Qualities of Krsna Further Explained
182
Bhīṣma was remembering how Kṛṣṇa had been kind to him on the battlefield. Kṛṣṇa had promised that in the Battle of Kurukṣetra He would not even touch a weapon to help either side; He would remain neutral. Although Kṛṣṇa was Arjuna’s charioteer, He had promised that He would not help Arjuna by using any weapons. But one day Bhīṣma, in order to nullify Kṛṣṇa’s promise, exhibited his fighting spirit so magnificently against Arjuna that Kṛṣṇa was obliged to get down from His chariot. Taking up a broken chariot wheel, He ran toward Grandfather Bhīṣma as a lion runs toward an elephant to kill it. Grandfather Bhīṣma remembered this scene, and He later praised Kṛṣṇa for His glorious favoritism towards His devotee, Arjuna, even at the risk of breaking His own promise.
40. Controlled by Love
Kṛṣṇa becomes obliged to the loving spirit of the devotee and not exactly to the service rendered. No one can serve Kṛṣṇa completely. He is so complete and self-sufficient that He has no need of any service from the devotee. It is the devotee’s attitude of love and affection for Kṛṣṇa that makes Him obliged. A very nice example of this obligatory behavior was manifested when Sudāmā Vipra went to Kṛṣṇa’s palace. Sudāmā Vipra had been a class friend of Kṛṣṇa’s, and due to his poverty he was induced by his wife to see Kṛṣṇa to request some aid. When Sudāmā Vipra reached Kṛṣṇa’s palace, Kṛṣṇa received him very well, and both He and His wife washed the feet of Sudāmā Vipra, showing respect to the  brāhmaṇa . Remembering His loving affairs with Sudāmā in their childhood, Kṛṣṇa began to shed tears while receiving him.
Another instance of Krṣṇa’s obligation to His devotee is described in the Tenth Canto, 9th Chapter, 14th verse, of  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  where Śukadeva Gosvāmī tells King Parīkṣit: “My dear King, when Mother Yaśodā was perspiring, tired of trying to bind Krṣṇa up with rope, Krṣṇa agreed to allow her to bind Him.” Krṣṇa, as a child, was disturbing His mother by His naughty activities, and she wanted to bind Him up. Mother Yaśodā brought some rope from the house and tried to tie up the child, but she could not tie a knot due to the short-