Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: Canto 6: “Prescribed Duties for Mankind”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter Three
Yamarāja Instructs His Messengers
SB6.3Summary
As related in this chapter, the Yamadūtas approached Yamarāja, who very exhaustively explained bhāgavata-dharma, the religious principle of devotional service. Yamarāja thus satisfied the Yamadūtas, who had been very disappointed. Yamarāja said, “Although Ajāmila was calling for his son, he chanted the holy name of the Lord, Nārāyaṇa, and simply by a glimpse of the chanting of the holy name, he immediately achieved the association of Lord Viṣṇu’s order carriers, who saved him from your attempt to arrest him. This is quite all right. It is a fact that even a chronically sinful person who chants the holy name of the Lord, although not completely without offenses, does not take another material birth.”
By chanting the holy name of the Lord, Ajāmila had met four order carriers of Lord Viṣṇu. They were very beautiful and had quickly come to rescue him. Yamarāja now described them. “The Viṣṇudūtas are all pure devotees of the Lord, the Supreme Person in regard to the creation, maintenance and annihilation of this cosmic manifestation. Neither King Indra, Varuṇa, Śiva, Brahmā, the seven ṛṣis nor I myself can understand the transcendental activities of the Supreme Lord, who is self-sufficient and beyond the reach of the material senses. With material senses, no one can attain enlightenment about Him. The Lord, the master of the illusory energy, possesses transcendental qualities for the good fortune of everyone, and His devotees are also qualified in that way. The devotees, concerned only with rescuing the fallen souls from this material world, apparently take birth in different places in the material world just to save the conditioned souls. If one is somewhat interested in spiritual life, the devotees of the Lord protect him in many ways.”
Yamarāja continued, “The essence of sanātana-dharma, or eternal religion, is extremely confidential. No one but the Lord Himself can deliver that confidential religious system to human society. It is by the mercy of the Lord that the transcendental system of religion can be understood by His pure devotees, and specifically by the twelve mahājanas—Lord Brahmā, Nārada Muni, Lord Śiva, the Kumāras, Kapila, Manu, Prahlāda, Janaka, Bhīṣma, Bali, Śukadeva Gosvāmī and me. Other learned scholars, headed by Jaimini, are almost always covered by the illusory energy, and therefore they are more or less attracted by the flowery language of the three Vedas, namely Ṛg, Yajur and Sāma, which are called trayī. Instead of becoming pure devotees, people captivated by the flowery words of these three Vedas are interested in the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. They cannot understand the glories of chanting the holy name of the Lord. Intelligent persons, however, take to the devotional service of the Lord. When they chant the holy name of the Lord without offenses, they are no longer subject to my rulings. If by chance they commit some sinful act, they are protected by the holy name of the Lord because that is where their interest lies. The four weapons of the Lord, especially the club and the Sudarśana cakra, always protect the devotees. One who chants, hears or remembers the holy name of the Lord without duplicity, or who prays or offers obeisances to the Lord, becomes perfect, whereas even a learned person may be called to hell if he is bereft of devotional service.”
After Yamarāja thus described the glories of the Lord and His devotees, Śukadeva Gosvāmī further explained the potency of chanting the holy name and the futility of performing Vedic ritualistic ceremonies and pious activities for atonement.
SB6.3.1 TEXT 1 śrī-rājovāca niśamya devaḥ sva-bhaṭopavarṇitaṁ pratyāha kiṁ tān api dharmarājaḥ evaṁ hatājño vihatān murārer naideśikair yasya vaśe jano ’yam SYNONYMS śrī-rājā uvāca—the King said; niśamya—after hearing; devaḥ—Lord Yamarāja; sva-bhaṭa—of his own servants; upavarṇitam—the statements; pratyāha—replied; kim—what; tān—unto them; api—also; dharma-rājaḥ—Yamarāja, the superintendent of death and the judge of religious and irreligious activities; evam—thus; hata-ājñaḥ—whose order was foiled; vihatān—who were defeated; murāreḥ naideśikaiḥ—by the order carriers of Murāri, Kṛṣṇa; yasya—of whom; vaśe—under the subjugation; janaḥ ayam—all the people of the world.
