Text 6
pitā gurus tvaṁ jagatām adhīśo
duratyayaḥ kāla upātta-daṇḍaḥ
hitāya cecchā-tanubhiḥ samīhase
mānaṁ vidhunvan jagad-īśa-māninām
pitā — the father; guruḥ — the spiritual master; tvam — You; jagatām — of the entire universe; adhīśaḥ — the supreme controller; duratyayaḥ — insurmountable; kālaḥ — time; upātta — wielding; daṇḍaḥ — punishment; hitāya — for the benefit; ca — and; icchā — assumed by Your own free will; tanubhiḥ — by Your transcendental forms; samīhase — You endeavor; mānam — the false pride; vidhunvan — eradicating; jagat-īśa — lords of the universe; māninām — of those who presume themselves to be.
You are the father and spiritual master of this entire universe, and also its supreme controller. You are insurmountable time, imposing punishment upon the sinful for their own benefit. Indeed, in Your various incarnations, selected by Your own free will, You act decisively to remove the false pride of those who presume themselves masters of this world.
The word hitāya is significant here. Lord Kṛṣṇa protects religion and chastises the wicked for the benefit of the entire universe. Foolish and faithless pseudopriests criticize God for punishing the living entities through the actions of nature. But whether Lord Kṛṣṇa punishes them indirectly through nature or directly in His incarnations, as mentioned here, He has a perfect right to do so because He is the father, spiritual master and supreme ruler of the entire universe. Another way He curbs down the false attempts of the conditioned souls to establish the kingdom of God without God is through His feature as insurmountable time. It is said, “Spare the rod and spoil the child.” That is a fact, and it is actually the Lord’s mercy that He takes the trouble to rectify our misbehavior, although faithless persons criticize the Lord’s fatherly vigilance.