492 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 1, Ch. 9

PURPORT

The dealings of Lord Krsna and Bhismadeva on the Battlefield of Kuru-
ksetra are interesting because the activities of Lord Sri Krsna appeared to
be partial to Arjuna and at enmity with Bhismadeva; but factually all this
was especially meant to show special favor to Bhismadeva, a great devotee
of the Lord. The astounding feature of such dealings is that a devotee can
please the Lord by playing the part of an enemy. The Lord, being absolute,
can accept service from His pure devotee even in the garb of an enemy.
The Supreme Lord cannot have any enemy, nor can a so-called enemy
harm Him because He is ajita, or unconquerable. But still He takes
pleasure when His pure devotee beats Him like an enemy or rebukes Him
from a superior position, although no one can be superior to the Lord.
These are some of the transcendental reciprocatory dealings of the devotee
with the Lord. And those who have no information of pure devotional
service cannot penetrate into the mystery of such dealings. Bhismadeva
played the part of a valiant warrior, and he purposely pierced the body of
the Lord so that to the common eyes it appeared that the Lord was
wounded, but factually all this was to bewilder the nondevotees. The all-
spiritual body cannot be wounded, and a devotee cannot become the
enemy of the Lord. Had it been so, then Bhismadeva would not have
desired to have the very same Lord as the ultimate destination of his life.
Had Bhismadeva been an enemy of the Lord, He could have annihilated
him without even moving. There was no need to come before Bhismadeva
with blood and wounds. But He did so because the warrior devotee wanted
to see the transcendental beauty of the Lord decorated with wounds
created by a pure devotee. This is the way of exchanging transcendental
rasas, or relations between the Lord and the servitor. By such dealings
both the Lord and the devotee become glorified in their respective
positions. The Lord was so angry that Arjuna checked Him when He was
moving towards Bhismadeva, but in spite of Arjuna’s checking, He pro-
ceeded towards Bhismadeva as a lover goes to a lover, without caring for
hindrances. Apparently His determination was to kill Bhismadeva, but
factually it was to please him as a great devotee of the Lord. The Lord is
undoubtedly the deliverer of all conditioned souls. The impersonalists
desire salvation from Him, and He always awards them according to their
aspiration, but here Bhismadeva aspires to see the Lord in His personal
feature. All pure devotees aspire for this.
