SB 8.5.22
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 22
- na yasya vadhyo na ca rakṣaṇīyo
- nopekṣaṇīyādaraṇīya-pakṣaḥ
- tathāpi sarga-sthiti-saṁyamārthaṁ
- dhatte rajaḥ-sattva-tamāṁsi kāle
SYNONYMS
na — not; yasya — by whom (the Lord); vadhyaḥ — anyone is to be killed; na — nor; ca — also; rakṣaṇīyaḥ — anyone is to be protected; na — nor; upekṣaṇīya — to be neglected; ādaraṇīya — to be worshiped; pakṣaḥ — part; tathāpi — still; sarga — creation; sthiti — maintenance; saṁyama — and annihilation; artham — for the sake of; dhatte — He accepts; rajaḥ — passion; sattva — goodness; tamāṁsi — and ignorance; kāle — in due course of time.
TRANSLATION
For the Supreme Personality of Godhead there is no one to be killed, no one to be protected, no one to be neglected and no one to be worshiped. Nonetheless, for the sake of creation, maintenance and annihilation according to time, He accepts different forms as incarnations either in the mode of goodness, the mode of passion or the mode of ignorance.
PURPORT
This verse explains that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is equal to everyone. This is confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (BG 9.29):
- samo 'haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu
- na me dveṣyo 'sti na priyaḥ
- ye bhajanti tu māṁ bhaktyā
- mayi te teṣu cāpy aham
"I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him." Although the Lord is impartial, He gives special attention to His devotees. Therefore the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (BG 4.8):
- paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ
- vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
- dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya
- sambhavāmi yuge yuge
"To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium." The Lord has nothing to do with anyone's protection or destruction, but for the creation, maintenance and annihilation of this material world He apparently has to act either in goodness, in passion or in darkness. Actually, however, He is unaffected by these modes of material nature. He is the Supreme Lord of everyone. As a king sometimes punishes or rewards someone to maintain law and order, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although having nothing to do with the activities of this material world, sometimes appears as various incarnations according to the time, place and object.