Shloka 12
Uddhava’s Remembrance of Kṛṣṇa and the Theology of the Lord’s Disappearance
यन्मर्त्यलीलौपयिकं स्वयोग- मायाबलं दर्शयता गृहीतम् । विस्मापनं स्वस्य च सौभगर्द्धे: परं पदं भूषणभूषणाङ्गम् ॥ १२ ॥
yan martya-līlaupayikaṁ sva-yoga- māyā-balaṁ darśayatā gṛhītam vismāpanaṁ svasya ca saubhagarddheḥ paraṁ padaṁ bhūṣaṇa-bhūṣaṇāṅgam
By His inner potency, yoga-māyā, the Lord appeared in the mortal world in His eternal form, perfectly suited to His līlās. Those pastimes astonished all—even the proud of their opulence, and even the Lord Himself as the Master of Vaikuṇṭha; thus Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental body is the ornament of all ornaments.
In conformity with the Vedic hymns ( nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām ), the Personality of Godhead is more excellent than all other living beings within all the universes in the material world. He is the chief of all living entities; no one can surpass Him or be equal to Him in wealth, strength, fame, beauty, knowledge or renunciation. When Lord Kṛṣṇa was within this universe, He seemed to be a human being because He appeared in a manner just suitable for His pastimes in the mortal world. He did not appear in human society in His Vaikuṇṭha feature with four hands because that would not have been suitable for His pastimes. But in spite of His appearing as a human being, no one was or is equal to Him in any respect in any of the six different opulences. Everyone is more or less proud of his opulence in this world, but when Lord Kṛṣṇa was in human society, He excelled all His contemporaries within the universe.
FAQs
This verse says Krishna displays His own yoga-māyā power to enact humanlike pastimes, making His divine position appear approachable while remaining supremely transcendental.
The verse praises Krishna’s supreme abode/position and His transcendental form as the ultimate source of beauty—so perfect that all beauty and ornamentation find their meaning in Him.
See God’s presence even in seemingly ordinary events: Krishna can appear “humanlike” through mercy, so cultivate reverence, remembrance, and devotion rather than judging the divine by external appearances.