Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 6: “Prescribed Duties for Mankind”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter Eleven

SB6.11.20

TEXT 20

nanv esa vajras tava sakra tejasa

harer dadhices tapasa ca tejitah

tenaiva satrum jahi visnu-yantrito

yato harir vijayah srir gunas tatah

SYNONYMS

nanu—certainly; esah—this; vajrah—thunderbolt; tava—of yours; sakra—O Indra; tejasa—by the prowess; hareh—of Lord Visnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; dadhiceh—of Dadhici; tapasa—by the austerities; ca—as well as; tejitah—empowered; tena—with that; eva—certainly; satrum—your enemy; jahi—kill; visnu-yantritah—ordered by Lord Visnu; yatah—wherever; harih—Lord Visnu; vijayah—victory; srih—opulences; gunah—and other good qualities; tatah—there.

TRANSLATION

O Indra, King of heaven, the thunderbolt you carry to kill me has been empowered by the prowess of Lord Visnu and the strength of Dadhici’s austerities. Since you have come here to kill me in accordance with Lord Visnu’s order, there is no doubt that I shall be killed by the release of your thunderbolt. Lord Visnu has sided with you. Therefore your victory, opulence and all good qualities are assured.

PURPORT

Vrtrasura not only assured King Indra that the thunderbolt was invincible, but also encouraged Indra to use it against him as soon as possible. Vrtrasura was eager to die with the stroke of the thunderbolt sent by Lord Visnu so that he could immediately return home, back to Godhead. By hurling the thunderbolt, Indra would gain victory and enjoy the heavenly planets, remaining in the material world for repeated birth and death. Indra wanted to gain victory over Vrtrasura and thereby become happy, but that would not at all be happiness. The heavenly planets are just below Brahmaloka, but as stated by the Supreme Lord, Krsna, abrahma-bhuvanal lokah punar avartino ’rjuna: [Bg. 8.16] even if one achieves Brahmaloka, he must still fall to the lower planetary systems again and again. However, if one goes back to Godhead, he never returns to this material world. By killing Vrtrasura, Indra would not actually gain; he would remain in the material world. Vrtrasura, however, would go to the spiritual world. Therefore victory was destined for Vrtrasura, not for Indra.

SB6.11.21

TEXT 21

aham samadhaya mano yathaha nah

sankarsanas tac-caranaravinde

tvad-vajra-ramho-lulita-gramya-paso

gatim muner yamy apaviddha-lokah

SYNONYMS

aham—I; samadhaya—fixing firmly; manah—the mind; yatha—just as; aha—said; nah—our; sankarsanah—Lord Sankarsana; tat-carana-aravinde—at His lotus feet; tvat-vajra—of your thunderbolt; ramhah—by the force; lulita—torn; gramya—of material attachment; pasah—the rope; gatim—the destination; muneh—of Narada Muni and other devotees; yami—I shall achieve; apaviddha—giving up; lokah—this material world (where one desires all kinds of impermanent things).

TRANSLATION

By the force of your thunderbolt, I shall be freed of material bondage and shall give up this body and this world of material desires. Fixing my mind upon the lotus feet of Lord Sankarsana, I shall attain the destination of such great sages as Narada Muni, just as Lord Sankarsana has said.

PURPORT

The words aham samadhaya manah indicate that the most important duty at the time of death is to concentrate one’s mind. If one can fix his mind on the lotus feet of Krsna, Visnu, Sankarsana or any Visnu murti, his life will be successful. To be killed while fixing his mind at the lotus feet of Sankarsana, Vrtrasura asked Indra to release his vajra, or thunderbolt. He was destined to be killed by the thunderbolt given by Lord Visnu; there was no question of its being baffled. Therefore Vrtrasura requested Indra to release the thunderbolt immediately, and he prepared himself by fixing his mind at the lotus feet of Krsna. A devotee is always ready to give up his material body, which is described herein as gramya-pasa, the rope of material attachment. The body is not at all good; it is simply a cause of bondage to the material world. Unfortunately, even though the body is destined for destruction, fools and rascals invest all their faith in the body and are never eager to return home, back to Godhead.

SB6.11.22

TEXT 22

pumsam kilaikanta-dhiyam svakanam

yah sampado divi bhumau rasayam

na rati yad dvesa udvega adhir

madah kalir vyasanam samprayasah

SYNONYMS

pumsam—unto persons; kila—certainly; ekanta-dhiyam—who are advanced in spiritual consciousness; svakanam—who are recognized by the Supreme Personality of Godhead as His own; yah—which; sampadah—opulences; divi—in the upper planetary systems; bhumau—in the middle planetary systems; rasayam—and in the lower planetary systems; na—not; rati—bestows; yat—from which; dvesah—envy; udvegah—anxiety; adhih—mental agitation; madah—pride; kalih—quarrel; vyasanam—distress due to loss; samprayasah—great endeavor.

