इत्याभाष्य सुरान्वेधाः सह देवैररिन्दम ।
अजितस्य पदं साक्षाज्जगाम तमसः परम् ॥२४॥
Å›rÄ«-Å›uka uvÄca
ity ÄbhÄá¹£ya surÄn vedhÄḥ
saha devair arindama
ajitasya padaá¹ sÄká¹£Äj
jagÄma tamasaḥ param
Å›rÄ«-Å›ukaḥ uvÄca - ÅšrÄ« Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« said; iti - thus; ÄbhÄá¹£ya - talking; surÄn - unto the demigods; vedhÄḥ - Lord BrahmÄ, who is the head of this universe and who gives everyone good sense in Vedic knowledge; saha - with; devaiḥ - the demigods; arim-dama - O MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it, subduer of all kinds of enemies (such as the senses); ajitasya - of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; padam - to the place; sÄká¹£Ät - directly; jagÄma - went; tamasaḥ - the world of darkness; param - transcendental to, beyond.
O MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it, subduer of all enemies, after Lord BrahmÄ finished speaking to the demigods, he took them with him to the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which is beyond this material world. The Lord’s abode is on an island called ÅšvetadvÄ«pa, which is situated in the Ocean of Milk.
MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it is addressed here as arindama, “subduer of all enemies.†Not only do we have enemies outside of our bodies, but within our bodies there are many enemies, such as lusty desires, anger and greed. MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it is specifically addressed as arindama because in his political life he was able to subdue all kinds of enemies, and even though he was a young king, as soon as he heard that he was going to die within seven days, he immediately left his kingdom. He did not follow the dictates of enemies within his body, such as lust, greed and anger. He was not at all angry with the muni’s son who had cursed him. Rather, he accepted the curse and prepared for his death in the association of Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ«. Death is inevitable; no one can surpass the force of death. Therefore MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it, while fully alive, wanted to hear ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam. He is consequently addressed here as arindama.
Another word, sura-priya, is also significant. Although Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is equal toward everyone, He is especially inclined toward His devotees (ye bhajanti tu mÄá¹ bhaktyÄ mayi te teá¹£u cÄpy aham). The devotees are all demigods. There are two kinds of men within this world. One is called the deva, and the other is called the asura. The Padma PurÄṇa states:
dvau bhūta-sargau loke ’smin
daiva Äsura eva ca
viṣṇu-bhaktaḥ smṛto daiva
Äsuras tad-viparyayaḥ
Anyone who is a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa is called a deva, and others, even though they may be devotees of demigods, are called asuras. RÄvaṇa, for example, was a great devotee of Lord Åšiva, but he is described as an asura. Similarly, HiraṇyakaÅ›ipu is described as a great devotee of Lord BrahmÄ, yet he was also an asura. Therefore, only the devotee of Lord Viṣṇu is called sura, not asura. Lord Kṛṣṇa is very much pleased with His devotees, even if they are not on the topmost stage of devotional service. Even on the lower stages of devotional service one is transcendental, and if one continues with devotional life, he continues to be a deva or sura. If one continues in this way, Kṛṣṇa will always be pleased with him and will give him all instructions so that he may very easily return home, back to Godhead.
Concerning ajitasya padam, the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the Milk Ocean of this material world, ÅšrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ« ṬhÄkura says: padaá¹ kṣīrodadhi-stha-Å›vetadvÄ«paá¹ tamasaḥ praká¹›teḥ param. The island known as ÅšvetadvÄ«pa, which is in the Ocean of Milk, is transcendental. It has nothing to do with this material world. A city government may have a rest house where the governor and important government officers stay. Such a rest house is not an ordinary house. Similarly, although ÅšvetadvÄ«pa, which is in the Ocean of Milk, is in this material world, it is paraá¹ padam, transcendental.
