Shloka 35
Viśvarūpa’s Death, Vṛtrāsura’s Manifestation, and the Devas’ Surrender to Nārāyaṇa
अथ तत्र भवान् किं देवदत्तवदिह गुणविसर्गपतित: पारतन्त्र्येण स्वकृतकुशलाकुशलं फलमुपाददात्याहोस्विदात्माराम उपशमशील: समञ्जसदर्शन उदास्त इति ह वाव न विदाम: ॥ ३५ ॥
atha tatra bhavān kiṁ devadattavad iha guṇa-visarga-patitaḥ pāratantryeṇa sva-kṛta-kuśalākuśalaṁ phalam upādadāty āhosvid ātmārāma upaśama-śīlaḥ samañjasa-darśana udāsta iti ha vāva na vidāmaḥ.
Inilah pertanyaan kami: adakah Engkau, seperti Devadatta dan jiwa biasa, hadir di dunia ini dalam tubuh yang lahir daripada guṇa, lalu secara terikat menikmati atau menanggung hasil perbuatan baik dan buruk? Atau sebaliknya, Engkau hadir hanya sebagai Saksi yang berkecuali—ātma-rāma, tenang, melihat dengan benar, dan mencukupi diri? Wahai Bhagavan, kami tidak memahami kedudukan-Mu yang sebenar.
In Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa says that He descends to this material world for two purposes, namely paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām — to relieve the devotees and kill demons or nondevotees. These two kinds of action are the same for the Absolute Truth. When the Lord comes to punish the demons, He bestows His favor upon them, and similarly when He delivers His devotees and gives them relief, He also bestows His favor. Thus the Lord bestows His favor equally upon the conditioned souls. When a conditioned soul gives relief to others he acts piously, and when he gives trouble to others he acts impiously, but the Lord is neither pious nor impious; He is always full in His spiritual potency, by which He shows equal mercy to the punishable and the protectable. The Lord is apāpa-viddham; He is never contaminated by the reactions of so-called sinful activities. When Kṛṣṇa was present on this earth, He killed many inimical nondevotees, but they all received sārūpya; in other words, they returned to their original spiritual bodies. One who does not know the Lord’s position says that God is unkind to him but merciful to others. Actually the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.29) , samo ’haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo ’sti na priyaḥ: “I am equal to everyone. No one is My enemy, and no one is My friend.” But He also says, ye bhajanti tu māṁ bhaktyā mayi te teṣu cāpy aham: “If one becomes My devotee and fully surrenders unto Me, I give him special attention.”
FAQs
This verse raises the question explicitly—whether the Lord is like a conditioned soul bound by the modes and karma, or whether He is ātmārāma (self-satisfied) and udāsta (detached). The intended Bhagavata conclusion is that the Lord is not bound like Devadatta; He remains transcendental even while appearing within creation.
They are contrasting two possibilities: a dependent jīva who must accept karmic results versus the Supreme Lord who is self-sufficient and detached. The comparison highlights the devas’ humility and their attempt to understand divine action within the world.
The verse points to qualities like upaśama (inner calm), samañjasa-darśana (clear, consistent vision), and udāsīnatā (detachment). Practically, act responsibly, but offer results to Bhagavan and avoid identifying as the ultimate doer.