Arjuna was extremely astonished. First, seeing the extraordinary grandeur of Mahavisnu he said, "O, though I am a mortal son of Pandu, by the mercy of Krsna, I have seen this Supreme Lord, the cause of everything." By that he was simply astonished. Then considering a moment, he thought, "Why did he say ‘I have wanted to see you two’? How is it possible that the Supreme Lord of everything would want to see his own expansion Krsna? Perhaps, it is some temporary whim of his. But by his expression, one can understand that this desire to see Krsna is continual. Let that be, he may be continually wanting to see Krsna! But why does he not see Krsna in Dvaraka from where he is situated here, since he has great power and this universe he has created is just like an amalaki fruit in his hand? Well, maybe he doesn’t have that power, but still, he comes to Dvaraka every year to steal the children of the brahmana. Why does he not at that time see Krsna, who is visible even to the oil man and betel nut peddler living there? It is said that without the desire of Krsna no one can see him. If that is so, then of course he cannot see Krsna. But, how can one who is affectionate to the brhamanas give suffering to a brahmana every year? I think you must have done such a vile act because you cannot give up your strong desire to see Krsna. For that purpose, let the vile act be done. But could you not send some servant to steal the sons of the brahmana? Why do you go yourself? It must be that it is difficult for anyone else to steal them from Dvaraka. His intention was to give such suffering to the brahmana in Dvaraka that Krsna could not bear it, and would then become visible to Visnu. The loud mouthed brahmana, inspired by your form as supersoul within, came to Krsna and sang his song after losing each child." Thus inferring the superior glories of Krsna to Visnu, he became most astonished (parama vismitah). Arjuna then thought, "I will ask Krsna and understand the truth about this." Asked by Arjuna, Krsna then spoke. This is recorded in the Hari vamsa. "In order to see me, Visnu stole the the brahmana’s sons. He thought, ‘Krsna will not come to me except on behalf of the brahmana.’ "But I did not go to Visnu for the sake of the brahmana. I went in order just to save the life you, my friend. If I were to go for the sake of the brahmana, I would have gone just after the first child was stolen. The reason I went after the ninth child was stolen, was not from obligation to Visnu, but out of obligation to you." Hearing this truth from Krsna’s mouth, Arjuna considered that whatever powers are (paurusam) within man, and within everyone up to even the lord of the spiritual world, the powers of everyone, were generated from the mercy Krsna. One should know that from the prayers of the personified Vedas till this point in the Tenth Canto, the supreme position of Krsna, asraya tattva, the tenth subject of the puranas, has been described. According to Sridhara Swami this incident took place before the Kuruksetra, but it is stated here on the occasion of discussing the topmost truth.

In the First Canto, Third Chapter, it is said kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam. This acts as a paribhāṣa-sūtra for the whole of the Bhāgavatam. Sūtra means that by which the meaning to be explained is shown in brief. Paribhāṣā means a rule or theme which can be applied where not explicitly stated. The statement appears once at the beginning of the work and spreads through the whole work. Therefore all explanations depend on it. Since Bhāgavatam is the essence of all the Vedas and itihāsas, it is seen to refute all other scriptures with its initial statement. Statements about ākāśa being eternal are thus refuted with the statement ātmani vijñāte sarvam idaṁ vijñātaṁl bhavati: knowing the Lord all else is known. (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.3) It is said śruti-liṅga-vākya-prakaraṇa-sthāna-samākhyānāṁ samavāye pāradaurbalyam artha-viprakarṣāt: scriptural instructions are more authoritative than the logical arguments known as liṅga, vākya, prakaraṇa, and sthāna, and these logical arguments are more authoritative than conclusions drawn from historical accounts (Jaiminī-sūtra 3.3.14) Because of the superior authority of scripture, a conclusion cannot be refuted. Uttara-mīmāṁsa agrees that śruti teaches directly by words. Thus the scriptural statement is ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ pūsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam. The other methods are discussed in Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha. Among them each is successively weaker. Historical account is distant authority. Thus the term Svayam Bhagavān must be used to determine the meaning of everything Sūta or the Lord says in the Bhāgavatam. This statement is proved everywhere by Śrīdhara Svāmī. Since the Lord performs pastimes with various intentions, to consider them lightly will prove nothing. (Though Kṛṣṇa proposal to make the offerings to Govardhana was taken lightly by those around him everything was explained nicely.) The excellence of Viṣṇu thus culminates in Svayam Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa. Thus the explanations given by Śrīdhara Svāmī are correct. Thus Bhagavān as described is Kṛṣṇa.

Seeing the power (dhāma) of he who spreadings over the universe, manifesting unlimited powers (vaiṣṇavam) Arjuna was amazed. Or hearing what Viṣṇu said the powers related to Kṛṣṇa, such as being full in his desires, he was amazed. He concluded that whatever ability one has to achieve one’s goals was accomplished by the mercy of svayam bhagavān Kṛṣṇa.