Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 42
Akrūra’s Mission: The Departure from Vraja and the Yamunā Vision of Viṣṇu-Ananta
तौ रथस्थौ कथमिह सुतावानकदुन्दुभे: । तर्हि स्वित्स्यन्दने न स्त इत्युन्मज्ज्य व्यचष्ट स: ॥ ४२ ॥ तत्रापि च यथापूर्वमासीनौ पुनरेव स: । न्यमज्जद् दर्शनं यन्मे मृषा किं सलिले तयो: ॥ ४३ ॥
tau ratha-sthau katham iha sutāv ānakadundubheḥ tarhi svit syandane na sta ity unmajjya vyacaṣṭa saḥ
Akrūra thought, “How can the two sons of Ānakadundubhi, who are sitting in the chariot, be standing here in the water? They must have left the chariot.” But when he came out of the river, there They were on the chariot, just as before. Asking himself “Was the vision I had of Them in the water an illusion?” Akrūra reentered the pool.
FAQs
It describes Akrūra seeing an extraordinary divine vision in the Yamunā, then resurfacing and again seeing Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma seated on the chariot, showing the Lord’s inconceivable potency.
Because the vision he saw in the water seemed to place Them elsewhere, he wondered if They had somehow left the chariot—then he rose from the water to verify what he was seeing.
It teaches humility before spiritual experience: verify, reflect, and remain grounded, recognizing that the Divine can act beyond ordinary logic.