Text 34]
The Pāṇḍavas Retire Timely
813
TRANSLATION
The Supreme Unborn Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa caused the members of the Yadu dynasty to relinquish their bodies, and thus He relieved the burden of the world. This action was like picking out a thorn with a thorn, though both are the same to the controller.
PURPORT
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Thākur suggests that the  ṛṣis  like Śaunaka and others who were hearing  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  from Sūta Gosvāmī at Naimiṣāraṇya were not happy to hear about the Yadus' dying in the madness of intoxication. To give them relief from this mental agony, Sūta Gosvāmī assured them that the Lord caused the members of the Yadu dynasty to relinquish their bodies by which they had to take away the burden of the world. The Lord and His eternal associates appeared on earth to help the administrative demigods in eradicating the burden of the world. He therefore called for some of the confidential demigods to appear in the Yadu family and serve Him in His great mission. After the mission was fulfilled, the demigods, by the will of the Lord, relinquished their corporeal bodies by fighting amongst themselves in the madness of intoxication. The demigods are accustomed to drinking  soma-rasa  beverage, and therefore the drinking of wine and intoxication are not unknown to them. Sometimes they were put into trouble for indulging in intoxication. Once the sons of Kuvera fell in the wrath of Nārada for being intoxicated, but afterwards they regained their original forms by the grace of the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. We shall find this story in the Tenth Canto. For the Supreme Lord, both the  asuras  and the demigods are equal, but the demigods are obedient to the Lord, whereas the  asuras  are not. Therefore, the example of picking out a thorn by another thorn is quite befitting. One thorn, which causes pinpricks on the leg of the Lord, is certainly disturbing to the Lord, and the other thorn, which takes out the disturbing elements, certainly gives service to the Lord. So although every living being is a part and parcel of the Lord, still one who is a pinprick of the Lord is called an  asura , and one who is a voluntary servitor of the Lord is called a  devatā  or demigod. In the material world the  devatās  and  asuras  are always contending, and the  devatās  are always saved from the hands of the  asuras  by the Lord. Both of them are under the control of the Lord. The world is full of two kinds of living beings, and the Lord's mission is always to protect the  devatās  and destroy the  asuras , whenever there is such need in the world, and to do good to both of them.