SB 8.16.14

SB 8.16.14

Devanagari

तवैव मारीच मन:शरीरजा: प्रजा इमा: सत्त्वरजस्तमोजुष: । समो भवांस्तास्वसुरादिषु प्रभो तथापि भक्तं भजते महेश्वर: ॥ १४ ॥

Verse text

tavaiva mārīca manaḥ-śarīrajāḥ prajā imāḥ sattva-rajas-tamo-juṣaḥ samo bhavāṁs tāsv asurādiṣu prabho tathāpi bhaktaṁ bhajate maheśvaraḥ

Synonyms

tava your ; eva indeed ; mārīca O son of Marīci ; manaḥ śarīra — jāḥ — born either of your body or of your mind (all the demons and demigods) ; prajāḥ born of you ; imāḥ all of them ; sattva rajaḥ — tamaḥ — juṣaḥ — infected with sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa or tamo-guṇa ; samaḥ equal ; bhavān your good self ; tāsu to every one of them ; asura ādiṣu — beginning with the asuras ; prabho O my lord ; tathā api still ; bhaktam unto the devotees ; bhajate takes care of ; mahā īśvaraḥ — the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the supreme controller .

Translation

O son of Marīci, because you are a great personality you are equal toward all the demons and demigods, who are born either from your body or from your mind and who possess one or another of the three qualities — sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa or tamo-guṇa. But although the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the supreme controller, is equal toward all living entities, He is especially favorable to the devotees.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

O son of Marīci! All the demons and devatās, possessing sattva, rajas, or tamas, are born either from your body or from your mind. O master! You are equal to the all, but the Supreme Lord protects his devotee. If you ask, then my suffering can be relieved very easily by your mercy. This is explained in four verses. Just as the Lord, though equal to all, serves his devotee, you, though equal to all your sons, should protect Indra, who is devoted to you.

Purport

In Bhagavad-gītā (9.29) the Lord says: samo ’haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo ’sti na priyaḥ ye bhajanti tu māṁ bhaktyā mayi te teṣu cāpy aham Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead is equal toward everyone, He is especially inclined toward those who engage in His devotional service. The Lord says, kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati: “My dear son of Kuntī, please declare that My devotee will never be vanquished.” Elsewhere, Kṛṣṇa also says: ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham mama vartmānuvartante manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ (Bg. 4.11) Actually, everyone is trying to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead in various ways, but according to their methods of approach, the Supreme Lord endows them with different benedictions. Thus Aditi appealed to her husband by saying that since even the supreme controller favors His devotees and since Indra, Kaśyapa’s devoted son, was in difficulty, Kaśyapa should bestow his favor upon Indra.