Devanagari
त्रिविधाकृतयस्तस्य राक्षसा असुरा: सुरा: ।
गुणिन्या मायया सृष्टा: सत्त्वं तत्तीर्थसाधनम् ॥ १८ ॥
Verse text
tri-vidhākṛtayas tasya
rākṣasā asurāḥ surāḥ
guṇinyā māyayā sṛṣṭāḥ
sattvaṁ tat tīrtha-sādhanam
Synonyms
tri
—
vidha — of three kinds
;
ākṛtayaḥ
—
forms
;
tasya
—
of His
;
rākṣasāḥ
—
the ignorant spirits
;
asurāḥ
—
the demons
;
surāḥ
—
and the demigods
;
guṇinyāḥ
—
qualified by the material modes
;
māyayā
—
by His material energy
;
sṛṣṭāḥ
—
created
;
sattvam
—
the mode of goodness
;
tat
—
among them
;
tīrtha
—
of success in life
;
sādhanam
—
the means of attainment .
Translation
The Lord expands into three kinds of manifest beings — the Rākṣasas, the demons and the demigods — all of whom are created by the Lord’s material energy and conditioned by her modes. But among these three modes, it is the mode of goodness which is the means of attaining life’s final success.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The Lord expands into three kinds of manifest beings—the Rākṣasas, the demons and the demigods—all of whom are created by the Lord's material energy and conditioned by her modes. But among these three modes, it is the mode of goodness which is the means of attaining life's final success.
KB 10.89.18
It may be questioned here why a devotee should be attached to the quality of goodness in the material world if he is transcendental to all material qualities. The answer is that there are different kinds of people existing in the modes of material nature. Those in the mode of ignorance are called Rākṣasas, those in the mode of passion are called asuras, and those in the mode of goodness are called suras, or demigods. Under the direction of the Supreme Lord, these three classes of men are created by material nature, but those in the mode of goodness have a greater chance to be elevated to the spiritual world, back home, back to Godhead.
Purport
In
Kṛṣṇa
Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: “There are different kinds of people existing in the modes of material nature. Those who are in the mode of ignorance are called
rākṣasas,
those in the mode of passion are called
asuras
[demons], and those in the mode of goodness are called
suras,
or demigods. Under the direction of the Supreme Lord, these three classes of men are created by material nature, but those who are in the mode of goodness have a greater chance to be elevated to the spiritual world, back home, back to Godhead.”
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
"But Visnu is beyond the gunas. How then can he be affectionate to someone in the gunas? He should be indifferent to everything concerning the gunas."
"Though he has made the three forms of raksasa asura and sura, sattva is the cause of attaining the goal of life (tirtha sadhanam)." This is the meaning given by Sridhara Swami. From the point of view of benefiting the jivas, sattva guna appears to be more dear to the merciful, sustaining Lord, though actually it is not. He is actually indifferent to all the gunas.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
He is the abode of material sattva. Is he abode of anything else? He takes three forms. Rākṣasas are in tamas, asuras are in rajas and devatās are in sattva. Others are also included. “Why is the Lord attracted to material sattva if he is unattached to māyā?” Sattva is the door (sādhanam) to understanding scriptures which propound bhakti (tīrtha). Sattva is related to bhakti through creating a favorable step towards it.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
The Lord having the dear form of sattva is described in three verses. There are three types of forms or receptacles. Tamas causes Rākṣasas, rajas causes demons and sattva causes devatās. Sattva causes (sādhanam) the final goal (tīrtha). Or among the guṇas (tat) sattva is the cause of the goal. The Lord’s greatness is shown by tolerance of Bhṛgu’s offense. This is possible in some devotee. But qualities like śānti or everything listed is ordinary in the devotee. But by the Lord’s mercy others can also attain this quality. The Lord is served by all excellence.