Srimad Bhagavatam — Ashtama Skandha, Shloka 14
Aditi’s Lament and Kaśyapa’s Instruction of the Payo-vrata (Milk Vow) to Please Keśava
तवैव मारीच मन:शरीरजा: प्रजा इमा: सत्त्वरजस्तमोजुष: । समो भवांस्तास्वसुरादिषु प्रभो तथापि भक्तं भजते महेश्वर: ॥ १४ ॥
tavaiva mārīca manaḥ-śarīrajāḥ prajā imāḥ sattva-rajas-tamo-juṣaḥ samo bhavāṁs tāsv asurādiṣu prabho tathāpi bhaktaṁ bhajate maheśvaraḥ
O son of Marīci, because you are a great personality you are equal toward all the demons and demigods, who are born either from your body or from your mind and who possess one or another of the three qualities — sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa or tamo-guṇa. But although the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the supreme controller, is equal toward all living entities, He is especially favorable to the devotees.
In Bhagavad-gītā (9.29) the Lord says:
FAQs
This verse says that although a great lord may be equal toward all beings, Lord Shiva is renowned for especially favoring and serving his devotee—highlighting the distinctive power of bhakti.
Aditi addresses Marici to acknowledge his role as progenitor and as an impartial sage among devas and asuras, while emphasizing that devotion draws special mercy—setting the mood for seeking divine help through bhakti.
Practice steady devotion—prayer, remembrance, and service—without envy toward others; the verse teaches that sincere bhakti invites special divine support even amid life’s mixed modes and conflicts.