Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: Canto 3: “The Status Quo”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter Three
The Lord’s Pastimes Out of Vṛndāvana
SB3.3.1
TEXT 1
uddhava uvāca
tataḥ sa āgatya puraṁ sva-pitroś
cikīrṣayā śaṁ baladeva-saṁyutaḥ
nipātya tuṅgād ripu-yūtha-nāthaṁ
hataṁ vyakarṣad vyasum ojasorvyām
SYNONYMS
uddhavaḥ uvāca—Śrī Uddhava said; tataḥ—thereafter; saḥ—the Lord; āgatya—coming; puram—to the city of Mathurā; sva-pitroḥ—own parents; cikīrṣayā—wishing well; śam—well-being; baladeva-saṁyutaḥ—with Lord Baladeva; nipātya—dragging down; tuṅgāt—from the throne; ripu-yūtha-nātham—leader of public enemies; hatam—killed; vyakarṣat—pulled; vyasum—dead; ojasā—by strength; urvyām—on the ground.
TRANSLATION
Śrī Uddhava said: Thereafter Lord Kṛṣṇa went to Mathurā City with Śrī Baladeva, and to please Their parents They dragged Kaṁsa, the leader of public enemies, down from his throne and killed him, pulling him along the ground with great strength.
PURPORT
King Kaṁsa’s death is only briefly described here because such pastimes are vividly and elaborately described in the Tenth Canto. The Lord proved to be a worthy son of His parents even at the age of sixteen years. Both brothers, Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Baladeva, went to Mathurā from Vṛndāvana and killed Their maternal uncle, who had given so much trouble to Their parents, Vasudeva and Devakī. Kaṁsa was a great giant, and Vasudeva and Devakī never thought that Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma (Baladeva) would be able to kill such a great and strong enemy. When the two brothers attacked Kaṁsa on the throne, Their parents feared that now Kaṁsa would finally get the opportunity to kill their sons, whom they had hidden for so long in the house of Nanda Mahārāja. The parents of the Lord, due to parental affection, felt extreme danger, and they almost fainted. Just to convince them that They had actually killed Kaṁsa, Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva pulled Kaṁsa’s dead body along the ground to encourage them.
SB3.3.2 TEXT 2 sāndīpaneḥ sakṛt proktaṁ brahmādhītya sa-vistaram tasmai prādād varaṁ putraṁ mṛtaṁ pañca-janodarāt SYNONYMS sāndīpaneḥ—of Sāndīpani Muni; sakṛt—once only; proktam—instructed; brahma—all the Vedas with their different branches of knowledge; adhītya—after studying; sa-vistaram—in all details; tasmai—unto him; prādāt—rewarded; varam—a benediction; putram—his son; mṛtam—who was already dead; pañca-jana—the region of the departed souls; udarāt—from within.
TRANSLATION The Lord learned all the Vedas with their different branches simply by hearing them once from His teacher, Sāndīpani Muni, whom He rewarded by bringing back his dead son from the region of Yamaloka. PURPORT No one but the Supreme Lord can become well versed in all the branches of Vedic wisdom simply by hearing once from his teacher. Nor can anyone bring a dead body back to life after the soul has already gone to the region of Yamarāja. But Lord Kṛṣṇa ventured to the planet of Yamaloka and found the dead son of His teacher and brought him back to his father as a reward for the instructions received. The Lord is constitutionally well versed in all the Vedas, and yet to teach by example that everyone must go to learn the Vedas from an authorized teacher and must satisfy the teacher by service and reward, He Himself adopted this system. The Lord offered His services to His teacher, Sāndīpani Muni, and the muni, knowing the power of the Lord, asked something which was impossible to be done by anyone else. The teacher asked that his beloved son, who had died, be brought back to him, and the Lord fulfilled the request. The Lord is not, therefore, an ingrate to anyone who renders Him some sort of service. The devotees of the Lord who always engage in His loving service are never to be disappointed in the progressive march of devotional service.
