FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.19.24

विनष्टासु स्वमायासु भूयश्चाव्रज्य केशवम् । रुषोपगूहमानोऽमुं दद‍ृशेऽवस्थितं बहि: ॥ २४ ॥
vinaṣṭāsu sva-māyāsu
[vinashtaasu sva-maayaasu]
bhūyaś cāvrajya keśavam
[bhooyash chaavrajya keshavam]
ruṣopagūhamāno ’muṁ
[rushopagoohamaano ’mum]
dadṛśe ’vasthitaṁ bahiḥ
[dadrishe ’vasthitam bahih]
vinaṣṭāsu — when dispelled sva-māyāsu — his magic forces bhūyaḥ — again ca — and āvrajya — after coming into the presence keśavam — the Supreme Personality of Godhead ruṣā — full of rage upagūhamānaḥ — embracing amum — the Lord dadṛśe — saw avasthitam — standing bahiḥ — outside.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
vinaṣṭāsu sva-māyāsu
vinaṣṭāsu
when dispelled
sva-māyāsu
his magic forces
bhūyaś cāvrajya keśavam
bhūyaḥ
again
ca
and
āvrajya
after coming into the presence
keśavam
the Supreme Personality of Godhead
ruṣopagūhamāno ’muṁ
ruṣā
full of rage
upagūhamānaḥ
embracing
amum
the Lord
dadṛśe ’vasthitaṁ bahiḥ
dadṛśe
saw
avasthitam
standing
bahiḥ
outside.
When the demon saw his magic forces dispelled, he once again came into the presence of the Personality of Godhead, Keśava, and, full of rage, tried to embrace Him within his arms to crush Him. But to his great amazement he found the Lord standing outside the circle of his arms.

In this verse the Lord is addressed as Keśava because He killed the demon Keśī in the beginning of creation. Keśava is also a name of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is the origin of all incarnations, and it is confirmed in Brahma-saṁhitā that Govinda, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the cause of all causes, exists simultaneously in His different incarnations and expansions. The demon’s attempt to measure the Supreme Personality of Godhead is significant. The demon wanted to embrace Him with his arms, thinking that with his limited arms he could capture the Absolute by material power. He did not know that God is the greatest of the great and the smallest of the small. No one can capture the Supreme Lord or bring Him under his control. But the demoniac person always attempts to measure the length and breadth of the Supreme Lord. By His inconceivable potency the Lord can become the universal form, as explained in Bhagavad-gītā, and at the same time He can remain within the box of His devotees as their worshipable Deity. There are many devotees who keep a statue of the Lord in a small box and carry it with them everywhere; every morning they worship the Lord in the box. The Supreme Lord, Keśava, or the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is not bound by any measurement of our calculation. He can remain with His devotee in any suitable form, yet He is unapproachable by any amount of demoniac activities.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
When his illusions were destroyed, the demon again rushed towards the Lord, and began squeezing him in his arms. He saw however that the Lord was outside of his grasp. Though the demon put the Lord between his arms and squeezed (upagūhamānaḥ), he saw that the Lord was situated beyond his grasp.
The scale of the creation in this verse is not given to overwhelm us but to right-size us. Most of our anxiety shrinks when our self-importance shrinks. The verse keeps returning to Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Reflection Questions
  • What would change in your prayer if you remembered how small your sphere actually is?
  • Which 'cosmic' problem are you trying to solve when your actual task is just to play your small part well?
📝 My note

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