bhūṣaṇa āyudha nityatā

Earlier this month I had this conversation with Dr. Satya-nārāyan Dās about the apparel of the Lord:

Rādhe Rādhe Prabhuji
I have a question again on the eternal apparel of the Lord –

1. In the Purāṇas it is said that Lakṣmī did tapasya [penance] to attain Kṛṣṇa in Vraja, but the Lord told her it was not possible, but instead she could get a place on his chest as the Śrīvatsa-mark. But the Śrīvatsa is an eternal ornament of the Lord, so how could there be an historical moment that Śrīvatsa was added to the Lord Kṛṣṇa’s chest? Is this verse an interpolation or just a glorification of the madhurya of Vraja?
2. Speaking of Śrīvatsa, why does Kṛṣṇa have the Śrīvatsa in Vraja at all? It does not seem to match with the madhurya of His Vraja svarupa.

Satyanarayana Dasa replied:
"Are bhai, mādhurya is founded on aiśvarya, it is not devoid of it. otherwise Kṛṣṇa would be like any other guy on the block. Mādhurya subjugates aiśvarya. That is the point. Therefore, sometimes the gopis are described as Lakṣmīs - lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama- to show that aiśvarya of Vraja is much superior even to Vaikuṇṭha. There is also a story of Krsna getting the Cakra [from Paraśūrām, Ad]. This has nothing to do with Historical moment. It is a matter of being vyakta [manifest, Ad] and avyakta [unmanifest, Ad] for the sake of pastime - to make it look more human-like, otherwise He always has everything."

Advaitadas-
"Yes, I agree. But what about the Lord getting the Kaustubha-gem and Lakṣmī during the Samudra Manthan (the churning of the Milk Ocean as described in Śrīmad Bhāgavat 8th canto, Ad.) then? There is no mādhurya in the samudra manthan līlā. Some say the Lord getting all these items during Samudra Manthan has all adhyātmika [symbolic] meanings? Is that so?

Satya-nārāyan Das -
"If there is no mādhurya ,there is aiśvarya. It is His līlā. Otherwise do you think that Kaustabha and Lakṣmī actually came from the ocean? Read Śrīmad Bhāgavat 6.8.32-33. It says that bhūṣaṇa āyudha (ornaments and weapons, Ad.) etc are the Lord's own Potency, sva-māyayā. As He is eternal, so is His potency. Śrīmad Bhāgavat 10.3.9 says that Kṛṣṇa was born with them, and then they became unmanifest. This shows that bhūṣaṇa etc can manifest and unmanifest as per līlā but they are ever with the Lord. How then can His svarūpa-śakti be separated from Him?

(note: Jīva Gosvāmī in his ṭīkā to Śrīmad Bhāgavat 6.8.32-33 refers to Maharāj Ambarīṣa's prayers to the Sudarśan Cakra in Śrīmad Bhāgavat 9.5.3-11, where all the attributes of Bhagavān are ascribed to it. Jīva Gosvāmī also refers to Śrīmad Bhāgavat 3.28.28, where the Lord's gem is compared to the living entities, something that can obviously not be replaced by a leather jacket, Santa Claus outfit or a mobile phone as some deluded persons think nowadays. The Śrīmad Bhagavat [12.11.10] also states that the Lord carries the pure consciousness of the jīva, His own particle, in the form of the Kaustubha gem, and it is the diffusive splendour of the latter which the Lord actually wears on His [right] breast as Śrīvatsa.)