Shloka 13
Uddhava’s Remembrance of Kṛṣṇa and the Theology of the Lord’s Disappearance
यद्धर्मसूनोर्बत राजसूये निरीक्ष्य दृक्स्वस्त्ययनं त्रिलोक: । कार्त्स्न्येन चाद्येह गतं विधातु- रर्वाक्सृतौ कौशलमित्यमन्यत ॥ १३ ॥
yad dharma-sūnor bata rājasūye nirīkṣya dṛk-svastyayanaṁ tri-lokaḥ kārtsnyena cādyeha gataṁ vidhātur arvāk-sṛtau kauśalam ity amanyata
At the altar of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira’s rājasūya sacrifice, the demigods of the three worlds assembled. Beholding the exquisite features of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, they reflected that He was Brahmā’s most supremely skillful creation among humankind.
There was nothing comparable to the bodily features of Lord Kṛṣṇa when He was present in this world. The most beautiful object in the material world may be compared to the blue lotus flower or the full moon in the sky, but even the lotus flower and the moon were defeated by the beauty of the bodily features of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and this was certified by the demigods, the most beautiful living creatures in the universe. The demigods thought that Lord Kṛṣṇa, like themselves, was also created by Lord Brahmā, but in fact Brahmā was created by Lord Kṛṣṇa. It was not within the power of Brahmā to create the transcendental beauty of the Supreme Lord. No one is the creator of Kṛṣṇa; rather, He is the creator of everyone. As He says in Bhagavad-gītā (10.8) , ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate.
FAQs
This verse says that the Lord’s glance is svastyayana—intrinsically auspicious—and when it fell upon Yudhiṣṭhira during the Rājasūya, the worlds saw it as the highest perfection of divine arrangement.
Yudhiṣṭhira embodies righteousness and is traditionally identified as Dharma’s son; the verse highlights that the Lord favored a king rooted in dharma during a major Vedic sacrifice.
Align actions with dharma and devotion—then seek the Lord’s grace through sincere worship—because the Bhagavatam emphasizes that divine favor (the Lord’s “glance”) brings true auspiciousness beyond worldly achievement.