CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The Demigods
Regain the Heavenly Planets
This chapter describes how Bali Maharaja, along with his grandfather
Prahlada Maharaja, entered the planet Sutala and how the Supreme Per-
sonality of Godhead allowed Indra to reenter the heavenly planet.

The great soul Bali Maharaja experienced that the highest gain in life
is to attain devotional service under the shelter of the Lord’s lotus feet in
full surrender. Being fixed in this conclusion, his heart full of ecstatic
devotion and his eyes full of tears, he offered obeisances to the Per-
sonality of Godhead and then, with his associates, entered the planet
known as Sutala. Thus the Supreme Personality of Godhead satisfied the
desire of Aditi and reinstalled Lord Indra. Prahlada Maharaja, being
aware of Bali’s release from arrest, then described the transcendental
pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in this material world.
Prahlada Maharaja praised the Supreme Lord for creating the material
world, for being equal to everyone and for being extremely liberal to the
devotees, just like a desire tree. Indeed, Prahlada Maharaja said that the
Lord is kind not only to His devotees but also to the demons. In this way
he described the unlimited causeless mercy of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. Then, with folded hands, he offered his respectful obei-
sances unto the Lord, and after circumambulating the Lord he also en-
tered the planet Sutala in accordance with the Lord’s order. The Lord
then ordered Sukracarya to describe Bali Maharaja’s faults and discre-
pancies in executing the sacrificial ceremony. Sukracarya became free
from fruitive actions by chanting the holy name of the Lord, and he ex-
plained how chanting can diminish all the faults of the conditioned soul.
He then completed Bali Maharaja’s sacrificial ceremony. All the great
saintly persons accepted Lord Vamanadeva as the benefactor of Lord
Indra because He had returned Indra to his heavenly planet. They ac-
cepted the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the maintainer of all the
affairs of the universe. Being very happy, Indra, along with his asso-
ciates, placed Vamanadeva before him and reentered the heavenly planet

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