Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 11 Chapter 31 Verse 13

Canto 11: General History | Chapter 31: The Disappearance of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.31.13

tathāpy aśeṣa-sthiti-sambhavāpyayeṣv

ananya-hetur yad aśeṣa-śakti-dhṛk

naicchat praṇetuḿ vapur atra śeṣitaḿ

martyena kiḿ sva-stha-gatiḿ pradarśayan

SYNONYMS

tathā api — nevertheless; aśeṣa — of all created beings; sthiti — in the maintenance; sambhava — creation; apyayeṣu — and annihilation; ananya-hetuḥ — the exclusive cause; yat — because; aśeṣa — unlimited; śakti — potencies; dhṛk — possessing; na aicchat — He did not desire; praṇetum — to keep; vapuḥ — His transcendental body; atra — here; śeṣitam — remaining; martyena — with this mortal world; kim — what use; sva-stha — of those who are fixed in Him; gatim — the destination; pradarśayan — showing.

TRANSLATION

Although Lord Kṛṣṇa, being the possessor of infinite powers, is the only cause of the creation, maintenance and destruction of innumerable living beings, He simply did not desire to keep His body in this world any longer. Thus He revealed the destination of those fixed in the self and demonstrated that this mortal world is of no intrinsic value.

PURPORT

Although Lord Kṛṣṇa descended to this world to save the fallen souls, He did not want to encourage people in the future to loiter here unnecessarily. In other words, as soon as possible one should perfect one's Kṛṣṇa consciousness and go back home, back to Godhead. If Lord Kṛṣṇa had remained longer on the earth, He would have unnecessarily increased the prestige of the material world.

As stated by Śrī Uddhava in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.2.11), ādāyāntar adhād yas tu sva-bimbaḿ loka-locanam: "Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who manifested His eternal form before the vision of all on the earth, performed His disappearance by removing His form from the sight of those who are unable to see Him [as He is] due to not executing the required penance. " Uddhava also states in the Bhāgavatam (3.2.10):

devasya māyayā spṛṣṭā

ye cānyad-asad-āśritāḥ

bhrāmyate dhīr na tad-vākyair

ātmany uptātmano harau

"Under no circumstances can the words of persons bewildered by the illusory energy of the Lord deviate the intelligence of those who are completely surrendered souls." One who follows the Vaiṣṇava authorities in his attempt to understand Lord Kṛṣṇa's transcendental disappearance easily appreciates that the Lord is the omnipotent Personality of Godhead and that His spiritual body is identical with His eternal spiritual potency.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
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