Category:Bhagavatam Verses Spoken by Vrtrasura - Vaniquotes
- Vṛtrāsura is the 47th top speaker of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with 31 verses at Vanisource. He speaks only in the 6th canto (31 verses).
Theme Analysis
The verses spoken by Vṛtrāsura are unique in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam because they come from the mouth of an asura (demon) yet contain the highest realizations of a mahā-bhāgavata. Vṛtrāsura's speeches are a blend of heroic challenge to Indra and deep devotional surrender to Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa. His teachings reveal that external appearance does not determine one's spiritual standing.
- The Philosophy of Dependence: Vṛtrāsura teaches that all living entities are like wooden dolls or birds caught in a net, fully controlled by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He views the battle with Indra as a gambling match orchestrated by providence, where victory and defeat are not in his hands.
- The Glory of Death: Unlike ordinary demons who fear death, Vṛtrāsura welcomes it. He encourages Indra to kill him with the thunderbolt, knowing that it is empowered by Lord Viṣṇu and Dadhīci. He sees death as the gateway to liberation and service to the Lord.
- The Four Prayers (Catuḥ-ślokī): In the midst of battle, Vṛtrāsura offers four famous prayers that express the essence of pure devotion. He yearns for the Lord as a baby bird waits for its mother, as a hungry calf waits for milk, and as a morose wife waits for her husband. He rejects liberation, mystic powers, and heavenly planets, asking only for the association of devotees.
- Rebuking Indra: Vṛtrāsura chastises Indra for killing his spiritual master (Viśvarūpa) and for being attached to material opulence. He exposes the hypocrisy of the demigods, who claim to be religious but commit heinous acts for their own gain.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Vṛtrāsura’s Teachings - The Heart of a Devotee in a Demon’s Body.
Pages in category "Bhagavatam Verses Spoken by Vrtrasura - Vaniquotes"
The following 55 pages are in this category, out of 55 total.
A
- A foolish, senseless person cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although always dependent, he falsely thinks himself the Supreme
- According to his position and the time and circumstances, Vrtrasura, the hero among heroes, spoke words that were much to be appreciated by thoughtful men
- All living beings in all the planets of this universe, including the presiding deities of all the planets, are fully under the control of the Lord. They work like birds caught in a net, who cannot move independently
- Although your attack upon me with your club was certainly useless, like a request of money from a miser, the thunderbolt you carry will not be useless. You need have no doubts about this
- As a morose wife whose husband is away from home always longs for him to return and satisfy her in all respects, I always yearn for the opportunity to render direct service unto You
- As a wooden doll that looks like a woman or as an animal made of grass and leaves cannot move or dance independently, but depends fully on the person who handles it, all of us dance according to the desire of the SC, the PG. No one is independent
- As small calves tied with ropes await anxiously the time of milking, when they will be allowed to drink the milk of their mothers, I always yearn for the opportunity to render direct service unto You
B
- Being dependent and being obliged to accept material bodies, belligerent subordinates are sometimes victorious and sometimes defeated
- By the force of your thunderbolt, I shall be freed of material bondage and shall give up this body and this world of material desires. Fixing my mind upon the lotus feet of Lord Sankarsana, I shall attain the destination of such great sages as Narada Muni
H
- He (Indra) dared not pick up his weapon again. Vrtrasura, however, encouraged him, saying, "Take up your thunderbolt and kill your enemy. This is not the time to lament your fate"
- He (Vrtrasura's elder brother) was your (Indra's) spiritual master, but although you entrusted him with the performance of your sacrifice, you later mercilessly severed his heads from his body the way one butchers an animal
- He (Vrtrasura) called to the heroes of the demons, "O Vipracitti! O Namuci! O Puloma! O Maya, Anarva and Sambara! Please hear me and do not flee"
I
- I do not desire to be master of the powers of mystic yoga, nor do I want liberation if I have to give up Your lotus feet
- I have already been defeated, for my weapon and arm have been cut to pieces. You have already overwhelmed me, but nonetheless, with a desire to kill you, I am trying my best to fight. I am not at all morose, even under such adverse conditions
- I shall thus be relieved of my obligations to the reactions of my karma, and my fortune will be to receive the dust from the lotus feet of great devotees like Narada Muni
- If in this battle you cut off my head with your thunderbolt and kill my soldiers, O Indra, O great hero, I (Vrtrasura) shall take great pleasure in offering my body to other living entities (such as jackals and vultures)
- If one thinks, "According to one's previous fruitive actions, one's material body is created by the father and mother, and the same body is annihilated by another agent, as another animal is devoured by a tiger," this is not proper understanding
- Indra, you are bereft of all shame, mercy, glory and good fortune. Deprived of these good qualities by the reactions of your fruitive activities, you are to be condemned even by the man-eaters (Raksasas)
O
- O demigods, these demoniac soldiers have taken birth uselessly. Indeed, they have come from the bodies of their mothers exactly like stool. What is the benefit of killing such enemies from behind while they are running in fear?
