FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.17.15

दृष्ट्वान्यांश्च महोत्पातानतत्तत्त्वविद: प्रजा: । ब्रह्मपुत्रानृते भीता मेनिरे विश्‍वसम्प्लवम् ॥ १५ ॥
dṛṣṭvānyāṁś ca mahotpātān
[drishtvaanyaamsh cha mahotpaataan]
atat-tattva-vidaḥ prajāḥ
[atat-tattva-vidah prajaah]
brahma-putrān ṛte bhītā
[brahma-putraan rite bheetaa]
menire viśva-samplavam
[menire vishva-samplavam]
dṛṣṭvā — having seen anyān — others ca — and mahā — great utpātān — evil omens a-tat-tattva-vidaḥ — not knowing the secret (of the portents) prajāḥ — people brahma-putrān — the sons of Brahmā (the four Kumāras) ṛte — except bhītāḥ — being fearful menire — thought viśva-samplavam — the dissolution of the universe.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
dṛṣṭvānyāṁś ca mahotpātān
dṛṣṭvā
having seen
anyān
others
ca
and
mahā
great
atat-tattva-vidaḥ prajāḥ
brahma-putrān ṛte bhītā
utpātān
evil omens
a-tat-tattva-vidaḥ
not knowing the secret (of the portents)
prajāḥ
people
brahma-putrān
the sons of Brahmā (the four Kumāras)
ṛte
except
bhītāḥ
being fearful
menire viśva-samplavam
menire
thought
viśva-samplavam
the dissolution of the universe.
Marking these and many other omens of evil times, everyone but the four sage sons of Brahmā, who were aware of the fall of Jaya and Vijaya and of their birth as Diti’s sons, was seized with fear. They did not know the secrets of these portents and thought that the dissolution of the universe was at hand.

According to Bhagavad-gītā, Seventh Chapter, the laws of nature are so stringent that it is impossible for the living entity to surpass their enforcement. It is also explained that only those who are fully surrendered to Kṛṣṇa in Kṛṣṇa consciousness can be saved. We can learn from the description of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that it is because of the birth of two great demons that there were so many natural disturbances. It is to be indirectly understood, as previously described, that when there are constant disturbances on the earth, that is an omen that some demoniac people have been born or that the demoniac population has increased. In former days there were only two demons — those born of Diti — yet there were so many disturbances. At the present day, especially in this Age of Kali, these disturbances are always visible, which indicates that the demoniac population has certainly increased.

To check the increase of demoniac population, the Vedic civilization enacted so many rules and regulations of social life, the most important of which is the garbhādhāna process for begetting good children. In Bhagavad-gītā Arjuna informed Kṛṣṇa that if there is unwanted population ( varṇa-saṅkara ), the entire world will appear to be hell. People are very anxious for peace in the world, but there are so many unwanted children born without the benefit of the garbhādhāna ceremony, just like the demons born from Diti. Diti was so lusty that she forced her husband to copulate at a time which was inauspicious, and therefore the demons were born to create disturbances. In having sex life to beget children, one should observe the process for begetting nice children; if each and every householder in every family observes the Vedic system, then there are nice children, not demons, and automatically there is peace in the world. If we do not follow regulations in life for social tranquillity, we cannot expect peace. Rather, we will have to undergo the stringent reactions of natural laws.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Seeing also other powerful, evil portents, the citizens except for the Kumāras,, not knowing the truth, became afraid, and thought that the universe was about to be destroyed. Brahma-putrān means the Kumāras, since they had cursed the door keepers.
Devotion in this verse is not a feeling to wait for but a practice to take up. The heart catches up to the hands once we begin acting on the Lord's behalf instead of our own.
Reflection Questions
  • Where is your devotional life mostly verbal, and where is it actually costing you something?
  • Where in your life are you still 'enjoying' the fruits of work you call devotional?
📝 My note

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