SB 10.85.43 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

दैत्यदानवगन्धर्वा: सिद्धविद्याध्रचारणा: । यक्षरक्ष:पिशाचाश्च भूतप्रमथनायका: ॥ ४१ ॥ विशुद्धसत्त्वधाम्न्यद्धा त्वयि शास्‍त्रशरीरिणि । नित्यं निबद्धवैरास्ते वयं चान्ये च ताद‍ृशा: ॥ ४२ ॥ केचनोद्बद्धवैरेण भक्त्या केचन कामत: । न तथा सत्त्वसंरब्धा: सन्निकृष्टा: सुरादय: ॥ ४३ ॥

Verse text

daitya-dānava-gandharvāḥ siddha-vidyādhra-cāraṇāḥ yakṣa-rakṣaḥ-piśācāś ca bhūta-pramatha-nāyakāḥ viśuddha-sattva-dhāmny addhā tvayi śāstra-śarīriṇi nityaṁ nibaddha-vairās te vayaṁ cānye ca tādṛśāḥ kecanodbaddha-vaireṇa bhaktyā kecana kāmataḥ na tathā sattva-saṁrabdhāḥ sannikṛṣṭāḥ surādayaḥ

Synonyms

daitya — dānava — the Daitya and Dānava demons ; gandharvāḥ — and the Gandharvas, celestial singers ; siddha — vidyādhara — cāraṇāḥ — the Siddha, Vidyādhara and Cāraṇa demigods ; yakṣa — the Yakṣas (semipious spirits) ; rakṣaḥ — the Rākṣasas (man-eating spirits) ; piśācāḥ — the carnivorous Piśāca demons ; ca — and ; bhūta — the ghosts ; pramatha — nāyakāḥ — and the evil Pramatha and Nāyaka spirits ; viśuddha — perfectly pure ; sattva — of goodness ; dhāmni — toward the embodiment ; addhā — direct ; tvayi — You ; śāstra — which comprises the revealed scriptures ; śarīriṇi — the possessor of such a body ; nityam — always ; nibaddha — fixed ; vairāḥ — in enmity ; te — they ; vayam — we ; ca — also ; anye — others ; ca — and ; tādṛśāḥ — like them ; kecana — some ; udbaddha — especially obstinate ; vaireṇa — with hatred ; bhaktyā — with devotion ; kecana — some ; kāmataḥ — rising out of lust ; na — not ; tathā — so ; sattva — by the material mode of goodness ; saṁrabdhāḥ — those who are predominated ; sannikṛṣṭāḥ — attracted ; sura — demigods ; ādayaḥ — and others .

Translation

Many who had been constantly absorbed in enmity toward You ultimately became attracted to You, who are the direct embodiment of transcendental goodness and whose divine form comprises the revealed scriptures. These reformed enemies include Daityas, Dānavas, Gandharvas, Siddhas, Vidyādharas, Cāraṇas, Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, Piśācas, Bhūtas, Pramathas and Nāyakas, and also ourselves and many others like us. Some of us have become attracted to You because of exceptional hatred, while others have become attracted because of their mood of devotion based on lust. But the demigods and others infatuated by material goodness feel no such attraction for You.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Many who had been constantly absorbed in enmity toward You ultimately became attracted to You, who are the direct embodiment of transcendental goodness and whose divine form comprises the revealed scriptures. These reformed enemies include Daityas, Dānavas, Gandharvas, Siddhas, Vidyādharas, Cāraṇas, Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, Piśācas, Bhūtas, Pramathas and Nāyakas, and also ourselves and many others like us. Some of us have become attracted to You because of exceptional hatred, while others have become attracted because of their mood of devotion based on lust. But the demigods and others infatuated by material goodness feel no such attraction for You. KB 10.85.41-43 “My dear Lord, we belong to the daitya, or demon, category. The demons or demoniac persons—the Gandharvas, the Siddhas, the Vidyādharas, the Cāraṇas, the Yakṣas, the Rākṣasas, the Piśācas, the ghosts and the hobgoblins—are by nature incapable of worshiping You or becoming Your devotees. Instead of becoming Your devotees, they are simply impediments on the path of devotion. But You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, representing all the Vedas, and are situated in the mode of uncontaminated goodness. Your position is always transcendental. For this reason, some of us, although born of the modes of passion and ignorance, have taken shelter of Your lotus feet and have become devotees. Some of us are actually pure devotees, and some of us have taken shelter of Your lotus feet because we desire to gain something from devotion.