TRANSLATION King Parīkṣit said: O my lord, O Śukadeva Gosvāmī, Yamarāja is the controller of all living entities in terms of their religious and irreligious activities, but his order had been foiled. When his servants, the Yamadūtas, informed him of their defeat by the Viṣṇudūtas, who had stopped them from arresting Ajāmila, what did he reply? PURPORT Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says that although the statements of the Yamadūtas were fully upheld by Vedic principles, the statements of the Viṣṇudūtas were triumphant. This was confirmed by Yamarāja himself.
SB6.3.2 TEXT 2 yamasya devasya na daṇḍa-bhaṅgaḥ kutaścanarṣe śruta-pūrva āsīt etan mune vṛścati loka-saṁśayaṁ na hi tvad-anya iti me viniścitam SYNONYMS yamasya—of Yamarāja; devasya—the demigod in charge of judgment; na—not; daṇḍa-bhaṅgaḥ—the breaking of the order; kutaścana—from anywhere; ṛṣe—O great sage; śruta-pūrvaḥ—heard before; āsīt—was; etat—this; mune—O great sage; vṛścati—can eradicate; loka-saṁśayam—the doubt of people; na—not; hi—indeed; tvat-anyaḥ—anyone other than you; iti—thus; me—by me; viniścitam—concluded.
TRANSLATION O great sage, never before has it been heard anywhere that an order from Yamarāja has been baffled. Therefore I think that people will have doubts about this that no one but you can eradicate. Since that is my firm conviction, kindly explain the reasons for these events. SB6.3.3 TEXT 3 śrī-śuka uvāca bhagavat-puruṣai rājan yāmyāḥ pratihatodyamāḥ patiṁ vijñāpayām āsur yamaṁ saṁyamanī-patim SYNONYMS śrī-śukaḥ uvāca—Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; bhagavat-puruṣaiḥ—by the order carriers of the Lord, the Viṣṇudūtas; rājan—O King; yāmyāḥ—the order carriers of Yamarāja; pratihata-udyamāḥ—whose efforts were defeated; patim—their master; vijñāpayām āsuḥ—informed; yamam—Yamarāja; saṁyamanī-patim—the master of the city Saṁyamanī.
TRANSLATION Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī replied: My dear King, when the order carriers of Yamarāja were baffled and defeated by the order carriers of Viṣṇu, they approached their master, the controller of Saṁyamanī-purī and master of sinful persons, to tell him of this incident. SB6.3.4 TEXT 4 yamadūtā ūcuḥ kati santīha śāstāro jīva-lokasya vai prabho trai-vidhyaṁ kurvataḥ karma phalābhivyakti-hetavaḥ SYNONYMS yamadūtāḥ ūcuḥ—the order carriers of Yamarāja said; kati—how many; santi—are there; iha—in this world; śāstāraḥ—controllers or rulers; jīva-lokasya—of this material world; vai—indeed; prabho—O master; trai-vidhyam—under the three modes of material nature; kurvataḥ—performing; karma—activity; phala—of the results; abhivyakti—of the manifestation; hetavaḥ—causes.
TRANSLATION The Yamadūtas said: Our dear lord, how many controllers or rulers are there in this material world? How many causes are responsible for manifesting the various results of activities performed under the three modes of material nature [sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa]? PURPORT Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says that the Yamadūtas, the order carriers of Yamarāja, were so disappointed that they asked their master, almost in great anger, whether there were many masters other than him. Furthermore, because the Yamadūtas had been defeated and their master could not protect them, they were inclined to say that there was no need to serve such a master. If a servant cannot carry out the orders of his master without being defeated, what is the use of serving such a powerless master?
SB6.3.5 TEXT 5 yadi syur bahavo loke śāstāro daṇḍa-dhāriṇaḥ kasya syātāṁ na vā kasya mṛtyuś cāmṛtam eva vā SYNONYMS yadi—if; syuḥ—there are; bahavaḥ—many; loke—in this world; śāstāraḥ—rulers or controllers; daṇḍa-dhāriṇaḥ—who punish the sinful men; kasya—of whom; syātām—there may be; na—not; vā—or; kasya—of whom; mṛtyuḥ—distress or unhappiness; ca—and; amṛtam—happiness; eva—certainly; vā—or.
TRANSLATION If in this universe there are many rulers and justices who disagree about punishment and reward, their contradictory actions will neutralize each other, and no one will be punished or rewarded. Otherwise, if their contradictory acts fail to neutralize each other, everyone will have to be both punished and rewarded. PURPORT Because the Yamadūtas had been unsuccessful in carrying out the order of Yamarāja, they doubted whether Yamarāja actually had the power to punish the sinful. Although they had gone to arrest Ajāmila, following Yamarāja’s order, they found themselves unsuccessful because of the order of some higher authority. Therefore they were unsure of whether there were many authorities or only one. If there were many authorities who gave different judgments, which could be contradictory, a person might be wrongly punished or wrongly rewarded, or he might be neither punished nor rewarded. According to our experience in the material world, a person punished in one court may appeal to another. Thus the same man may be either punished or rewarded according to different judgments. However, in the law of nature or the court of the Supreme Personality of Godhead there cannot be such contradictory judgments. The judges and their judgments must be perfect and free from contradictions. Actually the position of Yamarāja was very awkward in the case of Ajāmila because the Yamadūtas were right in attempting to arrest Ajāmila, but the Viṣṇudūtas had baffled them. Although Yamarāja, under these circumstances, was accused by both the Viṣṇudūtas and the Yamadūtas, he is perfect in administering justice because he is empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore he will explain what his real position is and how everyone is controlled by the supreme controller, the Personality of Godhead.
SB6.3.6 TEXT 6 kintu śāstṛ-bahutve syād bahūnām iha karmiṇām śāstṛtvam upacāro hi yathā maṇḍala-vartinām SYNONYMS kintu—but; śāstṛ—of governors or judges; bahutve—in the plurality; syāt—there may be; bahūnām—of many; iha—in this world; karmiṇām—persons performing actions; śāstṛtvam—departmental management; upacāraḥ—administration; hi—indeed; yathā—just like; maṇḍala-vartinām—of the departmental heads.
TRANSLATION The Yamadūtas continued: Since there are many different karmīs, or workers, there may be different judges or rulers to give them justice, but just as one central emperor controls different departmental rulers, there must be one supreme controller to guide all the judges. PURPORT In governmental management there may be departmental officials to give justice to different persons, but the law must be one, and that central law must control everyone. The Yamadūtas could not imagine that two judges would give two different verdicts in the same case, and therefore they wanted to know who the central judge is. The Yamadūtas were certain that Ajāmila was a most sinful man, but although Yamarāja wanted to punish him, the Viṣṇudūtas excused him. This was a puzzling situation that the Yamadūtas wanted Yamarāja to clarify.
SB6.3.7 TEXT 7 atas tvam eko bhūtānāṁ seśvarāṇām adhīśvaraḥ śāstā daṇḍa-dharo nṝṇāṁ śubhāśubha-vivecanaḥ SYNONYMS ataḥ—as such; tvam—you; ekaḥ—one; bhūtānām—of all living beings; sa-īśvarāṇām—including all the demigods; adhīśvaraḥ—the supreme master; śāstā—the supreme ruler; daṇḍa-dharaḥ—the supreme administrator of punishment; nṝṇām—of human society; śubha-aśubha-vivecanaḥ—who discriminates between what is auspicious and inauspicious.
TRANSLATION The supreme judge must be one, not many. It was our understanding that you are that supreme judge and that you have jurisdiction even over the demigods. Our impression was that you are the master of all living entities, the supreme authority who discriminates between the pious and impious activities of all human beings. SB6.3.8 TEXT 8 tasya te vihito daṇḍo na loke vartate ’dhunā caturbhir adbhutaiḥ siddhair ājñā te vipralambhitā SYNONYMS tasya—of the influence; te—of you; vihitaḥ—ordained; daṇḍaḥ—punishment; na—not; loke—within this world; vartate—exists; adhunā—now; caturbhiḥ—by four; adbhutaiḥ—very wonderful; siddhaiḥ—perfected persons; ājñā—the order; te—your; vipralambhitā—surpassed.
TRANSLATION But now we see that the punishment ordained under your authority is no longer effective, since your order has been transgressed by four wonderful and perfect persons. PURPORT The Yamadūtas had been under the impression that Yamarāja was the only person in charge of administering justice. They were fully confident that no one could counteract his judgments, but now, to their surprise, his order had been violated by the four wonderful persons from Siddhaloka.
SB6.3.9 TEXT 9 nīyamānaṁ tavādeśād asmābhir yātanā-gṛhān vyāmocayan pātakinaṁ chittvā pāśān prasahya te SYNONYMS nīyamānam—being brought; tava ādeśāt—by your order; asmābhiḥ—by us; yātanā-gṛhān—to the torture chambers, the hellish planets; vyāmocayan—released; pātakinam—the sinful Ajāmila; chittvā—cutting; pāśān—the ropes; prasahya—by force; te—they.
