Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 9.20.21
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyKṛṣṇa Maintains All Living Entities
“The voice said: O Mahārāja Duṣmanta, a son actually belongs to his father, whereas the mother is only a container, like the skin of a bellows. According to Vedic injunctions, the father is born as the son. Therefore, maintain your own son and do not insult Śakuntalā.”
What the purport teaches
- The voice instructed Duṣmanta to maintain his son and not insult Śakuntalā. The purport explains the Vedic teaching that the father becomes the son and is responsible for his maintenance.
- Kṛṣṇa is the seed-giving father of all living entities. Although He is one, He supplies life's necessities to all, from the small ant to the elephant.
- Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the fully opulent Lord has no shortage of food. Material nature supplies or withholds food under His order, according to the living entity's position.
Try this today
Before eating today, pause to thank Kṛṣṇa for maintaining you.
Ask yourself
How can remembering Kṛṣṇa as everyone's maintaining father deepen my gratitude and responsibility?
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.