FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.64.22

एतस्मिन्नन्तरे यामैर्दूतैर्नीतो यमक्षयम् । यमेन पृष्टस्तत्राहं देवदेव जगत्पते ॥ २२ ॥
etasminn antare yāmair
[etasminn antare yaamair]
dūtair nīto yama-kṣayam
[dootair neeto yama-kshayam]
yamena pṛṣṭas tatrāhaṁ
[yamena prishtas tatraaham]
deva-deva jagat-pate
[deva-deva jagat-pate]
etasmin — at this antare — opportunity yāmaiḥ — of Yamarāja, the lord of death dūtaiḥ — by the messengers nītaḥ — taken yama - kṣayam — to the abode of Yamarāja yamena — by Yamarāja pṛṣṭaḥ — questioned tatra — there aham — I deva - deva — O Lord of lords jagat — of the universe pate — O master .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
etasminn antare yāmair
etasmin
at this
antare
opportunity
yāmaiḥ
of Yamarāja, the lord of death
dūtair nīto yama-kṣayam
dūtaiḥ
by the messengers
nītaḥ
taken
yama - kṣayam
to the abode of Yamarāja
yamena
by Yamarāja
yamena pṛṣṭas tatrāhaṁ
pṛṣṭaḥ
questioned
tatra
there
aham
I
deva-deva jagat-pate
deva - deva
O Lord of lords
jagat
of the universe
pate
O master .
  • etasmin antare — at this juncture
    Etasmin (in this) + antara (interval). The poet marks a hinge moment. The earthly dharma-court has dissolved; the next court is Yama's. The interval is the death itself, passed over in a half-line.
  • yāmaiḥ dūtaiḥ — by the messengers of Yama
    Yāma (of Yama) + dūta (messenger). The same dūtas who appeared to Ajāmila. Bhāgavata cosmology is precise: there are formal officers of post-mortem judgement; they do not appear for petty cases.
  • deva - deva jagat - pate — O Lord of lords, O master of the universe
    Nṛga, mid-narrative, breaks into vocatives. The pattern is bhakti's: the more dreadful the memory, the higher the form of address he reaches for. Gauḍīyas read these interruptions as the soul re-orienting itself toward shelter as it remembers fear.
  • yamena pṛṣṭaḥ — questioned by Yamarāja
    Yama himself, not a subordinate, conducted the interview. The case warranted the chief judge's attention — the poet's quiet signal that brāhmaṇa-aparādha is at the top of Yama's docket.
O Lord of lords, O master of the universe, the agents of Yamarāja, taking advantage of the opportunity thus created, later carried me to his abode. There Yamarāja himself questioned me.

According to the ācāryas, the King’s performance of fruitive activities had previously been flawless. But now an inadvertent discrepancy had arisen, and so when the King died the Yamadūtas took him to the abode of Yamarāja, called Saṁyamanī.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
O Lord of lords, O master of the universe, the agents of Yamarāja, taking advantage of the opportunity thus created, later carried me to his abode. There Yamarāja himself questioned me.
Commentary

This description in this verse took place after Nrga died. Yamaraja brought him to his city Samyamani (yamaksayam).

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

At the opportunity provided by his death at the end of my allotted lifespan, he fell to Yama’s abode. As will be stated later, he was a pious person and therefore went to Yama’s abode above Mānasa in the south (not hell). This place was not located on earth. In that place, Yama personally questioned him out of respect. O Kṛṣṇa, you are worshipped by Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva, since you are the protector of the universe (jagat-pate)! In order to protect the universe you have appointed Yama to be in charge of dharma but none of them can trespass your rules. For this reason Yama questioned the king.

Related values
Satya (Truthfulness)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)
Concepts
DharmaJiva
When Nṛga died, Yamarāja's agents took him to Saṁyamanī and Yama himself questioned him. A previously flawless life still goes to judgment when one inadvertent fault is present — accountability is not optional.
Reflection Questions
  • What unaddressed fault from my past will eventually be questioned somewhere?
  • How might I bring such matters to Kṛṣṇa now rather than later?

The Yama-dūtas come not for the wicked but for the man whose accounts have one unsettled line. Nṛga's ledger was vast and his sins were few — but the one line of brāhmaṇa-aparādha pulled him before the judge of the dead, opulence and crown notwithstanding.

Ajāmila and the Yama-dūtas

Ajāmila, dying in fear, saw three terrifying Yama-dūtas come for his soul (SB 6.1). They had genuine śāstric authority over him — and were repelled only by the Viṣṇu-dūtas who came when he chanted the name of Nārāyaṇa.

The Yama-dūtas are real and legal; they came for Ajāmila with proper warrant, and they came for Nṛga the same way. The Bhāgavatam is consistent: an offence on the ledger is not erased by piety elsewhere — only by the holy name or the offended one's mercy.

📝 My note

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