In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.89.58) the Bhūmā-puruṣa (Mahā-Viṣṇu) told Kṛṣṇa, "My dear Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, I have taken the brāhmaṇa's sons just to see You." Arjuna attempted to save some youths who had died untimely at Dvārakā, and when he failed to save them, Kṛṣṇa took him to the Bhūmā-puruṣa, and when the Bhūmā-puruṣa brought forth those dead bodies as living entities, He said, "Both of you appear to preserve religious principles in the world and to annihilate the demons." In other words, the Bhūmā-puruṣa was also attracted by the beauty of Kṛṣṇa, and He concocted this pastime just as a pretext to see Kṛṣṇa. It is recorded in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.16.36) that after the serpent Kāliya was punished by Kṛṣṇa, one of Kāliya's wives told Kṛṣṇa, "Dear Lord, we cannot understand how this fallen serpent got the opportunity of being kicked by Your lotus feet when even the goddess of fortune underwent austerities for several years just to see You."
To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants
Expressions researched:
"To deliver the faithful, to annihilate the miscreants"
|"To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants"
|"annihilate the demons and give protection"
|"annihilate the demons"
|"annihilate the miscreants and protect the devotees"
|"give protection to the faithful and annihilate the demons"
|"pastimes with His devotees and to annihilate the demons"
|"preserve religious principles in the world and to annihilate the demons"
|"protect religious principles and to annihilate the miscreants"
|"protect the devotees and annihilate the demons"
|"protect the devotees and annihilate the miscreants"
|"protect the devotees and to annihilate the demons"
|"protection to Your devotees and annihilate the demons"
|"protection to the faithful and to annihilate the miscreants"
|"reestablish the principles of religion and to annihilate the demons"
|"to deliver the faithful and to annihilate the miscreants"
|"to deliver the pious and annihilate the miscreants"
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Chapters 1 - 6
To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium.
According to Bhagavad-gītā, a sādhu (holy man) is a man in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A person may appear to be irreligious, but if he has the qualifications of Kṛṣṇa consciousness wholly and fully, he is to be understood to be a sādhu. And duṣkṛtām applies to those who do not care for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Such miscreants, or duṣkṛtām, are described as foolish and the lowest of mankind, even though they may be decorated with mundane education, whereas a person who is one hundred percent engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is accepted as a sādhu, even though such a person may be neither learned nor well cultured. As far as the atheistic are concerned, it is not necessary for the Supreme Lord to appear as He is to destroy them, as He did with the demons Rāvaṇa and Kaṁsa. The Lord has many agents who are quite competent to vanquish demons. But the Lord especially descends to appease His unalloyed devotees, who are always harassed by the demoniac.
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
As we have discussed many times, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa has many plenary expansions, and each and every one of them, although equally powerful, executes different functions. In Bhagavad-gītā there are different statements by the Lord, and each of these statements is meant for different plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions. For example, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Lord, says in Bhagavad-gītā:
"Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion—at that time I descend Myself." (BG 4.7)
"To deliver the faithful, to annihilate the miscreants and also to reestablish the principles of occupational duty, I appear in every age." (BG 4.8)
"If I should cease to work, then all humanity would be misdirected. I would also be the cause of creating unwanted population, and I would thereby destroy the peace of all sentient beings." (BG 3.24)
"Whatever action a great man performs, common men will follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues." (BG 3.21)
All the above statements by the Lord apply to different plenary portions of the Lord, namely His expansions such as Saṅkarṣaṇa, Vāsudeva, Pradyumna, Aniruddha and Nārāyaṇa.
SB Canto 3
Certainly others who were fighters on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra were purified by the onslaught of Arjuna's arrows, and while seeing the lotuslike face of Kṛṣṇa, so pleasing to the eyes, they achieved the abode of the Lord.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, appears in this world for two missionary purposes: to deliver the faithful and to annihilate the miscreants. But because the Lord is absolute, His two different kinds of actions, although apparently different, are ultimately one and the same. His annihilation of a person like Śiśupāla is as auspicious as His actions for the protection of the faithful. All the warriors who fought against Arjuna but who were able to see the lotuslike face of the Lord on the battlefront achieved the abode of the Lord, exactly as the devotees of the Lord do. The words "pleasing to the eyes of the seer" are very significant. When the warriors from the other side of the battlefield saw Lord Kṛṣṇa at the front, they appreciated His beauty, and their dormant instinct of love of God was awakened. Śiśupāla saw the Lord also, but he saw Him as his enemy, and his love was not awakened. Therefore Śiśupāla achieved oneness with the Lord by merging in the impersonal glare of His body, called the brahmajyoti. Others, who were in the marginal position, being neither friends nor enemies but slightly in love of Godhead by appreciating the beauty of His face, were at once promoted to the spiritual planets, the Vaikuṇṭhas.
There are innumerable entities, and they have innumerable demands; no one but Viṣṇu can fulfill the innumerable demands of all the innumerable living entities. Brahmā is ordered to create, and Śiva is ordered to annihilate. The middle function, maintenance, is taken charge of by Viṣṇu. Kardama Muni knew very well, by his power in progressive spiritual life, that Viṣṇu, the Personality of Godhead, was his worshipable Deity. Whatever Viṣṇu desired was his duty, and nothing else. He was not prepared to beget a number of children. He would beget only one child, who would help the mission of Viṣṇu. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, whenever there is a discrepancy in the discharge of religious principles, the Lord descends on the surface of the earth to protect religious principles and to annihilate the miscreants.