Purport

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains this passage as follows: The Gandharvas, Siddhas, Vidyādharas and Cāraṇas are adversaries of the Supreme Lord when they follow the lead of the Daitya and Dānava demons. The Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, Piśācas and so on tend to be inimical because they are generally covered by ignorance. There are some rascals in the pure mode of ignorance, like Śiśupāla and Pauṇḍraka, who are totally absorbed in meditation on the Lord as their enemy, and this fixed consciousness earns them liberation. Others, in a mixed condition of passion and ignorance, associate with the Lord with a desire for position and prestige; Mahārāja Bali sees himself as belonging to this category. Yet Lord Viṣṇu favored Bali by becoming his doorkeeper in the subterranean region of Sutala, just as He favored the demons by killing and liberating them, and the Gandharvas by engaging them in singing His glories. On the other hand, the Lord awards sense gratification to those demigods who are proud of their being situated in the mode of goodness; thus they become deluded and forget Him.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

"How amazing it is! Even though we have natures of raja and tama, we have become more fortunate than the devatas in sattva." This is expressed in three verses. "The devatas endowed with sattva guna (sattva samrabdhah) have not attained such closeness to you, with body made of scriptures about devotion (sastra sarinini), with a body of sat cid ananda (visuddha sattva dhamni), as we have." In the seventh canto of bhagavatam the lord is described as the form of satvata scripture. "But you are my greatest devotees." "No, we, coming from the famous dynasty of Hiranyaksipu, your eternal sworn enemies, on the side of the daityas opposing you with sons like Bana, and others such as danavas and raksasas, and others having extreme envy, and others such as the Gandhavras with sakama bhati (kamatah bhatya), have been brought to you. By mercy you let me see you standing at the door, you give liberation to others by killing them, you hear and make the devotees hear the Gandharvas as they sing your glories, but you give the devatas only material enjoyment which makes them forget you." His ascribing demonic qualities to himself is a characteristic of most elevated devotion.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Though the demons are completely inimical to you, that animosity is nothing. Still they become attracted to you, the supervisor (dhāmni) of pure sattva, unmixed with rajas and tamas, the source of the scriptures (śāstra-śarīriṇi). They become inimical to devotees who take the demons as unfavorable since the demons reject the scriptures because of their natures of rajas and tamas. Thus they naturally are inimical to you who protect the devotees. The Gandharvas, Siddhas, Vidyādharas and Cāraṇas, though not inimical to the Lord by nature, often follow the demons because of natures of rajas and tamas. Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, Piśācas and others, and I also, having natures of tamas, follow the demons and are well known for our evil natures. I am included with the demons. Because of that, I also have strong animosity to you. Some others, humans such as Kaṁsa, are similar to the demons. The two words ca indicate that these persons are predominant. Some of these humans such as Pauṇḍraka are in pure tamas and have extreme animosity. Thus they become completely absorbed in thinking of the Lord. Some achieved liberation (sannikṛṣṭāḥ). Others like me, having bhakti mixed with rajas, with desires for fame and other things, were attracted by places in the three worlds. The devatās however were not attracted in this way.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Though the demons are completely inimical to you, that animosity is nothing. Still they become attracted to you, who are the supervisor (dhāmni) of pure sattva, unmixed with rajas and tamas, and the source of the scriptures (śāstra-śarīriṇi). They become inimical to devotees who take the demons as unfavorable since the demons reject the scriptures, because of their natures of rajas and tamas. Consequently they are naturally inimical to you who protect the devotees. The Gandharvas, Siddhas, Vidyādharas and Cāraṇas, though not inimical to the Lord by nature, often follow the demons because of their natures of rajas and tamas. Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, Piśācas and others, and I also, having natures of tamas, follow the demons and are well known for their evil natures. I am included with the demons. Because of that, I also have strong animosity to you. Some others, humans such as Kaṁsa, are similar to the demons. The two words ca indicate that these persons are predominant. Some of these humans such as Pauṇḍraka are in pure tamas and have extreme animosity. Thus they become completely absorbed in thinking of the Lord (bhaktyā). Having spoken of tamoguṇa, rajoguṇa is described. Some such as Gayāsura desired Svarga. Or they thought of the Lord with lust (kāmataḥ) on seeing Mohinī. The devatās are not like this. They could not absorb their minds in you because of great attachment to enjoying. Ādayaḥ refers to sages who were attracted to karmas.