Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 8
Rāhu, Eclipses, Antarikṣa, and the Seven Subterranean Heavens
Bila-svarga
एतेषु हि बिलस्वर्गेषु स्वर्गादप्यधिककामभोगैश्वर्यानन्दभूतिविभूतिभि: सुसमृद्धभवनोद्यानाक्रीडविहारेषु दैत्यदानवकाद्रवेया नित्यप्रमुदितानुरक्तकलत्रापत्यबन्धुसुहृदनुचरा गृहपतय ईश्वरादप्यप्रतिहतकामा मायाविनोदा निवसन्ति ॥ ८ ॥
eteṣu hi bila-svargeṣu svargād apy adhika-kāma-bhogaiśvaryānanda-bhūti-vibhūtibhiḥ susamṛddha-bhavanodyānākrīḍa-vihāreṣu daitya-dānava-kādraveyā nitya-pramuditānurakta-kalatrāpatya-bandhu-suhṛd-anucarā gṛha-pataya īśvarād apy apratihata-kāmā māyā-vinodā nivasanti.
في هذه العوالم السبعة المعروفة أيضًا بـ«بِلا-سْوَرْغا» أي السماوات الجوفية، توجد لذّات الحسّ والثراء والنفوذ والبهجة بما يفوق حتى سماوات العُلا، إذ إنّ الشياطين هناك يملكون مستوى رفيعًا من التمتّع. وسكّانها—من الدَيتْيَة والدانَفَة والناغا—يعيش أكثرهم كأرباب بيوت في منازل وحدائق ومواضع لهو بالغة الفخامة. ومع الزوجات والأبناء والأقارب والأصدقاء والأتباع ينغمسون في سعادة مادية موهومة من صنع المايا؛ ولأن متعهم لا تُعكَّر كما تُعكَّر متع أنصاف الآلهة أحيانًا، عُرفوا بشدة التعلّق بالسرور الوهمي.
According to the statements of Prahlāda Mahārāja, material enjoyment is māyā-sukha, illusory enjoyment. A Vaiṣṇava is full of anxieties for the deliverance of all living entities from such false enjoyment. Prahlāda Mahārāja says, māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān: these fools ( vimūḍhas ) are engaged in material happiness, which is surely temporary. Whether in the heavenly planets, the lower planets or the earthly planets, people are engrossed in temporary, material happiness, forgetting that in due course of time they have to change their bodies according to the material laws and suffer the repetition of birth, death, old age and disease. Not caring what will happen in the next birth, gross materialists are simply busy enjoying during the present short span of life. A Vaiṣṇava is always anxious to give all such bewildered materialists the real happiness of spiritual bliss.
FAQs
This verse states that Bilasvarga contains pleasures and opulence even surpassing Svarga—splendid palaces and gardens—where Daityas, Dānavas, and Kādraveyās live with largely unobstructed sense enjoyment and magical, illusory amusements.
In the cosmological narration of Canto 5, Śukadeva explains the structure of the universe, including Pātāla regions, and highlights that extraordinary enjoyment can exist even in lower realms—yet it remains within māyā and does not equal spiritual liberation.
Even heightened comfort and seemingly “unlimited” enjoyment can still be illusory and temporary; the verse nudges a seeker to value lasting spiritual goals (bhakti and liberation) over ever-expanding sense gratification.