TRANSLATION

Persons who fully surrender at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and always think of His lotus feet are accepted and recognized by the Lord as His own personal assistants or servants. The Lord never bestows upon such servants the brilliant opulences of the upper, lower and middle planetary systems of this material world. When one possesses material opulence in any of these three divisions of the universe, his possessions naturally increase his enmity, anxiety, mental agitation, pride and belligerence. Thus one goes through much endeavor to increase and maintain his possessions, and he suffers great unhappiness when he loses them.

PURPORT

In Bhagavad-gita (4.11) the Lord says:

ye yatha mam prapadyante
tams tathaiva bhajamy aham
mama vartmanuvartante
manusyah partha sarvasah

“As devotees surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Prtha.” Both Indra and Vrtrasura were certainly devotees of the Lord, although Indra took instructions from Visnu to kill Vrtrasura. The Lord was actually more favorable to Vrtrasura because after being killed by Indra’s thunderbolt, Vrtrasura would go back to Godhead, whereas the victorious Indra would rot in this material world. Because both of them were devotees, the Lord awarded them the respective benedictions they wanted. Vrtrasura never wanted material possessions, for he knew very well the nature of such possessions. To accumulate material possessions, one must labor very hard, and when he gets them he creates many enemies because this material world is always full of rivalry. If one becomes rich, his friends or relatives are envious. For ekanta-bhaktas, unalloyed devotees, Krsna therefore never provides material possessions. A devotee sometimes needs some material possessions for preaching, but the possessions of a preacher are not like those of a karmi. A karmi’s possessions are achieved as a result of karma, but those of a devotee are arranged by the Supreme Personality of Godhead just to facilitate his devotional activities. Because a devotee never uses material possessions for any purpose other than the service of the Lord, the possessions of a devotee are not to be compared to those of a karmi.

SB6.11.23

TEXT 23

trai-vargikayasa-vighatam asmat-

patir vidhatte purusasya sakra

tato ’numeyo bhagavat-prasado

yo durlabho ’kincana-gocaro ’nyaih

SYNONYMS

trai-vargika—for the three objectives, namely religiosity, economic development, and satisfaction of the senses; ayasa—of endeavor; vighatam—the ruin; asmat—our; patih—Lord; vidhatte—performs; purusasya—of a devotee; sakra—O Indra; tatah—whereby; anumeyah—to be inferred; bhagavat-prasadah—the special mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; yah—which; durlabhah—very difficult to obtain; akincana-gocarah—within the reach of the unalloyed devotees; anyaih—by others, who aspire for material happiness.

TRANSLATION

Our Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, forbids His devotees to endeavor uselessly for religion, economic development and sense gratification. O Indra, one can thus infer how kind the Lord is. Such mercy is obtainable only by unalloyed devotees, not by persons who aspire for material gains.

PURPORT

There are four objectives in human life—namely, religiosity (dharma), economic development (artha), sense gratification (kama), and liberation (moksa) from the bondage of material existence. People generally aspire for religiosity, economic development and sense gratification, but a devotee has no other desire than to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead both in this life and in the next. The special mercy for the unalloyed devotee is that the Lord saves him from hard labor to achieve the results of religion, economic development and sense gratification. Of course, if one wants such benefits, the Lord certainly awards them. Indra, for example, although a devotee, was not much interested in release from material bondage; instead, he desired sense gratification and a high standard of material happiness in the heavenly planets. Vrtrasura, however, being an unalloyed devotee, aspired only to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore the Lord arranged for him to go back to Godhead after his bodily bondage was destroyed by Indra. Vrtrasura requested Indra to release his thunderbolt against him as soon as possible so that both he and Indra would benefit according to their proportionate advancement in devotional service.

SB6.11.24

TEXT 24

aham hare tava padaika-mula-

dasanudaso bhavitasmi bhuyah

manah smaretasu-pater gunams te

grnita vak karma karotu kayah

SYNONYMS

aham—I; hare—O my Lord; tava—of Your Lordship; pada-eka-mula—whose only shelter is the lotus feet; dasa-anudasah—the servant of Your servant; bhavitasmi—shall I become; bhuyah—again; manah—my mind; smareta—may remember; asu-pateh—of the Lord of my life; gunan—the attributes; te—of Your Lordship; grnita—may chant; vak—my words; karma—activities of service to You; karotu—may perform; kayah—my body.

TRANSLATION

O my Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, will I again be; able to be a servant of Your eternal servants who find shelter only at Your lotus feet? O Lord of my life, may I again become their servant so that my mind may always think of Your transcendental attributes, my words always glorify those attributes, and my body always engage in the loving service of Your Lordship?

