Shloka 9
Yamarāja Instructs the Yamadūtas: Supreme Authority, Mahājanas, and the Glory of the Holy Name
नीयमानं तवादेशादस्माभिर्यातनागृहान् । व्यामोचयन्पातकिनं छित्त्वा पाशान प्रसह्य ते ॥ ९ ॥
nīyamānaṁ tavādeśād asmābhir yātanā-gṛhān vyāmocayan pātakinaṁ chittvā pāśān prasahya te
Gemäß deinem Befehl führten wir den schwer sündigen Ajāmila zu den höllischen Welten, als jene schönen Wesen aus Siddhaloka gewaltsam die Knoten der Seile durchschnitten, mit denen wir ihn fesselten, und ihn befreiten.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura remarks that the Yamadūtas wanted to bring the Viṣṇudūtas before Yamarāja. If Yamarāja could then have punished the Viṣṇudūtas, the Yamadūtas would have been satisfied.
FAQs
This verse shows that the Lord’s attendants can override the Yamadūtas—cutting their nooses and freeing even a sinner—indicating the superior power of devotion and the holy name over karmic punishment.
They were astonished that their authority was checked; they therefore informed Yamarāja that Viṣṇu’s messengers forcibly freed the man they were escorting to punishment, prompting Yamarāja to explain true dharma and the rule of bhakti.
Take shelter of sincere devotional practice—especially remembrance and chanting of the Lord’s names—rather than relying only on moral self-effort, because bhakti transforms one’s destiny at the deepest level.