Shloka 6
Bali Mahārāja’s Surrender, Prahlāda’s Praise, and the Lord’s Mercy
Sutala and Future Indrahood
यस्मिन् वैरानुबन्धेन व्यूढेन विबुधेतरा: । बहवो लेभिरे सिद्धिं यामु हैकान्तयोगिन: ॥ ६ ॥ तेनाहं निगृहीतोऽस्मि भवता भूरिकर्मणा । बद्धश्च वारुणै: पाशैर्नातिव्रीडे न च व्यथे ॥ ७ ॥
yasmin vairānubandhena vyūḍhena vibudhetarāḥ bahavo lebhire siddhiṁ yām u haikānta-yoginaḥ
Even many asuras, bound to You by unbroken enmity, attained the perfection of the one-pointed yogīs. O Lord, You accomplish many purposes through a single act; therefore, though You have punished me in various ways, I feel neither shame at being bound by Varuṇa’s ropes nor any grievance.
Bali Mahārāja appreciated the Lord’s mercy not only upon him but upon many other demons. Because this mercy is liberally distributed, the Supreme Lord is called all-merciful. Bali Mahārāja was indeed a fully surrendered devotee, but even some demons who were not at all devotees but merely enemies of the Lord attained the same exalted position achieved by many mystic yogīs. Thus Bali Mahārāja could understand that the Lord had some hidden purpose in punishing him. Consequently he was neither unhappy nor ashamed because of the awkward position in which he had been put by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
FAQs
This verse states that even sustained absorption in the Lord through enmity (vairānubandha) can grant the perfection that exclusive yogīs attain, because the Lord is the ultimate object of consciousness.
Bali acknowledges the Lord’s extraordinary mercy: that remembrance of Vishnu is so purifying that even those absorbed in opposition can reach perfection—highlighting the Lord’s supremacy and grace in Bali’s encounter with Vamana.
Train the mind to return to the Divine consistently—through japa, study, and service—so that attention becomes steady and purifying rather than scattered and anxiety-producing.