Krishna reciprocates with, and is even defeated by, His devotees’ pure devotional service. They conquer Him. When Brahmananda Bharati came before the Lord in a deerskin Lord Caitanya pretended not to recognize him. When Brahmananda Bharati changed clothes and re considered everything, he became Lord Caitanya’s disciple. He gave up impersonalism for good. He quickly came to understand the Lord’s mind. He claimed that the main reason the Lord voluntarily accepted Brahmananda Bharati’s final argument (that the Lord Caitanya was God) was because the Supreme Lord is always defeated by pure devotional service. In this connection he cited the Srimad Bhagavatam verse in which Bhisma “defeats” Lord Krsna in battle by making Him break His promise not to take up fighting. These are the words of Bhisma in the Srimad Bhagavatam (1.9.37), sva-nigamam apahaya mat-pratijnam, rtam adhikartum avapluto ratha sthah dhrta-ratha-carano ‘bhyayac calad-gur, harir iva hantum ibham gatottariyah. “Fulfilling my desire and sacrificing His own promise, He got down from the chariot, took up its wheel and ran toward me hurriedly, just as a lion goes to kill an elephant. He even dropped His outer garment on the way.”