SB3.3.3 TEXT 3 samāhutā bhīṣmaka-kanyayā ye śriyaḥ savarṇena bubhūṣayaiṣām gāndharva-vṛttyā miṣatāṁ sva-bhāgaṁ jahre padaṁ mūrdhni dadhat suparṇaḥ SYNONYMS samāhutāḥ—invited; bhīṣmaka—of King Bhīṣmaka; kanyayā—by the daughter; ye—all those; śriyaḥ—fortune; sa-varṇena—by a similar sequence; bubhūṣayā—expecting to be so; eṣām—of them; gāndharva—in marrying; vṛttyā—by such a custom; miṣatām—carrying so; sva-bhāgam—own share; jahre—took away; padam—feet; mūrdhni—on the head; dadhat—placed; suparṇaḥ—Garuḍa.
TRANSLATION Attracted by the beauty and fortune of Rukmiṇī, the daughter of King Bhīṣmaka, many great princes and kings assembled to marry her. But Lord Kṛṣṇa, stepping over the other hopeful candidates, carried her away as His own share, as Garuḍa carried away nectar. PURPORT Princess Rukmiṇī, the daughter of King Bhīṣmaka, was actually as attractive as fortune itself because she was as valuable as gold both in color and in value. Since the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī, is the property of the Supreme Lord, Rukmiṇī was actually meant for Lord Kṛṣṇa. But Śiśupāla was selected as her bridegroom by Rukmiṇī’s elder brother, although King Bhīṣmaka wanted his daughter to be married to Kṛṣṇa. Rukmiṇī invited Kṛṣṇa to take her away from the clutches of Śiśupāla, so when the bridegroom, Śiśupāla, came there with his party with the desire to marry Rukmiṇī, Kṛṣṇa all of a sudden swept her from the scene, stepping over the heads of all the princes there, just as Garuḍa carried away nectar from the hands of the demons. This incident will be clearly explained in the Tenth Canto.
SB3.3.4 TEXT 4 kakudmino ’viddha-naso damitvā svayaṁvare nāgnajitīm uvāha tad-bhagnamānān api gṛdhyato ’jñāñ jaghne ’kṣataḥ śastra-bhṛtaḥ sva-śastraiḥ SYNONYMS kakudminaḥ—bulls whose noses were not pierced; aviddha-nasaḥ—pierced by the nose; damitvā—subduing; svayaṁvare—in the open competition to select the bridegroom; nāgnajitīm—Princess Nāgnijitī; uvāha—married; tat-bhagnamānān—in that way all who were disappointed; api—even though; gṛdhyataḥ—wanted; ajñān—the fools; jaghne—killed and wounded; akṣataḥ—without being wounded; śastra-bhṛtaḥ—equipped with all weapons; sva-śastraiḥ—by His own weapons.
TRANSLATION By subduing seven bulls whose noses were not pierced, the Lord achieved the hand of Princess Nāgnijitī in the open competition to select her bridegroom. Although the Lord was victorious, His competitors asked the hand of the princess, and thus there was a fight. Well equipped with weapons, the Lord killed or wounded all of them, but He was not hurt Himself. SB3.3.5 TEXT 5 priyaṁ prabhur grāmya iva priyāyā vidhitsur ārcchad dyutaruṁ yad-arthe vajry ādravat taṁ sa-gaṇo ruṣāndhaḥ krīḍā-mṛgo nūnam ayaṁ vadhūnām SYNONYMS priyam—of the dear wife; prabhuḥ—the Lord; grāmyaḥ—ordinary living being; iva—in the manner of; priyāyāḥ—just to please; vidhitsuḥ—wishing; ārcchat—brought about; dyutarum—the pārijāta flower tree; yat—for which; arthe—in the matter of; vajrī—Indra, the King of heaven; ādravat tam—went forward to fight with Him; sa-gaṇaḥ—with full strength; ruṣā—in anger; andhaḥ—blind; krīḍā-mṛgaḥ—henpecked; nūnam—of course; ayam—this; vadhūnām—of the wives.
TRANSLATION Just to please His dear wife, the Lord brought back the pārijāta tree from heaven, just as an ordinary husband would do. But Indra, the King of heaven, induced by his wives (henpecked as he was), ran after the Lord with full force to fight Him. PURPORT The Lord once went to the heavenly planet to present an earring to Aditi, the mother of the demigods, and His wife Satyabhāmā also went with Him. There is a special flowering tree called the pārijāta, which grows only in the heavenly planets, and Satyabhāmā wanted this tree. Just to please His wife, like an ordinary husband, the Lord brought back the tree, and this enraged Vajrī, or the controller of the thunderbolt. cause he was a henpecked husband and also a fool, listened to them and dared to fight with Kṛṣṇa. He was a fool on this occasion because he forgot that everything belongs to the Lord.
