194 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 6, Ch. 17

the Lord, and therefore they are excellent. By using the word bhrtya-
bhrtyanam, Lord Siva pointed out that although Citraketu provided one
example of tolerance and excellence, all the devotees who have taken
shelter of the Lord as eternal servants are glorious. They have no eager-
ness to be happy by being placed in the heavenly planets, becoming
liberated or becoming one with Brahman, the supreme effulgence. These
benefits do not appeal to their minds. They are simply interested in giv-
ing direct service to the Lord.

TEXT 29
GS Ba Bian MaTSaAME TT FMI

dehinam deha-sarnyogad
dvandvanisvara-lilaya
sukham duhkham mrtir janma

-= >
Sapo ’nugraha eva ca

dehinam—of all those who have accepted material bodies; deha-
samyogat—because of contact with the material body; dvandvani—
dualities; isvara-lilaya—by the supreme will of the Lord; sukham—
happiness; duhkham—distress; mrtih—death; janma—birth; sapah—
curse; anugrahah—favor; eva—certainly; ca—and.

TRANSLATION

Because of the actions of the Supreme Lord’s external energy,
the living entities are conditioned in contact with material bodies.
The dualities of happiness and distress, birth and death, curses
and favors, are natural by-products of this contact in the material
world.

PURPORT

In Bhagavad-gita we find, mayddhyaksena prakrtih sityate sa-
cardcaram: the material world works under the direction of the goddess
Durga, the material energy of the Lord, but she acts under the direction
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is also confirmed in the
Brahma-samhita (5.44):
