Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.19.12
Āśraya· The supreme shelterKṛṣṇa Is the Pure, Unattached Witness
“Nārada, the most powerful saintly sage, also worships Nara-Nārāyaṇa by chanting the following mantra: The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the master of the creation, maintenance and annihilation of this visible cosmic manifestation, yet He is completely free from false prestige. Although to the foolish He appears to have accepted a material body like us, He is unaffected by bodily tribulations like hunger, thirst and fatigue. Although He is the witness who sees everything, His senses are unpolluted by the objects He sees. Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto that unattached, pure witness of the world, the Supreme Soul, the Personality of Godhead.”
What the purport teaches
- Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has a body of eternity, transcendental bliss and full knowledge. He is never disturbed by hunger, thirst or fatigue.
- Although Kṛṣṇa creates the entire cosmic manifestation, He is not attached to it. Everything is His property, yet He remains completely free from false prestige.
- Kṛṣṇa sees everything and is present everywhere, but His senses are not polluted by what He sees. Nārada offers obeisances to this pure, unattached witness.
Try this today
Read the verse’s prayer once slowly, then offer your own respectful obeisances to Kṛṣṇa as the pure witness of the world.
Ask yourself
How does knowing that Kṛṣṇa is free from bodily limitations deepen my respect for 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.