TRANSLATION We were bringing the most sinful Ajāmila toward the hellish planets, following your order, when those beautiful persons from Siddhaloka forcibly cut the knots of the ropes with which we were arresting him. PURPORT Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura remarks that the Yamadūtas wanted to bring the Viṣṇudūtas before Yamarāja. If Yamarāja could then have punished the Viṣṇudūtas, the Yamadūtas would have been satisfied.
SB6.3.10 TEXT 10 tāṁs te veditum icchāmo yadi no manyase kṣamam nārāyaṇety abhihite mā bhair ity āyayur drutam SYNONYMS tān—about them; te—from you; veditum—to know; icchāmaḥ—we wish; yadi—if; naḥ—for us; manyase—you think; kṣamam—suitable; nārāyaṇa—Nārāyaṇa; iti—thus; abhihite—being uttered; mā—do not; bhaiḥ—fear; iti—thus; āyayuḥ—they arrived; drutam—very soon.
TRANSLATION As soon as the sinful Ajāmila uttered the name Nārāyaṇa, these four beautiful men immediately arrived and reassured him, saying, “Do not fear. Do not fear.” We wish to know about them from Your Lordship. If you think we are able to understand them, kindly describe who they are. PURPORT The order carriers of Yamarāja, being very much aggrieved because of their defeat by the four Viṣṇudūtas, wanted to bring them before Yamarāja and, if possible, punish them. Otherwise they desired to commit suicide. Before pursuing either course, however, they wanted to know about the Viṣṇudūtas from Yamarāja, who is also omniscient.
SB6.3.11 TEXT 11 śrī-bādarāyaṇir uvāca iti devaḥ sa āpṛṣṭaḥ prajā-saṁyamano yamaḥ prītaḥ sva-dūtān pratyāha smaran pādāmbujaṁ hareḥ SYNONYMS śrī-bādarāyaṇiḥ uvāca—Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; iti—thus; devaḥ—the demigod; saḥ—he; āpṛṣṭaḥ—being questioned; prajā-saṁyamanaḥ yamaḥ—Lord Yamarāja, who controls the living entities; prītaḥ—being pleased; sva-dūtān—to his own servants; pratyāha—replied; smaran—remembering; pāda-ambujam—the lotus feet; hareḥ—of Hari, the Personality of Godhead.
TRANSLATION Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Thus having been questioned, Lord Yamarāja, the supreme controller of the living entities, was very pleased with his order carriers because of hearing from them the holy name of Nārāyaṇa. He remembered the lotus feet of the Lord and began to reply. PURPORT Śrīla Yamarāja, the supreme controller of the living entities in terms of their pious and impious activities, was very pleased with his servants because they had chanted the holy name of Nārāyaṇa in his dominion. Yamarāja has to deal with men who are all sinful and who can hardly understand Nārāyaṇa. Consequently when his order carriers uttered the name of Nārāyaṇa, he was extremely pleased, for he also is a Vaiṣṇava.
SB6.3.12 TEXT 12 yama uvāca paro mad-anyo jagatas tasthuṣaś ca otaṁ protaṁ paṭavad yatra viśvam yad-aṁśato ’sya sthiti-janma-nāśā nasy otavad yasya vaśe ca lokaḥ SYNONYMS yamaḥ uvāca—Yamarāja replied; paraḥ—superior; mat—than me; anyaḥ—another; jagataḥ—of all moving things; tasthuṣaḥ—of nonmoving things; ca—and; otam—crosswise; protam—lengthwise; paṭavat—like a woven cloth; yatra—in whom; viśvam—the cosmic manifestation; yat—of whom; aṁśataḥ—from the partial expansions; asya—of this universe; sthiti—the maintenance; janma—the creation; nāśāḥ—the annihilation; nasi—in the nose; ota-vat—like the rope; yasya—of whom; vaśe—under the control; ca—and; lokaḥ—the whole creation.
