Devanagari
जज्ञे त्वष्टुर्दक्षिणाग्नौ दानवीं योनिमाश्रित: ।
वृत्र इत्यभिविख्यातो ज्ञानविज्ञानसंयुत: ॥ ३८ ॥
Verse text
jajṣe tvaṣṭur dakṣiṇāgnau
dānavīṁ yonim āśritaḥ
vṛtra ity abhivikhyāto
jṣāna-vijṣāna-saṁyutaḥ
Synonyms
jajṣe
—
was born
;
tvaṣṭuḥ
—
of the brāhmaṇa known as Tvaṣṭā
;
dakṣiṇa
—
agnau — in the fire sacrifice known as dakṣiṇāgni
;
dānavīm
—
demoniac
;
yonim
—
species of life
;
āśritaḥ
—
taking shelter of
;
vṛtraḥ
—
Vṛtra
;
iti
—
thus
;
abhivikhyātaḥ
—
celebrated
;
jṣāna
—
vijṣāna — saṁyutaḥ — fully equipped with transcendental knowledge and practical application of that knowledge in life .
Translation
Being cursed by mother Durgā [Bhavānī, the wife of Lord Śiva], that same Citraketu accepted birth in a demoniac species of life. Although still fully equipped with transcendental knowledge and practical application of that knowledge in life, he appeared as a demon at the fire sacrifice performed by Tvaṣṭā, and thus he became famous as Vṛtrāsura.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
That same Citraketu accepted birth in a demoniac family, and appeared from the southern fire in the sacrifice performed by Tvaṣṭā. Endowed with scriptural knowledge and realization, he was known as Vṛtrāsura.
Yonim means family.
Purport
The word
yoni
is generally understood to mean
jāti
— family, group or species. Although Vṛtrāsura appeared in a family of demons, it is clearly said that his knowledge of spiritual life still existed.
Jṣāna-vijṣāna-saṁyutaḥ:
his spiritual knowledge and the practical application of that knowledge in life were not lost. Therefore it is said that even if a devotee falls down for some reason, he is still not lost.
yatra kva vābhadram abhūd amuṣya kiṁ
ko vārtha āpto ’bhajatāṁ sva-dharmataḥ
(
Bhāg.
1.5.17
)
Once one is advanced in devotional service, his spiritual assets are never lost under any circumstances. Whatever spiritual advancement he has achieved continues. This is confirmed in
Bhagavad-gītā.
Even if a
bhakti-yogī
falls, he takes birth in a rich family or family of
brāhmaṇas,
in which he again starts devotional activities from the point where he left off. Although Vṛtrāsura was known as an
asura,
or demon, he did not lose his consciousness of Kṛṣṇa or devotional service.