Text 8]
Disappearance of Lord Kṛṣṇa
737
TEXT 8
अपि देवर्षिणाऽदिष्टः स कालोऽयमुपस्थितः । यदाऽऽत्मनोऽङ्गमाक्रीडं भगवानुत्सिमृक्षति ॥ ८ ॥
api devarṣiṇādiṣṭaḥ sa kālo 'yam upasthitaḥ yadātmano 'ṅgam ākrīḍam bhagavān utsiṣṛkṣati
api —whether;  devarṣiṇā —by the demigod-saint (Nārada);  ādiṣṭaḥ —instructed;  saḥ —that;  kālaḥ —eternal time;  ayam —this;  upasthitaḥ —arrived;  yadā —when;  ātmanaḥ —of His own self;  aṅgam —plenary portion;  ākrīḍam —manifestation;  bhagavān —the Personality of Godhead;  utsiṣṛkṣati —is going to quit.
TRANSLATION
Is He going to quit His earthly pastimes, as Devarṣi Nārada indicated? Has that time already arrived?
PURPORT
As we have discussed many times, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa has many plenary expansions, and each and every one of them, although equally powerful, executes different functions. In the  Bhagavad-gītā  there are different statements by the Lord, and each of these statements is meant for different plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions. For example, Śrī Kṛṣṇa the Lord says in the  Bhagavad-gītā :
“Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion—at that time I descend Myself.” (Bg. 4.7)
“O son of Kuntī [Arjuna], I am the taste of water, the light of the sun and the moon, the syllable  om  in the Vedic  mantras ; I am the sound in ether and ability in man.” (Bg. 7.8)
“If I should cease to work, then all these worlds would be put to ruination. I would also be the cause of creating unwanted population, and I would thereby destroy the peace of all sentient beings.” (Bg. 3.24)