Text 45
caidya-dehotthitaṁ jyotir
vāsudevam upāviśat
paśyatāṁ sarva-bhūtānām
ulkeva bhuvi khāc cyutā
caidya — of Śiśupāla; deha — from the body; utthitam — risen; jyotiḥ — a light; vāsudevam — Lord Kṛṣṇa; upāviśat — entered; paśyatām — as they watched; sarva — all; bhūtānām — living beings; ulkā — a meteor; iva — as if; bhuvi — on the earth; khāt — from the sky; cyutā — fallen.
An effulgent light rose from Śiśupāla’s body and, as everyone watched, entered Lord Kṛṣṇa just like a meteor falling from the sky to the earth.
In this connection, the ācāryas remind us that Śiśupāla is actually one of the Lord’s eternal associates playing the part of a belligerent demon. Thus to most observers it appeared that Śiśupāla achieved the impersonal liberation of merging into Lord Kṛṣṇa’s bodily effulgence. In fact, after being liberated from his mortal frame, Śiśupāla returned to the side of his master, the Supreme Lord of the spiritual world. The following verse further explains this.