Srimad Bhagavatam — Saptama Skandha, Shloka 8
Nārāyaṇa’s Impartiality, Absorption in Kṛṣṇa, and the Jaya–Vijaya Descent
Prelude to Prahlāda’s History
जयकाले तु सत्त्वस्य देवर्षीन् रजसोऽसुरान् । तमसो यक्षरक्षांसि तत्कालानुगुणोऽभजत् ॥ ८ ॥
jaya-kāle tu sattvasya devarṣīn rajaso ’surān tamaso yakṣa-rakṣāṁsi tat-kālānuguṇo ’bhajat
When the quality of goodness is prominent, the sages and demigods flourish with the help of that quality, with which they are infused and surcharged by the Supreme Lord. Similarly, when the mode of passion is prominent the demons flourish, and when ignorance is prominent the Yakṣas and Rākṣasas flourish. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is present in everyone’s heart, fostering the reactions of sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is not partial to anyone. The conditioned soul is under the influence of the various modes of material nature, and behind material nature is the Supreme Personality of Godhead; but one’s victory and loss under the influence of sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa are reactions of these modes, not of the Supreme Lord’s partiality. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, in the Bhāgavata-sandarbha, has clearly said:
FAQs
This verse explains that beings and outcomes align with the dominant guṇa of the time—goodness supports devas and sages, passion supports asuras, and ignorance supports Yakṣas and Rākṣasas.
He is clarifying how the world’s leadership and influence shift according to the prevailing mode of nature, helping answer how divine justice operates through time and guṇa.
Recognize the pull of sattva, rajas, and tamas in daily choices and deliberately cultivate sattva through discipline and purity, then transcend all three through steady bhakti (devotional service) to the Lord.