FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.16.36

तयोरसुरयोरद्य तेजसा यमयोर्हि व: । आक्षिप्तं तेज एतर्हि भगवांस्तद्विधित्सति ॥ ३६ ॥
tayor asurayor adya
[tayor asurayor adya]
tejasā yamayor hi vaḥ
[tejasaa yamayor hi vah]
ākṣiptaṁ teja etarhi
[aakshiptam teja etarhi]
bhagavāṁs tad vidhitsati
[bhagavaams tad vidhitsati]
tayoḥ — of them asurayoḥ — of the two asuras adya — today tejasā — by the prowess yamayoḥ — of the twins hi — certainly vaḥ — of all you demigods ākṣiptam — agitated tejaḥ — power etarhi — thus certainly bhagavān — the Supreme Personality of Godhead tat — that vidhitsati — desires to do.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tayor asurayor adya
tayoḥ
of them
asurayoḥ
of the two asuras
adya
today
tejasā yamayor hi vaḥ
tejasā
by the prowess
yamayoḥ
of the twins
hi
certainly
vaḥ
of all you demigods
ākṣiptaṁ teja etarhi
ākṣiptam
agitated
tejaḥ
power
etarhi
thus certainly
bhagavāṁs tad vidhitsati
bhagavān
the Supreme Personality of Godhead
tat
that
vidhitsati
desires to do.
It is the prowess of these twin asuras [demons] that has disturbed you, for it has minimized your power. There is no remedy within my power, however, for it is the Lord Himself who desires to do all this.

Although Hiraṇyakaśipu and Hiraṇyākṣa, formerly Jaya and Vijaya, became asuras, the demigods of this material world could not control them, and therefore Lord Brahmā said that neither he nor all the demigods could counteract the disturbance they created. They came within the material world by the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and He alone could counteract such disturbances. In other words, although Jaya and Vijaya assumed the bodies of asuras, they remained more powerful than anyone, thus proving that the Supreme Personality of Godhead desired to fight because the fighting spirit is also within Him. He is the original in everything, but when He desires to fight He must fight with a devotee. Therefore by His desire only were Jaya and Vijaya cursed by the Kumāras. The Lord ordered the gatekeepers to go down to the material world to become His enemies so that He could fight with them and His fighting desires would be satisfied by the service of His personal devotees.

Brahmā showed the demigods that the situation created by the darkness, for which they were disturbed, was the desire of the Supreme Lord. He wanted to show that even though these two attendants were coming in the forms of demons, they were very powerful, greater than the demigods, who could not control them. No one can surpass the acts of the Supreme Lord. The demigods were also advised not to try to counteract this incident, because it was ordered by the Lord. Similarly, anyone who is ordered by the Lord to perform some action in this material world, especially preaching His glories, cannot be counteracted by anyone; the will of the Lord is executed under all circumstances.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
For certain your power has been disrupted by the power of these two demons at this time. Now the Lord desires to relieve the situation. Yamayoḥ refers to twins but also indicates that they were death-like. “Do something to mitigate the situation.” “I am powerless!” I have no power over these two associates of the Lord who have fallen to earth by a curse. The Lord himself desires to mitigate the situation caused by these two.
The verse describes a universe that is not a random stage but an arrangement with a purpose. Our work is not to engineer that purpose but to find our seat within it. The verse keeps returning to Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Reflection Questions
  • How does it change your day to remember the universe was not built around your preferences?
  • How could awe of the creation become a daily practice and not just a Sunday feeling?
📝 My note

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