TRANSLATION Yamarāja said: My dear servants, you have accepted me as the Supreme, but factually I am not. Above me, and above all the other demigods, including Indra and Candra, is the one supreme master and controller. The partial manifestations of His personality are Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva, who are in charge of the creation, maintenance and annihilation of this universe. He is like the two threads that form the length and breadth of a woven cloth. The entire world is controlled by Him just as a bull is controlled by a rope in its nose. PURPORT The order carriers of Yamarāja suspected that there was a ruler even above Yamarāja. To eradicate their doubts, Yamarāja immediately replied, “Yes, there is one supreme controller above everything.” Yamarāja is in charge of some of the moving living entities, namely the human beings, but the animals, who also move, are not under his control. Only human beings have consciousness of right and wrong, and among them only those who perform sinful activities come under the control of Yamarāja. Therefore although Yamarāja is a controller, he is only a departmental controller of a few living entities. There are other demigods who control many other departments, but above them all is one supreme controller, Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ [Bs. 5.1]: the supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa. Others, who control their own departments in the affairs of the universe, are insignificant in comparison to Kṛṣṇa, the supreme controller. Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.7), mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya: “My dear Dhanañjaya [Arjuna], no one is superior to Me.” Therefore Yamarāja immediately cleared away the doubts of his assistants, the Yamadūtas, by confirming that there is a supreme controller above all others.
Śrīla Madhvācārya explains that the words otaṁ protam refer to the cause of all causes. The Supreme Lord is both vertical and horizontal to the cosmic manifestation. This is confirmed by the following verse from the Skanda Purāṇa:
yathā kanthā-paṭāḥ sūtra Like the two threads, horizontal and vertical, of which a quilt is manufactured, Lord Viṣṇu is situated as the vertical and horizontal cause of the cosmic manifestation.
SB6.3.13 TEXT 13 yo nāmabhir vāci janaṁ nijāyāṁ badhnāti tantryām iva dāmabhir gāḥ yasmai baliṁ ta ime nāma-karma- nibandha-baddhāś cakitā vahanti SYNONYMS yaḥ—He who; nāmabhiḥ—by different names; vāci—to the Vedic language; janam—all people; nijāyām—which has emanated from Himself; badhnāti—binds; tantryām—to a rope; iva—like; dāmabhiḥ—by cords; gāḥ—bulls; yasmai—unto whom; balim—a small presentation of taxes; te—all of them; ime—these; nāma-karma—of names and different activities; nibandha—by the obligations; baddhāḥ—bound; cakitāḥ—being fearful; vahanti—carry.
TRANSLATION Just as the driver of a bullock cart ties ropes through the nostrils of his bulls to control them, the Supreme Personality of Godhead binds all men through the ropes of His words in the Vedas, which set forth the names and activities of the distinct orders of human society [brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra]. In fear, the members of these orders all worship the Supreme Lord by offering Him presentations according to their respective activities. PURPORT In this material world, everyone is conditioned, regardless of who he is. One may be a human being, a demigod or an animal, tree or plant, but everything is controlled by the laws of nature, and behind this natural control is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is confirmed by Bhagavad-gītā (9.10), wherein Kṛṣṇa says, mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram: “The material nature is working under My direction and producing all moving and nonmoving beings.” Thus Kṛṣṇa is behind the natural machine, which works under His control.
Apart from other living entities, the living being in the human form of body is systematically controlled by the Vedic injunctions in terms of the divisions of varṇa and āśrama. A human being is expected to follow the rules and regulations of varṇa and āśrama; otherwise he cannot escape punishment by Yamarāja. The point is that every human being is expected to elevate himself to the position of a brāhmaṇa, the most intelligent man, and then one must transcend that position to become a Vaiṣṇava. This is the perfection of life. The brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra can elevate themselves by worshiping the Lord according to their activities (sve sve karmaṇy abhirataḥ saṁsiddhiṁ labhate naraḥ). The divisions of varṇa and āśrama are necessary to insure the proper execution of duties and peaceful existence for everyone, but everyone is directed to worship the Supreme Lord, who is all-pervading (yena sarvam idaṁ tatam). The Supreme Lord exists vertically and horizontally (otaṁ protam), and therefore if one follows the Vedic injunctions by worshiping the Supreme Lord according to one’s ability, his life will be perfect. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.13):
ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhā “O best among the twice-born, it is therefore concluded that the highest perfection one can achieve, by discharging his prescribed duties [dharma] according to caste divisions and orders of life, is to please the Lord Hari.” The varṇāśrama institution offers the perfect process for making one eligible to return home, back to Godhead, because the aim of every varṇa and āśrama is to please the Supreme Lord. One can please the Lord under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master. and if one does so his life is perfect. The Supreme Lord is worshipable. and everyone worships Him directly or indirectly. Those who worship Him directly get the results of liberation quickly, whereas the liberation of those who serve Him indirectly is delayed.
