2
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 7, Ch. 1
TEXT 1
श्रीराजोवाच
समः प्रियः सुहृद्धान् भूतानां भगवान् स्वयम् । 
  इन्द्रस्यार्थे कथं दैत्यानवधीद्विषमो यथा ॥ १ ॥
śrī-rājovāca 
  samaḥ priyaḥ suhṛd brahman 
  bhūtānām bhagavān svayam 
  indrasyārthe katham daityān 
  avadhīd viṣamo yathā
śrī-rājā uvāca—Mahārāja Parikṣit said; samaḥ—equal; priyaḥ—beloved; suhṛt—friend; brahman—O brāhmaṇa (Śukadeva); bhūtānām—toward all living entities; bhagavān—the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu; svayam—Himself; indrasya—of Indra; arthe—for the benefit; katham—how; daityān—the demons; avadhīt—killed; viṣamaḥ—partial; yathā—as if.
TRANSLATION
King Parikṣit inquired: My dear brāhmaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, being everyone's well-wisher, is equal and extremely dear to everyone. How, then, did He become partial like a common man for the sake of Indra and thus kill Indra's enemies? How can a person equal to everyone be partial to some and inimical toward others?
PURPORT
In  Bhagavad-gītā  (9.29) the Lord says,  samo 'ham sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo 'sti na priyaḥ : "I am equal to everyone. No one is dear to Me, nor is anyone My enemy." In the previous canto, however, it has been observed that the Lord sided with Indra by killing the demons on his account ( hata-putrā ditiḥ śakra-pārṣṇi-grāheṇa viṣṇuṇā ). Therefore, the Lord was clearly partial to Indra, although He is the Supersoul in everyone's heart. The soul is extremely dear to everyone, and similarly the