tat te 'nabhīṣá¹am iva sattva-nidher vidhitsoḥ
ká¹£emaá¹ janÄya nija-Å›aktibhir uddhá¹›tÄreḥ
naitÄvatÄ try-adhipater bata viÅ›va-bhartus
tejaḥ kṣataṠtv avanatasya sa te vinodaḥ
tat - that destruction of the path of auspiciousness; te - by You; anabhīṣá¹am - is not liked; iva - as; sattva-nidheḥ - the reservoir of all goodness; vidhitsoḥ - desiring to do; ká¹£emam - good; janÄya - for the people in general; nija-Å›aktibhiḥ - by Your own potencies; uddhá¹›ta - destroyed; areḥ - the opposite element; na - not; etÄvatÄ - by this; tri-adhipateḥ - of the proprietor of the three kinds of creations; bata - O Lord; viÅ›va-bhartuḥ - the maintainer of the universe; tejaḥ - potency; ká¹£atam - reduced; tu - but; avanatasya - submissive; saḥ - that; te - Your; vinodaḥ - pleasure.
Lord Kṛṣṇa was never reduced in His position by becoming a cowherd boy or by offering respect to SudÄmÄ BrÄhmaṇa or His other devotees like Nanda MahÄrÄja, Vasudeva, MahÄrÄja Yudhiá¹£á¹hira and the PÄṇá¸avas’ mother, KuntÄ«. Everyone knew that He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, yet His behavior was exemplary. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is sac-cid-Änanda-vigraha; His form is completely spiritual, full of bliss and knowledge, and it is eternal. Because the living entities are His parts and parcels, originally they also belong to the same quality of eternal form as the Lord, but when they come in contact with mÄyÄ, the material potency, due to their forgetfulness their existential constitution is covered. We should try to understand the appearance of Lord Kṛṣṇa in this spirit, as the KumÄras pray to Him. He is eternally a cowherd boy at Vá¹›ndÄvana, He is eternally the leader of the Battle of Kuruká¹£etra, and He is eternally the opulent prince of DvÄrakÄ and the lover of the damsels of Vá¹›ndÄvana. All His appearances are meaningful because they show His real characteristics to the conditioned souls, who have forgotten their relationship with the Supreme Lord. He does everything for their benefit. The force exhibited in the Battle of Kuruká¹£etra by the desire of Kṛṣṇa and through the agency of Arjuna was also necessary because when people become too irreligious, force is required. Nonviolence in this respect is rascaldom.