← Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1962)

Chapter 15: The Pandavas Retire Timely

Verse 5 of 45
SB 1.15.5

arjuna uvāca vañcito 'haṁ mahārāja hariṇā bandhu-rūpiṇā yena me 'pahṛtaṁ tejo deva-vismāpanaṁ mahat

Synonyms

arjunaḥ uvācaArjuna said; vañcitaḥleft by Him; ahammyself; mahārājaOh the king; hariṇāby the Personality of Godhead; bandhu-rūpiṇāas if an intimate friend; yenaby whom; meI have been taken off; apahṛtampower; tejaḥthe demigods; devaastonishing; vismāpanamastounding.

Translation

Oh the King ! The Supreme Personality of Godhead Hari Who treated with me exactly like an intimate friend has left me alone and thus my astounding power, which were astonishing to the demigods also, is no more with me.

Purport

In the Bhagwat Geeta (B.G. 10/41) the Lord says, "Any one specifically powerful and opulent by wealth, strength, beauty, knowledge and all that is materially desirable,is to be considered as a product of an insignificant portion of the complete whole (Lord Sri Krishna) of My Energy" No body therefore can be independently powerful of any measure without being endowed by the Lord. When the Lord descends on the earth along with His eternal ever liberated associates, He does not only display the Divine energy possessed by Himself but also He empowers His associate devotees with the required energy for executing His mission of incarnation. This fact is also stated in the Bhagwat Geeta fourth chapter that the Lord and His eternal associates descend on the earth more than many times but the Lord remembers all such different role of incarnations while the associates by His Supreme will do forget them. Simiarly the Lord takes away with Him all His associates when He disappears from the earth. The power and energy which was bestowed upon Arjuna were required for fulfilment of the mission of the Lord but when His misssion was fulfilled the emergency powers were withdrawn from Arjuna because such astounding powers of Arjuna which were astonishing even to the denizens of the heaven, were no longer required and they were now meant for going back to home back to Godhead. If endowment of power and withdrawal of powers by the Lord are possible even for a great devotee like Arjuna or even the demigods in heaven then what to speak of the ordinary living beings who are compared like the fig with such great souls. The lesson is therefore that no body should be puffed up for his borrowed powers from the Lord and the sane man should rather feel obliged to the Lord for such benefaction and must utilise such power for the service of the Lord. Such power can be withdrawn at any time by the Lord and the best use of such power and opulence is to engage them in the service of the Lord.

Verse 5 of 45
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