Shloka 20
Citraketu Offends Śiva, Is Cursed by Pārvatī, and Is Glorified as a Vaiṣṇava
गुणप्रवाह एतस्मिन् क: शाप: को न्वनुग्रह: । क: स्वर्गो नरक: को वा किं सुखं दु:खमेव वा ॥ २० ॥
guṇa-pravāha etasmin kaḥ śāpaḥ ko nv anugrahaḥ kaḥ svargo narakaḥ ko vā kiṁ sukhaṁ duḥkham eva vā
In dieser Welt, die als Strom der Guṇas unaufhörlich fließt, was ist Fluch und was Gnade? Was ist Himmel und was Hölle? Was ist wirklich Glück und was wirklich Leid, wenn alles wie Wellen ständig weiterzieht?
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings, (miche) māyāra vaśe, yāccha bhese’, khāccha hābuḍubu, bhāi: “My dear living entities within this material world, why are you being carried away by the waves of the modes of material nature?” (Jīva) kṛṣṇa-dāsa, ei viśvāsa, karle ta’ āra duḥkha nāi: “If the living entity tries to understand that he is an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, there will no longer be misery for him.” Kṛṣṇa wants us to give up all other engagements and surrender unto Him. If we do so, where will the cause and effect of this material world be? There is nothing like cause and effect for the surrendered soul. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says in this regard that being put into this material world is like being thrown into a mine of salt. If one falls into a mine of salt, he tastes only salt wherever he goes. Similarly, this material world is full of miseries. The so-called temporary happiness of the world is also misery, but in ignorance we cannot understand this. That is the actual position. When one comes to his senses — when he becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious — he is no longer concerned with the various conditions of this material world. He is not concerned with happiness or distress, curses or favors, or heavenly or hellish planets. He sees no distinction between them.
FAQs
This verse teaches that within the shifting flow of the three guṇas, labels like “heaven” and “hell” are relative experiences—changing with consciousness and karma—rather than ultimate realities for the soul.
Vṛtrāsura expresses spiritual clarity and detachment: seeing worldly opposites as products of material nature, he focuses on devotion beyond temporary conditions.
Treat praise/blame, comfort/discomfort, and success/failure as passing states; anchor your identity in the soul and practice bhakti (hearing, chanting, remembering the Lord) to rise above reactive suffering.