Shloka 41
Vasudeva and Devakī Glorify Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma; The Recovery of Devakī’s Six Sons from Sutala
दैत्यदानवगन्धर्वा: सिद्धविद्याध्रचारणा: । यक्षरक्ष:पिशाचाश्च भूतप्रमथनायका: ॥ ४१ ॥ विशुद्धसत्त्वधाम्न्यद्धा त्वयि शास्त्रशरीरिणि । नित्यं निबद्धवैरास्ते वयं चान्ये च तादृशा: ॥ ४२ ॥ केचनोद्बद्धवैरेण भक्त्या केचन कामत: । न तथा सत्त्वसंरब्धा: सन्निकृष्टा: सुरादय: ॥ ४३ ॥
daitya-dānava-gandharvāḥ siddha-vidyādhra-cāraṇāḥ yakṣa-rakṣaḥ-piśācāś ca bhūta-pramatha-nāyakāḥ
Many who were always bound in enmity toward You ultimately became drawn to You—You who are the direct abode of pure transcendental goodness, and whose divine form is the very body of the revealed śāstras. Among these reformed foes are Daityas, Dānavas, Gandharvas, Siddhas, Vidyādharas, Cāraṇas, Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, Piśācas, Bhūtas, Pramathas and Nāyakas, as well as ourselves and many others like us. Some were attracted by fierce hatred, others by devotion tinged with desire; but the demigods and those intoxicated by material goodness feel no such attraction for You.
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains this passage as follows: The Gandharvas, Siddhas, Vidyādharas and Cāraṇas are adversaries of the Supreme Lord when they follow the lead of the Daitya and Dānava demons. The Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, Piśācas and so on tend to be inimical because they are generally covered by ignorance. There are some rascals in the pure mode of ignorance, like Śiśupāla and Pauṇḍraka, who are totally absorbed in meditation on the Lord as their enemy, and this fixed consciousness earns them liberation. Others, in a mixed condition of passion and ignorance, associate with the Lord with a desire for position and prestige; Mahārāja Bali sees himself as belonging to this category. Yet Lord Viṣṇu favored Bali by becoming his doorkeeper in the subterranean region of Sutala, just as He favored the demons by killing and liberating them, and the Gandharvas by engaging them in singing His glories. On the other hand, the Lord awards sense gratification to those demigods who are proud of their being situated in the mode of goodness; thus they become deluded and forget Him.
FAQs
The verse names many classes of celestial and subterranean beings—Daityas, Dānavas, Gandharvas, Siddhas, Vidyādharas, Cāraṇas, Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, Piśācas, and leaders of Bhūtas and Pramathas—showing the vast range of personalities present to glorify Kṛṣṇa.
Bhāgavata theology emphasizes that Kṛṣṇa’s supremacy draws all categories of beings; even those known for tamasic tendencies can participate in glorification when confronted with the Lord’s transcendental presence.
Spiritual progress is not limited by social or cosmic status—what matters is turning one’s attention toward the Supreme through hearing and glorification.