva retrieved the stolen Vedas from Rasātala and returned them to Lord Brahmā when he asked. The Supreme Lord’s determination never fails.
- The Lord always protects Vedic knowledge, which is distributed again through Lord Brahmā in due course. Brahmā is His trustworthy representative.
Try this today
Spend a few attentive minutes studying this verse and its purport, then offer respectful obeisances to the Supreme Lord.
Ask yourself
Do I value Vedic knowledge as a treasure protected by the Lord?
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.