There was no fault on the part of the Lord, even though He took away the tree from the heavenly kingdom, but because Indra was henpecked, dominated by his beautiful wives like Śacī, he became a fool, just as all persons who are dominated by their wives are generally foolish. Indra thought that Kṛṣṇa was a henpecked husband who only by the will of His wife Satyabhāmā took away the property of heaven, and therefore he thought that Kṛṣṇa could be punished. He forgot that the Lord is the proprietor of everything and cannot be henpecked. The Lord is fully independent, and by His will only He can have hundreds and thousands of wives like Satyabhāmā. He was not, therefore, attached to Satyabhāmā because she was a beautiful wife, but He was pleased with her devotional service and thus wanted to reciprocate the unalloyed devotion of His devotee.
SB3.3.6 TEXT 6 sutaṁ mṛdhe khaṁ vapuṣā grasantaṁ dṛṣṭvā sunābhonmathitaṁ dharitryā āmantritas tat-tanayāya śeṣaṁ dattvā tad-antaḥ-puram āviveśa SYNONYMS sutam—son; mṛdhe—in the fight; kham—the sky; vapuṣā—by his body; grasantam—while devouring; dṛṣṭvā—seeing; sunābha—by the Sudarśana wheel; unmathitam—killed; dharitryā—by the earth; āmantritaḥ—being prayed for; tat-tanayāya—to the son of Narakāsura; śeṣam—that which was taken from; dattvā—returning it; tat—his; antaḥ-puram—inside the house; āviveśa—entered.
TRANSLATION Narakāsura, the son of Dharitrī, the earth, tried to grasp the whole sky, and for this he was killed by the Lord in a fight. His mother then prayed to the Lord. This led to the return of the kingdom to the son of Narakāsura, and thus the Lord entered the house of the demon. PURPORT It is said in other purāṇas that Narakāsura was the son of Dharitrī, the earth, by the Lord Himself. But he became a demon due to the bad association of Bāṇa, another demon. An atheist is called a demon, and it is a fact that even a person born of good parents can turn into a demon by bad association. Birth is not always the criterion of goodness; unless and until one is trained in the culture of good association, one cannot become good.
SB3.3.7 TEXT 7 tatrāhṛtās tā nara-deva-kanyāḥ kujena dṛṣṭvā harim ārta-bandhum utthāya sadyo jagṛhuḥ praharṣa- vrīḍānurāga-prahitāvalokaiḥ SYNONYMS tatra—inside the house of Narakāsura; āhṛtāḥ—kidnapped; tāḥ—all those; nara-deva-kanyāḥ—daughters of many kings; kujena—by the demon; dṛṣṭvā—by seeing; harim—the Lord; ārta-bandhum—the friend of the distressed; utthāya—at once got up; sadyaḥ—then and there; jagṛhuḥ—accepted; praharṣa—joyfully; vrīḍa—shyness; anurāga—attachment; prahita-avalokaiḥ—by eager glances.
TRANSLATION There in the house of the demon, all the princesses kidnapped by Narakāsura at once became alert upon seeing the Lord, the friend of the distressed. They looked upon Him with eagerness, joy and shyness and offered to be His wives. PURPORT Narakāsura kidnapped many daughters of great kings and kept them imprisoned in his palace. But when he was killed by the Lord and the Lord entered the house of the demon, all the princesses were enlivened with joy and offered to become His wives because the Lord is the only friend of the distressed. Unless the Lord accepted them, there would be no chance of their being married because the demon kidnapped them from their fathers’ custody and therefore no one would agree to marry them. According to Vedic society, girls are transferred from the custody of the father to the custody of the husband. Since these princesses had already been taken away from the custody of their fathers, it would have been difficult for them to have any husband other than the Lord Himself.
SB3.3.8 TEXT 8 āsāṁ muhūrta ekasmin nānāgāreṣu yoṣitām sa-vidhaṁ jagṛhe pāṇīn anurūpaḥ sva-māyayā SYNONYMS āsām—all those; muhūrte—at one time; ekasmin—simultaneously; nānā-āgāreṣu—in different compartments; yoṣitām—of the women; sa-vidham—with perfect rituals; jagṛhe—accepted; pāṇīn—hands; anurūpaḥ—exactly to match; sva-māyayā—by His internal potency.