PURPORT

This verse gives the sum and substance of devotional life. One must first become a servant of the servant of the servant of the Lord (dasanudasa). Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu advised, and He also showed by His own example, that a living entity should always desire to be a servant of the servant of the servant of Krsna, the maintainer of the gopis (gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah). This means that one must accept a spiritual master who comes in the disciplic succession and is a servant of the servant of the Lord. Under his direction, one must then engage one’s three properties, namely his body, mind and words. The body should be engaged in physical activity under the order of the master, the mind should think of Krsna incessantly, and one’s words should be engaged in preaching the glories of the Lord. If one is thus engaged in the loving service of the Lord, one’s life is successful.

SB6.11.25

TEXT 25

na naka-prstham na ca paramesthyam

na sarva-bhaumam na rasadhipatyam

na yoga-siddhir apunar-bhavam va

samanjasa tva virahayya kankse

SYNONYMS

na—not; naka-prstham—the heavenly planets or Dhruvaloka; na—nor; ca—also; paramesthyam—the planet on which Lord Brahma resides; na—nor; sarva-bhaumam—sovereignty of the whole earthly planetary system; na—nor; rasa-adhipatyam—sovereignty of the lower planetary systems; na—nor; yoga-siddhih—eight kinds of mystic yogic power (anima, laghima, mahima, etc.); apunah-bhavam—liberation from rebirth in a material body; va—or; samanjasa—O source of all opportunities; tva—You; virahayya—being separated from; kankse—I desire.

TRANSLATION

O my Lord, source of all opportunities, I do not desire to enjoy in Dhruvaloka, the heavenly planets or the planet where Lord Brahma resides, nor do I want to be the supreme ruler of all the earthly planets or the lower planetary systems. I do not desire to be master of the powers of mystic yoga, nor do I want liberation if I have to give up Your lotus feet.

PURPORT

A pure devotee never desires to gain material opportunities by rendering transcendental loving service to the Lord. A pure devotee desires only to engage in loving service to the Lord in the constant association of the Lord and His eternal associates, as stated in the previous verse (dasanudaso bhavitasmi). As confirmed by Narottama dasa Thakura:

tandera carana sevi bhakta-sane vasa
janame janame haya, ei abhilasa

To serve the Lord and the servants of His servants, in the association of devotees, is the only objective of a pure, unalloyed devotee.

SB6.11.26

TEXT 26

ajata-paksa iva mataram khagah

stanyam yatha vatsatarah ksudh-artah

priyam priyeva vyusitam visanna

mano ’ravindaksa didrksate tvam

SYNONYMS

ajata-paksah—who have not yet grown wings; iva—like; mataram—the mother; khagah—small birds; stanyam—the milk from the udder; yatha—just as; vatsatarah—the young calves; ksudh-artah—distressed by hunger; priyam—the beloved or husband; priya—the wife or lover; iva—like; vyusitam—who is away from home; visanna—morose; manah—my mind; aravinda-aksa—O lotus-eyed one; didrksate—wants to see; tvam—You.

TRANSLATION

O lotus-eyed Lord, as baby birds that have not yet developed their wings always look for their mother to return and feed them, as small calves tied with ropes await anxiously the time of milking, when they will be allowed to drink the milk of their mothers, or as a morose wife whose husband is away from home always longs for him to return and satisfy her in all respects, I always yearn for the opportunity to render direct service unto You.

PURPORT

A pure devotee always yearns to associate personally with the Lord and render service unto Him. The examples given in this regard are most appropriate. A small baby bird is practically never satisfied except when the mother bird comes to feed it, a small calf is not satisfied unless allowed to suck the milk from the mother’s udder, and a chaste, devoted wife whose husband is away from home is never satisfied until she has the association of her beloved husband.

SB6.11.27

TEXT 27

mamottamasloka-janesu sakhyam

samsara-cakre bhramatah sva-karmabhih

tvan-mayayatmatmaja-dara-gehesv

asakta-cittasya na natha bhuyat

SYNONYMS

mama—my; uttama-sloka-janesu—among devotees who are simply attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead; sakhyam—friendship; samsara-cakre—in the cycle of birth and death; bhramatah—who am wandering; sva-karmabhih—by the results of my own fruitive activities; tvat-mayaya—by Your external energy; atma—to the body; atma-ja—children; dara—wife; gehesu—and home; asakta—attached; cittasya—whose mind; na—not; natha—O my Lord; bhuyat—may there be.

TRANSLATION

O my Lord, my master, I am wandering throughout this material world as a result of my fruitive activities. Therefore I simply seek friendship in the association of Your pious and enlightened devotees. My attachment to my body, wife, children and home is continuing by the spell of Your external energy, but I wish to be attached to them no longer. Let my mind, my consciousness and everything I have be attached only to You.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports to the Sixth Canto, Eleventh Chapter, of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled “The Transcendental Qualities of Vrtrasura.”

Next chapter (SB 6.12)