The words nāmabhir vāci are very important. In the varṇāśrama institution, there are different names—brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsī. The vāk, or Vedic injunctions, give directions for all these divisions. Everyone is expected to offer obeisances to the Supreme Lord and perform duties as indicated in the Vedas.
SB6.3.14-15 TEXTS 14–15 ahaṁ mahendro nirṛtiḥ pracetāḥ somo ’gnir īśaḥ pavano viriñciḥ āditya-viśve vasavo ’tha sādhyā marud-gaṇā rudra-gaṇāḥ sasiddhāḥ anye ca ye viśva-sṛjo ’mareśā bhṛgv-ādayo ’spṛṣṭa-rajas-tamaskāḥ yasyehitaṁ na viduḥ spṛṣṭa-māyāḥ sattva-pradhānā api kiṁ tato ’nye SYNONYMS aham—I, Yamarāja; mahendraḥ—Indra, the King of heaven; nirṛtiḥ—Nirṛti; pracetāḥ—Varuṇa, the controller of water; somaḥ—the moon; agniḥ—fire; īśaḥ—Lord Śiva; pavanaḥ—the demigod of the air; viriñciḥ—Lord Brahmā; āditya—the sun; viśve—Viśvāsu; vasavaḥ—the eight Vasus; atha—also; sādhyāḥ—the demigods; marut-gaṇāḥ—masters of the wind; rudra-gaṇāḥ—the expansions of Lord Śiva; sa-siddhāḥ—with the inhabitants of Siddhaloka; anye—others; ca—and; ye—who; viśva-sṛjaḥ—Marīci and the other creators of the universal affairs; amara-īśāḥ—the demigods like Bṛhaspati; bhṛgu-ādayaḥ—the great sages headed by Bhṛgu; aspṛṣṭa—who have not been contaminated; rajaḥ-tamaskāḥ—by the lower modes of material nature (rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa); yasya—of whom; īhitam—the activity; na viduḥ—do not know; spṛṣṭa-māyāḥ—who are illusioned by the illusory energy; sattva-pradhānāḥ—chiefly in the mode of goodness; api—although; kim—what to speak of; tataḥ—than them; anye—others.
TRANSLATION I, Yamarāja; Indra, the King of heaven; Nirṛti; Varuṇa; Candra, the moon-god; Agni; Lord Śiva; Pavana; Lord Brahmā; Sūrya, the sun-god; Viśvāsu; the eight Vasus; the Sādhyas; the Maruts; the Rudras; the Siddhas; and Marīci and the other great ṛṣis engaged in maintaining the departmental affairs of the universe, as well as the best of the demigods headed by Bṛhaspati, and the great sages headed by Bhṛgu are all certainly freed from the influence of the two base material modes of nature, namely passion and ignorance. Nevertheless, although we are in the mode of goodness, we cannot understand the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. What, then, is to be said of others, who, under illusion, merely speculate to know God? PURPORT The men and other living entities within this cosmic manifestation are controlled by the three modes of nature. For the living entities controlled by the base qualities of nature, passion and ignorance, there is no possibility of understanding God. Even those in the mode of goodness, like the many demigods and great ṛṣis described in these verses, cannot understand the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, one who is situated in the devotional service of the Lord is transcendental to all the material qualities. Therefore the Lord personally says that no one can understand Him but the bhaktas, who are transcendental to all material qualities (bhaktyā mām abhijānāti [Bg. 18.55]). As stated by Bhīṣmadeva to Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.9.16):
na hy asya karhicid rājan “O King, no one can know the plan of the Lord [Śrī Kṛṣṇa]. Even though great philosophers inquire exhaustively, they are bewildered.” No one, therefore, can understand God by speculative knowledge. Indeed, by speculation one will be bewildered (muhyanti). This is also confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (7.3):
manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu Among many thousands of men, one may endeavor for perfection, and even among the siddhas, those who have already become perfect, only one who adopts the process of bhakti, devotional service, can understand Kṛṣṇa.
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otāḥ protāś ca sa sthitāḥ
evaṁ viṣṇāv idaṁ viśvam
otaṁ protaṁ ca saṁsthitam
varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ
svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya
saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam
pumān veda vidhitsitam
yad-vijijñāsayā yuktā
muhyanti kavayo ’pi hi
kaścid yatati siddhaye
yatatām api siddhānāṁ
kaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