TRANSLATION All those princesses were lodged in different apartments, and the Lord simultaneously assumed different bodily expansions exactly matching each and every princess. He accepted their hands in perfect rituals by His internal potency. PURPORT In the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.33) the Lord is described as follows in regard to His innumerable plenary expansions:
advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam “The Lord, Govinda, whom I worship, is the original Personality of Godhead. He is nondifferent from His innumerable plenary expansions, who are all infallible, original and unlimited and who have eternal forms. Although He is primeval, the oldest personality, He is always fresh and young.” By His internal potency the Lord can expand Himself into various personalities of svayaṁ-prakāśa and again into prābhava and vaibhava forms, and all of them are nondifferent from one another. The forms into which the Lord expanded to marry the princesses in different apartments were all slightly different just to match each and every one of them. They are called vaibhava-vilāsa forms of the Lord and are effected by His internal potency, yoga-māyā.
SB3.3.9 TEXT 9 tāsv apatyāny ajanayad ātma-tulyāni sarvataḥ ekaikasyāṁ daśa daśa prakṛter vibubhūṣayā SYNONYMS tāsu—unto them; apatyāni—offspring; ajanayat—begot; ātma-tulyāni—all like Himself; sarvataḥ—in all respects; eka-ekasyām—in each and every one of them; daśa—ten; daśa—ten; prakṛteḥ—for expanding Himself; vibubhūṣayā—so desiring.
TRANSLATION Just to expand Himself according to His transcendental features, the Lord begot in each and every one of them ten offspring with exactly His own qualities. SB3.3.10 TEXT 10 kāla-māgadha-śālvādīn anīkai rundhataḥ puram ajīghanat svayaṁ divyaṁ sva-puṁsāṁ teja ādiśat SYNONYMS kāla—Kālayavana; māgadha—the King of Magadha (Jarāsandha); śālva—King Śālva; ādīn—and others; anīkaiḥ—by the soldiers; rundhataḥ—being encircled; puram—the city of Mathurā; ajīghanat—killed; svayam—personally; divyam—transcendental; sva-puṁsām—of His own men; tejaḥ—prowess; ādiśat—exhibited.
TRANSLATION Kālayavana, the King of Magadha and Sālva attacked the city of Mathurā, but when the city was encircled by their soldiers, the Lord refrained from killing them personally, just to show the power of His own men. PURPORT After the death of Kaṁsa, when Mathurā was encircled by the soldiers of Kālayavana, Jarāsandha and Sālva, the Lord seemingly fled from the city, and thus He is known as Ranchor, or one who fled from fighting. Actually, the fact was that the Lord wanted to kill them through the agency of His own men, devotees like Mucukunda and Bhīma. Kālayavana and the King of Magadha were killed by Mucukunda and Bhīma respectively, who acted as agents of the Lord. By such acts the Lord wanted to exhibit the prowess of His devotees, as if He were personally unable to fight but His devotees could kill them. The relationship of the Lord with His devotees is a very happy one. Actually, the Lord descended at the request of Brahmā in order to kill all the undesirables of the world, but to divide the share of glory He sometimes engaged His devotees to take the credit. The Battle of Kurukṣetra was designed by the Lord Himself, but just to give credit to His devotee Arjuna (nimitta-mātraṁ bhava savyasācin), He played the part of the charioteer, while Arjuna was given the chance to play the fighter and thus become the hero of the Battle of Kurukṣetra. What He wants to do Himself by His transcendental plans, He executes through His confidential devotees. That is the way of the Lord’s mercy towards His pure unalloyed devotees.
SB3.3.11 TEXT 11 śambaraṁ dvividaṁ bāṇaṁ muraṁ balvalam eva ca anyāṁś ca dantavakrādīn avadhīt kāṁś ca ghātayat SYNONYMS śambaram—Śambara; dvividam—Dvivida; bāṇam—Bāṇa; muram—Mura; balvalam—Balvala; eva ca—as also; anyān—others; ca—also; dantavakra-ādīn—like Dantavakra and others; avadhīt—killed; kān ca—and many others; ghātayat—caused to be killed.
