Shloka 18
Varṣā-Śarad Vṛndāvana-Śobha: The Beauty of the Rainy and Autumn Seasons in Vraja
धनुर्वियति माहेन्द्रं निर्गुणं च गुणिन्यभात् । व्यक्ते गुणव्यतिकरेऽगुणवान् पुरुषो यथा ॥ १८ ॥
dhanur viyati māhendraṁ nirguṇaṁ ca guṇiny abhāt vyakte guṇa-vyatikare ’guṇavān puruṣo yathā
In the sky appeared Mahendra’s bow—the rainbow; though the heavens resounded with thunder, it was unlike an ordinary bow, for it rested on no string and seemed without qualities. So too, when Bhagavān, the Supreme Puruṣa, appears within this world of interacting guṇas, He remains guṇātīta—free, independent, and untouched by material conditions.
Śrīla Prabhupāda comments as follows: “Sometimes, in addition to the roaring thunder of the clouds, there is an appearance of a rainbow, which stands as a bow without a string. Actually, a bow is in the curved position because it is tied at its two ends by the bowstring; but in the rainbow there is no such string, and yet it rests in the sky so beautifully. Similarly, when the Supreme Personality of Godhead descends to this material world, He appears just like an ordinary human being, but He is not resting on any material condition. In the Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord says that He appears by His internal potency, which is free from the bondage of the external potency. What is bondage for the ordinary creature is freedom for the Personality of Godhead.”
FAQs
This verse says the Supreme Person is aguṇavān—beyond material qualities—yet He is perceived within the manifest world where the guṇas mix, like a rainbow appearing in the sky.
While describing seasonal beauty in Vṛndāvana, he uses the rainbow to illustrate a theological point: the Lord is transcendental to matter yet can be seen and experienced within the world.
Like the Lord is present without being bound by the guṇas, a devotee can live amid changing circumstances while cultivating steady bhakti and not identifying with temporary moods and material qualities.