Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 6.12.27-29
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesVṛtrāsura Swallows Indra and Airāvata
“Vṛtrāsura was very powerful in physical strength and influence. He placed his lower jaw on the ground and his upper jaw in the sky. His mouth became very deep, like the sky itself, and his tongue resembled a large serpent. With his fearful, deathlike teeth, he seemed to be trying to devour the entire universe. Thus assuming a gigantic body, the great demon Vṛtrāsura shook even the mountains and began crushing the surface of the earth with his legs, as if he were the Himālayas walking about. He came before Indra and swallowed him and Airāvata, his carrier, just as a big python might swallow an elephant.”
What the purport teaches
- Vṛtrāsura displayed immense physical strength and influence. His lower jaw reached the ground and his upper jaw the sky.
- His tongue resembled a large serpent, and his teeth appeared fearful and deathlike. His gigantic body shook the mountains and crushed the earth, as if the Himālayas were walking.
- He swallowed Indra together with his carrier, Airāvata. The translation compares this to a big python swallowing an elephant.
Try this today
Choose one comparison from the translation and write what it describes.
Ask yourself
How do these comparisons convey Vṛtrāsura’s extraordinary size and power?
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.