sa hi sarva-surÄdhyaká¹£o
hy asura-dviḠguhÄ-Å›ayaḥ
tan-mÅ«lÄ devatÄḥ sarvÄḥ
seÅ›varÄḥ sa-catur-mukhÄḥ
ayaá¹ vai tad-vadhopÄyo
yad ṛṣīṇÄá¹ vihiá¹sanam
saḥ - He (Lord Viṣṇu); hi - indeed; sarva-sura-adhyaká¹£aḥ - the leader of all the demigods; hi - indeed; asura-dviá¹ - the enemy of the asuras; guhÄ-Å›ayaḥ - He is the Supersoul within the core of everyone's heart; tat-mÅ«lÄḥ - taking shelter at His lotus feet; devatÄḥ - the demigods exist; sarvÄḥ - all of them; sa-Ä«Å›varÄḥ - including Lord Åšiva; sa-catuḥ-mukhÄḥ - as well as Lord BrahmÄ, who has four faces; ayam - this is; vai - indeed; tat-vadha-upÄyaḥ - the only means of killing Him (Viṣṇu); yat - which; ṛṣīṇÄm - of great sages, saintly persons, or Vaiṣṇavas; vihiá¹sanam - suppression with all kinds of persecution.
Lord Viṣṇu, the Supersoul within the core of everyone’s heart, is the ultimate enemy of the asuras and is therefore known as asura-dviá¹. He is the leader of all the demigods because all the demigods, including Lord Åšiva and Lord BrahmÄ, exist under His protection. The great saintly persons, sages and Vaiṣṇavas also depend upon Him. To persecute the Vaiṣṇavas, therefore, is the only way to kill Viṣṇu.
The demigods and the Vaiṣṇavas especially are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, because they are always obedient to His orders (oá¹ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaá¹ padaá¹ sadÄ paÅ›yanti sÅ«rayaḥ). The demoniac followers of Kaá¹sa thought that if the Vaiṣṇavas, saintly persons and sages were persecuted, the original body of Viṣṇu would naturally be destroyed. Thus they decided to suppress Vaiṣṇavism. The asuras perpetually struggle to persecute the Vaiṣṇavas because they do not want Vaiṣṇavism to spread. Vaiṣṇavas preach only devotional service, not encouraging karmÄ«s, jñÄnÄ«s and yogÄ«s, because if one must liberate oneself from material, conditional life, one must ultimately become a Vaiṣṇava. Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is directed with this understanding, and therefore the asuras always try to suppress it.
