118 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 10, Ch. 2
heart of Vasudeva and transferred Himself into the heart of Devaki. Be-
cause the Lord was present in her heart, Devaki, as her pregnancy con-
tinued, appeared effulgent. Upon seeing this effulgence, Karnsa was full
of anxiety, but he could not harm Devaki because of their family rela-
tionship. Thus he began indirectly thinking of Krsna and became fully
Krsna conscious.

Meanwhile, because of the Lord’s presence within the womb of
Devaki, all the demigods came to offer the Lord their prayers. The
Supreme Personality of Godhead, they said, is eternally the Absolute
Truth. The spiritual soul is more important than the gross body, and the
Supersoul, Paramatma, is still more important than the soul. The
Supreme Godhead is absolutely independent, and His incarnations are
transcendental. The prayers of the demigods glorify and exalt devotees
and explain the fate of persons who superficially consider themselves
liberated from the conditions of material nature. A devotee is always
safe. When a devotee fully surrenders at the lotus feet of the Lord, he is
completely liberated from the fear of material existence. By explaining
why the Supreme Personality of Godhead descends, the prayers of the
demigods clearly confirm the Lord’s statement in Bhagavad-gita (4.7):

yada yada hi dharmasya
glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya
tadatmanam srjamy aham
“‘Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O de-
scendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion—at that time I
descend Myself.”
TEXTS 1-2
aT Jaa
S 3
ASATHAN AMAT TA |
MICE C CA GRIE IDE RED Neu
sd d c
TIM TTONTTATaT: |
Wal Be AH TS ANTTTAT: Ul 2 II
