160 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 9, Ch. 13
ahastani sahastanam
apadani catus-padam
phalgiini tatra mahatam
Jivo jivasya jivanam
“Those who are devoid of hands are prey for those who have hands;
those devoid of legs are prey for the four-legged. The weak are the sub-
sistence of the strong, and the general rule holds that one living being is
food for another.” (Bhag. 1.13.47) The Supreme Personality of Godhead
has created the material world in such a way that one living entity is food
for another. Thus there is a struggle for existence, but although we speak
of survival of the fittest, no one can escape death without becoming a
devotee of the Lord. Harim vind naiva srtim taranti: one cannot escape
the cycle of birth and death without becoming a devotee. This is also con-
firmed in Bhagavad-gita (9.3). Apraépya mam nivartante mrtyu-
sarnsdra-vartmani. One who does not attain shelter at the lotus feet of
Krsna must certainly wander up and down within the cycle of birth and
death.
TEXT 11
Ta HS!
° bat ®
SHUT TTOT SATS TAT TT 112 2
deva ticuh
videha usyatam kamam
locanesu Saririndm
unmesana-nimesabhyam
laksito "dhyatma-samsthitah
devah ticuh—the demigods said; videhah—without any material
body; usyatam—you live; kimam—as you like; locanesu—in the
vision; Saririnadm—of those who have material bodies; unmesana-
nimesabhyam—become manifest and unmanifest as you desire;
laksitah—being seen; adhydtma-samsthitah—situated in a spiritual
body.
