SB 8.22.7 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

यस्मिन् वैरानुबन्धेन व्यूढेन विबुधेतरा: । बहवो लेभिरे सिद्धिं यामु हैकान्तयोगिन: ॥ ६ ॥ तेनाहं निगृहीतोऽस्मि भवता भूरिकर्मणा । बद्धश्च वारुणै: पाशैर्नातिव्रीडे न च व्यथे ॥ ७ ॥

Verse text

yasmin vairānubandhena vyūḍhena vibudhetarāḥ bahavo lebhire siddhiṁ yām u haikānta-yoginaḥ tenāhaṁ nigṛhīto ’smi bhavatā bhūri-karmaṇā baddhaś ca vāruṇaiḥ pāśair nātivrīḍe na ca vyathe

Synonyms

yasmin — unto You ; vaira — anubandhena — by continuously treating as an enemy ; vyūḍhena — firmly fixed by such intelligence ; vibudha — itarāḥ — the demons (those other than the demigods) ; bahavaḥ — many of them ; lebhire — achieved ; siddhim — perfection ; yām — which ; u ha — it is well known ; ekānta — yoginaḥ — equal to the achievements of the greatly successful mystic yogīs ; tena — therefore ; aham — I ; nigṛhītaḥ asmi — although I am being punished ; bhavatā — by Your Lordship ; bhūri — karmaṇā — who can do many wonderful things ; baddhaḥ ca — I am arrested and bound ; vāruṇaiḥ pāśaiḥ — by the ropes of Varuṇa ; na ati — vrīḍe — I am not at all ashamed of this ; na ca vyathe — nor am I suffering very much .

Translation

Many demons who were continuously inimical toward You finally achieved the perfection of great mystic yogīs. Your Lordship can perform one work to serve many purposes, and consequently, although You have punished me in many ways, I do not feel ashamed of having been arrested by the ropes of Varuṇa, nor do I feel aggrieved.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Many demons by continuous animosity toward you achieved the perfection that dedicated yogīs achieve. Although you, whose actions have wonderful effects, have punished me and bound me with ropes, I do not feel extremely ashamed and do not suffer. What to speak of me, your dedicated devotee, even the demons who hated you got your extraordinary mercy. I have been punished by you, the benefactor (tena), whose actions have great effects (bhūri-karmaṇā). I have a little shame: because of my impurity of heart.

Purport

Bali Mahārāja appreciated the Lord’s mercy not only upon him but upon many other demons. Because this mercy is liberally distributed, the Supreme Lord is called all-merciful. Bali Mahārāja was indeed a fully surrendered devotee, but even some demons who were not at all devotees but merely enemies of the Lord attained the same exalted position achieved by many mystic yogīs. Thus Bali Mahārāja could understand that the Lord had some hidden purpose in punishing him. Consequently he was neither unhappy nor ashamed because of the awkward position in which he had been put by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.