TRANSLATION Of kings like Śambara, Dvivida, Bāṇa, Mura, Balvala and many other demons, such as Dantavakra, some He killed Himself, and some He caused to be killed by others [Śrī Baladeva, etc.]. SB3.3.12 TEXT 12 atha te bhrātṛ-putrāṇāṁ pakṣayoḥ patitān nṛpān cacāla bhūḥ kurukṣetraṁ yeṣām āpatatāṁ balaiḥ SYNONYMS atha—thereafter; te—your; bhrātṛ-putrāṇām—of the nephews; pakṣayoḥ—of both sides; patitān—killed; nṛpān—kings; cacāla—shook; bhūḥ—the earth; kurukṣetram—the Battle of Kurukṣetra; yeṣām—of whom; āpatatām—traversing; balaiḥ—by strength.
TRANSLATION Then, O Vidura, the Lord caused all the kings, both the enemies and those on the side of your fighting nephews, to be killed in the Battle of Kurukṣetra. All those kings were so great and strong that the earth seemed to shake as they traversed the warfield. SB3.3.13 TEXT 13 sa karṇa-duḥśāsana-saubalānāṁ kumantra-pākena hata-śriyāyuṣam suyodhanaṁ sānucaraṁ śayānaṁ bhagnorum ūrvyāṁ na nananda paśyan SYNONYMS saḥ—He (the Lord); karṇa—Karṇa; duḥśāsana—Duḥśāsana; saubalānām—Saubala; kumantra-pākena—by the intricacy of ill advice; hata-śriya—bereft of fortune; āyuṣam—duration of life; suyodhanam—Duryodhana; sa-anucaram—with followers; śayānam—lying down; bhagna—broken; ūrum—thighs; ūrvyām—very powerful; na—did not; nananda—take pleasure; paśyan—seeing like that.
TRANSLATION Duryodhana was bereft of his fortune and duration of life because of the intricacy of ill advice given by Karṇa, Duḥśāsana and Saubala. When he lay on the ground with his followers, his thighs broken although he was powerful, the Lord was not happy to see the scene. PURPORT The fall of Duryodhana, the leading son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, was not pleasing to the Lord, although He was on the side of Arjuna and it was He who advised Bhīma how to break the thighs of Duryodhana while the fight was going on. The Lord is constrained to award punishment upon the wrongdoer, but He is not happy to award such punishments because the living entities are originally His parts and parcels. He is harder than the thunderbolt for the wrongdoer and softer than the rose for the faithful. The wrongdoer is misled by bad associates and by ill advice, which is against the established principles of the Lord’s order, and thus he becomes subject to punishment. The surest path to happiness is to live by the principles laid down by the Lord and not disobey His established laws, which are enacted in the Vedas and the Purāṇas for the forgetful living entities.
SB3.3.14 TEXT 14 kiyān bhuvo ’yaṁ kṣapitoru-bhāro yad droṇa-bhīṣmārjuna-bhīma-mūlaiḥ aṣṭādaśākṣauhiṇiko mad-aṁśair āste balaṁ durviṣahaṁ yadūnām SYNONYMS kiyān—what is this; bhuvaḥ—of the earth; ayam—this; kṣapita—abated; uru—very great; bhāraḥ—burden; yat—which; droṇa—Droṇa; bhīṣma—Bhīṣma; arjuna—Arjuna; bhīma—Bhīma; mūlaiḥ—with the help; aṣṭādaśa—eighteen; akṣauhiṇikaḥ—phalanxes of military strength (vide Bhāg. 1.16.34); mat-aṁśaiḥ—with My descendants; āste—are still there; balam—great strength; durviṣaham—unbearable; yadūnām—of the Yadu dynasty.
TRANSLATION [After the end of the Battle of Kurukṣetra, the Lord said:] The abatement of the earth’s great burden, eighteen akṣauhiṇīs, has now been effected with the help of Droṇa, Bhīṣma, Arjuna and Bhīma. But what is this? There is still the great strength of the Yadu dynasty, born of Myself, which may be a more unbearable burden. PURPORT It is a wrong theory that due to an increase in population the world becomes overburdened and therefore there are wars and other annihilating processes. The earth is never overburdened. The heaviest mountains and oceans on the face of the earth hold more living entities than there are human beings, and they are not overburdened. If a census were taken of all the living beings on the surface of the earth, certainly it would be found that the number of humans is not even five percent of the total number of living beings. If the birthrate of human beings is increasing, then the birthrate of other living beings is increasing proportionately. The birthrate of lower animals—beasts, aquatics, birds, etc.—is far greater than that of human beings. There is an adequate arrangement for food for all the living beings all over the earth by the order of the Supreme Lord, and He can arrange more and more if there is actually a disproportionate increase of living beings.
