242 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 9, Ch. 24

TEXT 59
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BI ASIII AAR HAA: 4S!

aksauhininam patibhir
asurair nrpa-larichanaih

bhuva dkramyamandya
abharaya krtodyamah

aksauhininam—of kings possessing great military power; patibhih—
by such kings or government; asuraih—actually demons (because they
do not need such military power but create it unnecessarily); nrpa-
lafichanaih—who are actually unfit to be kings (although they have
somehow taken possession of the government); bhuvah—on the surface
of the earth; adkramyamadndyadh—aiming at attacking one another;
abharaya—paving the way for diminishing the number of demons on
the surface of the earth; kyta-udyamah—enthusiastic (they spend all the
revenue of the state to increase military power).

TRANSLATION

Although the demons who take possession of the government
are dressed like men of government, they do not know the duty of
the government. Consequently, by the arrangement of God, such
demons, who possess great military strength, fight with one
another, and thus the great burden of demons on the surface of
the earth is reduced. The demons increase their military power by
the will of the Supreme, so that their numbers will be diminished
and the devotees will have a chance to advance in Krsna
consciousness.

PURPORT
As stated in Bhagavad-gita (4.8), paritrandya sddhiinari vindsaya ca
duskrtam. The sddhus, the devotees of the Lord, are always eager to ad-
vance the cause of Krsna consciousness so that the conditioned souls may
be released from the bondage of birth and death. But the asuras, the
