Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 6 Chapter 2 Verse 23

Canto 6: Prescribed Duties for Mankind | Chapter 2: Ajāmila Delivered by the Viṣṇudūtas

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 6.2.23

taḿ vivakṣum abhipretya

mahāpuruṣa-kińkarāḥ

sahasā paśyatas tasya

tatrāntardadhire 'nagha

SYNONYMS

tam — him (Ajāmila); vivakṣum — desiring to speak; abhipretya — understanding; mahāpuruṣa-kińkarāḥ — the order carriers of Lord Viṣṇu; sahasā — suddenly; paśyataḥ tasya — while he looked on; tatra — there; antardadhire — disappeared; anagha — O sinless Mahārāja Parīkṣit.

TRANSLATION

O sinless Mahārāja Parīkṣit, the order carriers of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Viṣṇudūtas, saw that Ajāmila was attempting to say something, and thus they suddenly disappeared from his presence.

PURPORT

The śāstras say:

pāpiṣṭhā ye durācārā

deva-brāhmaṇa-nindakāḥ

apathya-bhojanās teṣām

akāle maraṇaḿ dhruvam

"For persons who are pāpiṣṭha, very sinful, and durācāra, misbehaved or very unclean in their habits, who are against the existence of God, who disrespect Vaiṣṇavas and brāhmaṇas, and who eat anything and everything, untimely death is sure." It is said that in Kali-yuga one has a maximum lifetime of one hundred years, but as people become degraded, the duration of their lives decreases (prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ). Because Ajāmila was now free from all sinful reactions, his lifetime was extended, even though he was to have died immediately. When the Viṣṇudūtas saw Ajāmila trying to say something to them, they disappeared to give him a chance to glorify the Supreme Lord. Since all his sinful reactions had been vanquished, he was now prepared to glorify the Lord. Indeed, one cannot glorify the Lord unless one is completely free from all sinful activities. This is confirmed by Kṛṣṇa Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (7.28):

yeṣāḿ tv anta-gataḿ pāpaḿ

janānāḿ puṇya-karmaṇām

te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā

bhajante māḿ dṛḍha-vratāḥ

"Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life, whose sinful actions are completely eradicated and who are freed from the duality of delusion, engage themselves in My service with determination." The Viṣṇudūtas made Ajāmila aware of devotional service so that He might immediately become fit to return home, back to Godhead. To increase his eagerness to glorify the Lord, they disappeared so that he would feel separation in their absence. In the mode of separation, glorification of the Lord is very intense.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness