Shloka 13
Vṛtrāsura Instructs Indra on Providence and Devotion; The Slaying of Vṛtrāsura
आयु: श्री: कीर्तिरैश्वर्यमाशिष: पुरुषस्य या: । भवन्त्येव हि तत्काले यथानिच्छोर्विपर्यया: ॥ १३ ॥
āyuḥ śrīḥ kīrtir aiśvaryam āśiṣaḥ puruṣasya yāḥ bhavanty eva hi tat-kāle yathānicchor viparyayāḥ
ดังคนผู้ไม่ปรารถนาความตาย ก็ยังต้องละอายุยืน ศรี ความเกียรติ และอำนาจทั้งปวงเมื่อถึงกาลมรณะ ฉันใด เมื่อถึงกาลแห่งชัยชนะที่กำหนดไว้ ก็ย่อมได้สิ่งเหล่านั้นด้วยพระกรุณาของพระผู้เป็นเจ้าสูงสุดฉันนั้น
It is not good to be falsely puffed up, saying that by one’s own effort one has become opulent, learned, beautiful and so on. All such good fortune is achieved through the mercy of the Lord. From another point of view, no one wants to die, and no one wants to be poor or ugly. Therefore, why does the living entity, against his will, receive such unwanted troubles? It is due to the mercy or chastisement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead that one gains or loses everything material. No one is independent; everyone is dependent on the mercy or chastisement of the Supreme Lord. There is a common saying in Bengal that the Lord has ten hands. This means that He has control everywhere — in the eight directions and up and down. If He wants to take everything away from us with His ten hands, we cannot protect anything with our two hands. Similarly, if He wants to bestow benedictions upon us with His ten hands, we cannot factually receive them all with our two hands; in other words, the benedictions exceed our ambitions. The conclusion is that even though we do not wish to be separated from our possessions, sometimes the Lord forcibly takes them from us; and sometimes He showers such benedictions upon us that we are unable to receive them all. Therefore either in opulence or in distress we are not independent; everything is dependent on the sweet will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
FAQs
This verse teaches that lifespan, prosperity, fame, and power arrive only at their appointed time, according to higher arrangement, not merely by personal desire.
In the context of the Indra–Vṛtrāsura battle, the Bhāgavatam highlights that worldly gains are not fully controllable; this supports the teaching of detachment and reliance on the Supreme.
Do sincere effort as duty, but reduce anxiety by accepting that outcomes unfold in their own time; focus on character and devotion rather than chasing status-driven results.