- O Indra, King of heaven, the thunderbolt you carry to kill me has been empowered by the prowess of Lord Visnu and the strength of Dadhici's austerities
- O Indra, one can thus infer how kind the Lord is. Such mercy is obtainable only by unalloyed devotees, not by persons who aspire for material gains
- O insignificant demigods, if you truly have faith in your heroism, if you have patience in the cores of your hearts and if you are not ambitious for sense gratification, please stand before me for a moment
- O King of the demigods (Indra), since I (Vrtrasura), your enemy, am standing before you, why don't you hurl your thunderbolt at me?
- O Lord of my life, may I again become their servant so that my mind may always think of Your transcendental attributes, my words always glorify those attributes, and my body always engage in the loving service of Your Lordship?
- O lotus-eyed Lord, as baby birds that have not yet developed their wings always look for their mother to return and feed them, I always yearn for the opportunity to render direct service unto You
- O my Lord, my master, I am wandering throughout this material world as a result of my fruitive activities. Therefore I simply seek friendship in the association of Your pious and enlightened devotees
- O my Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, will I again be able to be a servant of Your eternal servants who find shelter only at Your lotus feet?
- O my Lord, source of all opportunities, I do not desire to enjoy in Dhruvaloka, the heavenly planets or the planet where Lord Brahma resides, nor do I want to be the supreme ruler of all the earthly planets or the lower planetary systems
- One goes through much endeavor to increase and maintain his possessions, and he suffers great unhappiness when he loses them
- One who considers himself a hero should not kill an enemy who is afraid of losing his life. Such killing is never glorious, nor can it promote one to the heavenly planets
- One who knows that the pure soul is simply an observer of the actions and reactions of these qualities (goodness,passion,ignorance), should be understood to be a liberated person. He is not bound by these qualities
- Only for the sake of living in the heavenly planets, you killed my elder brother - a self-realized, sinless, qualified brahmana who had been appointed your chief priest
- Our Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, forbids His devotees to endeavor uselessly for religion, economic development and sense gratification
- Our sensory prowess, mental power, bodily strength, living force, immortality and mortality are all subject to the superintendence of the SPG. Not knowing this, foolish people think the dull material body to be the cause of their activities
S
- Since everything is dependent on the supreme will of the PG, one should be equipoised in fame & defamation, victory 7 defeat, life & death. In their effects, represented as happiness & distress, one should maintain oneself in equilibrium, without anxiety
- Since you (Indra) have come here to kill me in accordance with Visnu's order, there is no doubt that I shall be killed by the release of your thunderbolt. Lord Visnu has sided with you. Therefore your victory, opulence and all good qualities are assured
- Sri Vrtrasura said: He who has killed a brahmana, he who has killed his spiritual master - indeed, he who has killed my brother - is now, by good fortune, standing before me face to face as my enemy
T
- The Lord never bestows upon such servants the brilliant opulences of the upper, lower and middle planetary systems of this material world
- The material nature, the total material energy, the false ego, the five material elements, the material senses, the mind, the intelligence & consciousness cannot create the material manifestation without the direction of the SPG
- The second is to die on the battlefield, leading the army and never showing one's back. These two kinds of death are recommended in the sastra as glorious
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself creates and devours the living beings through other living beings
- The three purusas - Karanodakasayi Visnu, Garbhodakasayi Visnu and Ksirodakasayi-Visnu, cannot create the material manifestation without the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- There are two ways to meet a glorious death, and both are very rare. One is to die after performing mystic yoga, especially bhakti-yoga, by which one can control the mind and living force and die absorbed in thought of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
V
- Vrtrasura continued: O Indra, no one is guaranteed of being always victorious but the original enjoyer, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavan. He is the cause of creation, maintenance and annihilation, and He knows everything
- Vrtrasura said, "O most abominable one, when I pierce your stonelike heart with my trident, I shall be freed from my debt to my brother"
- Vrtrasura said: All living entities who have taken birth in this material world must die. Surely, no one in this world has found any means to be saved from death. Even providence has not provided a means to escape it
W
- When one possesses material opulence in any of these three divisions (upper, lower and middle planetary systems) of the universe, his possessions naturally increase his enmity, anxiety, mental agitation, pride and belligerence
- With those (Demigods) heads I shall perform a sacrifice to Bhairava and the other leaders of the ghosts, along with their hordes