Therefore, there is no question of an increase in population causing a burden. The earth became overburdened due to dharma-glāni, or irregular discharge of the Lord’s desire. The Lord appeared on the earth to curb the increase in miscreants, and not the increase in population, as is wrongly put forward by the mundane economist. When Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared, there had been a sufficient increase in miscreants who had violated the desire of the Lord. The material creation is meant for fulfilling the desire of the Lord, and His desire is that the conditioned souls who are unfit to enter into the kingdom of God have a chance to improve their conditions for entering. The entire process of cosmic arrangement is intended just to give a chance to the conditioned souls to enter the kingdom of God, and there is an adequate arrangement for their maintenance by the nature of the Lord.
Therefore, although there may be a great increase in population on the surface of the earth, if the people are exactly in line with God consciousness and are not miscreants, such a burden on the earth is a source of pleasure for her. There are two kinds of burdens. There is the burden of the beast and the burden of love. The burden of the beast is unbearable, but the burden of love is a source of pleasure. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī describes the burden of love very practically. He says that the burden of the husband on the young wife, the burden of the child on the lap of the mother, and the burden of wealth on the businessman, although actually burdens from the viewpoint of heaviness, are sources of pleasure, and in the absence of such burdensome objects, one may feel the burden of separation, which is heavier to bear than the actual burden of love. When Lord Kṛṣṇa referred to the burden of the Yadu dynasty on the earth, He referred to something different than the burden of the beast. The large numbers of family members born of Lord Kṛṣṇa counted to some millions and were certainly a great increase in the population of the earth, but because all of them were expansions of the Lord Himself by His transcendental plenary expansions, they were a source of great pleasure for the earth. When the Lord referred to them in connection with the burden on the earth, He had in mind their imminent disappearance from the earth. All the members of the family of Lord Kṛṣṇa were incarnations of different demigods, and they were to disappear from the surface of the earth along with the Lord. When He referred to the unbearable heaviness on the earth in connection with the Yadu dynasty, He was referring to the burden of their separation. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī confirms this inference.
SB3.3.15 TEXT 15 mitho yadaiṣāṁ bhavitā vivādo madhv-āmadātāmra-vilocanānām naiṣāṁ vadhopāya iyān ato ’nyo mayy udyate ’ntardadhate svayaṁ sma SYNONYMS mithaḥ—one another; yadā—when; eṣām—of them; bhavitā—will take place; vivādaḥ—quarrel; madhu-āmada—intoxication by drinking; ātāmra-vilocanānām—of their eyes being copper-red; na—not; eṣām—of them; vadha-upāyaḥ—means of disappearance; iyān—like this; ataḥ—besides this; anyaḥ—alternative; mayi—on My; udyate—disappearance; antaḥ-dadhate—will disappear; svayam—themselves; sma—certainly.
TRANSLATION When they quarrel among themselves, influenced by intoxication, with their eyes red like copper because of drinking [madhu], then only will they disappear; otherwise, it will not be possible. On My disappearance, this incident will take place. PURPORT The Lord and His associates appear and disappear by the will of the Lord. They are not subjected to the laws of material nature. No one was able to kill the family of the Lord, nor was there any possibility of their natural death by the laws of nature. The only means, therefore, for their disappearance was the make-show of a fight amongst themselves, as if brawling in intoxication due to drinking. That so-called fighting would also take place by the will of the Lord, otherwise there would be no cause for their fighting. Just as Arjuna was made to be illusioned by family affection and thus the Bhagavad-gītā was spoken, so the Yadu dynasty was made to be intoxicated by the will of the Lord, and nothing more. The devotees and associates of the Lord are completely surrendered souls. Thus they are transcendental instruments in the hands of the Lord and can be used in any way the Lord desires. The pure devotees also enjoy such pastimes of the Lord because they want to see Him happy. Devotees of the Lord never assert independent individuality; on the contrary, they utilize their individuality in pursuit of the desires of the Lord, and this cooperation of the devotees with the Lord makes a perfect scene of the Lord’s pastimes.
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