332 Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead

himself into a fire, as he had promised the brahmana if unable to bring
back his baby. Lord Krsna, however, was very kind toward Arjuna because
Arjuna happened to be the most intimate friend of the Lord. Lord Krsna
persuaded Arjuna not to enter the fire in disgrace. Krsna indicated that
since Arjuna was His friend, if he were to enter the fire in hopelessness,
indirectly it would be a blemish on Him. Lord Krsna therefore checked
Arjuna, assuring him that He would find the baby. He told Arjuna, “Do
not foolishly commit suicide.”

After addressing Arjuna in this way, Lord Krsna called for His transcen-
dental chariot. He mounted it along with Arjuna and began to proceed
north. Lord Krsna, the all-powerful Personality of Godhead, could have
brought the child back without effort, but we should always remember
that He was playing the part of a human being. As a human being has to
endeavor to achieve certain results, so Lord Krsna, like an ordinary human
being, or like His friend Arjuna, left Dvaraka to bring back the brahmana’s
baby. By appearing in human society and exhibiting His pastimes as a
human being, Krsna definitely showed that there was not a single person-
ality greater than He. “‘God is great.” That is the definition of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. So at least within this material world, while He
was present, Krsna proved that there was no greater personality within the
universe.

Seated on His chariot with Arjuna, Krsna began to proceed north,
crossing over many planetary systems. These are described in the Srimad-
Bhagavatam as sapta-dvipa. Dvipa means island. All these planets are
sometimes described in the Vedic literature as dvipas. The planet on which
we are living is called Jambiidvipa. Outer space is taken as a great ocean of
air, and within that great ocean of air there are many islands, which are
the different planets. In each and every planet there are oceans also. In
some of the planets, the oceans are of salt water, and in some of them there
are oceans of milk. In others there are oceans of liquor, and in others there
are oceans of ghee or oil. There are different kinds of mountains also. Each
and every planet has a different type of atmosphere.

Krsna passed over all these planets and reached the covering of the
universe. This covering is described in the Srimad-Bhdgavatam as great
darkness. This material world as a whole is described as dark. In the open
space there is sunlight, and therefore it is illuminated, but in the covering,
because of the absence of sunlight, it is naturally dark. When Krsna ap-
proached the covering layer of this universe, the four horses which were
drawing His chariot—Saibya, Sugriva, Meghapuspa and Balahaka—all
appeared to hesitate to enter the darkness. This hesitation is also a part of
