Srimad BhagavatamKrsna – Bhakta Vatsala

Canto 1 Chapter 8 Text 11-15

Text 11sūta uvāca

upadhārya vacas tasyābhagavān bhakta-

vatsalaḥapāṇḍavam idaṁ kartuṁ

drauṇer astram abudhyata

Sūta Gosvāmī said: Having patiently heard

her words, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is always very affectionate to

His devotees, could at once understand that

Aśvatthāmā, the son of Droṇācārya, had

thrown the brahmāstra to finish the last life in

the Pāṇḍava family.

Lord is submissive to his devotees

The Lord is impartial in every respect, but still He is inclined towards His devotees.Lord wanted Pāṇḍava to rule the world,

who were a family of devotees. He vanquished the rule of the company of

Duryodhana.He wanted to protect Mahārāja Parīkṣit.

Text 12tarhy evātha muni-

śreṣṭhapāṇḍavāḥ pañca sāyakān

ātmano ’bhimukhān dīptān

ālakṣyāstrāṇy upādaduḥ

O foremost among the great thinkers [munis] [Śaunaka], seeing the

glaring brahmāstra proceeding towards them, the Pāṇḍavas

took up their five respective weapons.

Modern weapons no match

Aśvatthāmā discharged the brahmāstra simply to kill all the

Pāṇḍavas.The brahmāstras are finer than the nuclear

weapons.Atomic bombs do not discriminate between

the target and others unlike brahmāstra.

Text 13vyasanaṁ vīkṣya tat teṣām

ananya-viṣayātmanāmsudarśanena svāstreṇa

svānāṁ rakṣāṁ vyadhād vibhuḥ

The almighty Personality of

Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, having observed that a

great danger was befalling His unalloyed

devotees, who were fully surrendered

souls, at once took up His Sudarśana disc to

protect them.

Bhakta-Vatsala

This brahmāstra is the product of a finer sound, a mantra recorded in the Vedas.

Brahmāstra could penetrate even the most protected place and would never miss the

target. In the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord has clearly

promised that His devotees are never to be vanquished.

Pāṇḍavas were cent-percent dependent on the protection of the Lord.

Krsna is bhakta-vatsala

Text 14antaḥsthaḥ sarva-bhūtānām

ātmā yogeśvaro hariḥsva-māyayāvṛṇod garbhaṁ

vairāṭyāḥ kuru-tantave

The Lord of supreme mysticism, Śrī Kṛṣṇa,

resides within everyone’s heart as the Paramātmā. As

such, just to protect the progeny of the

Kuru dynasty, He covered the embryo of Uttarā by His personal

energy.

Krsna is omnipresent

The Lord resides within everyone’s heart, or even within the atoms, by His

Paramātmā feature.Within the body of Uttarā He covered the

embryo to save Mahārāja Parīkṣit.

Text 15yadyapy astraṁ brahma-

śirastv amoghaṁ cāpratikriyam

vaiṣṇavaṁ teja āsādyasamaśāmyad bhṛgūdvaha

O Śaunaka, glory of Bhṛgu’s family,

although the supreme brahmāstra weapon

released by Aśvatthāmā was

irresistible and without check or

counteraction, it was neutralized and foiled

when confronted by the strength of Viṣṇu

[Lord Kṛṣṇa].

Krsna is omnipotent

Brahma weapon also, although materially irresistible, could not surpass the supreme

strength of the Lord. He did not wait for any other’s help

because He is absolute.