SB Canto 4
O King Pṛthu, son of Vena, you are the part-and-parcel expansion of Lord Viṣṇu. Due to the mischievous activities of King Vena, religious principles were almost lost. At that opportune moment you descended as the incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu. Indeed, for the protection of religious principles you have appeared from the body of King Vena.
The way in which Lord Viṣṇu kills the demons and protects the faithful is mentioned in Bhagavad-gītā (4.8):
- paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ
- vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
- dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya
- sambhavāmi yuge yuge
"In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium."
In two hands Lord Viṣṇu always carries a club and a cakra to kill demons, and in His other two hands He holds a conchshell and a lotus to give protection to His devotees. When His incarnation is present on this planet or in this universe, the Lord kills the demons and protects His devotees simultaneously. Sometimes Lord Viṣṇu appears in His person as Lord Kṛṣṇa or Lord Rāma. All of these appearances are mentioned in the śāstras. Sometimes He appears as a śaktyāveśa-avatāra like Lord Buddha. As explained before, these śaktyāveśa-avatāras are incarnations of Viṣṇu's power invested in a living entity. Living entities are also part and parcel of Lord Viṣṇu, but they are not as powerful; therefore when a living entity descends as an incarnation of Viṣṇu, he is especially empowered by the Lord.
The word hari means "one who takes away all miserable conditions," and hari-medhase means that the Lord is always planning ways to deliver the conditioned soul from the clutches of māyā. The Lord is so kind that He personally incarnates to deliver the conditioned souls, and whenever He comes, He makes His plans.
- paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ
- vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
- dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya
- sambhavāmi yuge yuge
"To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium." (BG 4.8)
Since the Lord delivers all conditioned souls from the clutches of māyā, He is known as hari-medhas. In the list of incarnations, Kṛṣṇa is described as the supreme and original Personality of Godhead.
- ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ
- kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam
- indrāri-vyākulaṁ lokaṁ
- mṛḍayanti yuge yuge
- (SB 1.3.28)
Kṛṣṇa, the original Personality of Godhead, appears in this material world when the demigods, who are devotees of the Lord, are disturbed by the demons.
Dear Lord, we conditioned souls are always covered by ignorance in the bodily conception of life. We therefore always prefer the miserable conditions of material existence. To deliver us from these miserable conditions, You have advented Yourself in this transcendental form. This is evidence of Your unlimited causeless mercy upon those of us who are suffering in this way. What, then, to speak of the devotees to whom You are always so favorably disposed?
When the Lord appears in His original form, He acts to deliver the pious and annihilate the miscreants (BG 4.8). Although He annihilates the demons, He nonetheless benefits them. It is said that all the living entities who died on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra attained their original constitutional position (svarūpa) because they had the chance to see Kṛṣṇa face to face riding in the chariot of Arjuna. On the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, superficially two things were going on—the demons were being killed, and the devotee, Arjuna, was being protected. However, the results were the same for everyone. Thus it is said that the appearance of the Lord diminishes all kinds of miserable conditions caused by material existence.
SB Canto 5
Thus Kṛṣṇa's appearance is for the deliverance and satisfaction of His devotees.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is equal to everyone. In that sense, He has no enemies and no friends. Everyone is enjoying the fruitive reactions of his own work, and the Lord, within everyone's heart, is observing and giving everyone the desired result. However, just as the devotees are always anxious to see the Supreme Lord satisfied in every way, similarly the Supreme Lord is very anxious to present Himself before His devotees. Śrī Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (4.8):
- paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ
- vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
- dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya
- sambhavāmi yuge yuge
"To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium."
Thus Kṛṣṇa's appearance is for the deliverance and satisfaction of His devotees. Actually He does not advent Himself simply to kill the demons, for that can be done by His agents. Lord Viṣṇu's appearance at the sacrificial arena of Mahārāja Nābhi was just to please the King and his assistants. Otherwise there was no reason for His being present there.
King Gaya gave full protection and security to the citizens so that their personal property would not be disturbed by undesirable elements. He also saw that there was sufficient food to feed all the citizens. (This is called poṣaṇa.) He would sometimes distribute gifts to the citizens to satisfy them. (This is called prīṇana.) He would sometimes call meetings and satisfy the citizens with sweet words. (This is called upalālana.) He would also give them good instructions on how to become first-class citizens. (This is called anuśāsana.) Such were the characteristics of King Gaya's royal order. Besides all this, King Gaya was a householder who strictly observed the rules and regulations of household life. He performed sacrifices and was an unalloyed pure devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He was called Mahāpuruṣa because as a king he gave the citizens all facilities, and as a householder he executed all his duties so that at the end he became a strict devotee of the Supreme Lord. As a devotee, he was always ready to give respect to other devotees and to engage in the devotional service of the Lord. This is the bhakti-yoga process. Due to all these transcendental activities, King Gaya was always free from the bodily conception. He was full in Brahman realization, and consequently he was always jubilant. He did not experience material lamentation. Although he was perfect in all respects, he was not proud, nor was he anxious to rule the kingdom.
As Lord Kṛṣṇa states in Bhagavad-gītā, when He descends on earth, He has two types of business—to give protection to the faithful and annihilate the demons (paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8)). Since the king is the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is sometimes called nara-deva, that is, the Lord as a human being. According to the Vedic injunctions, he is worshiped as God on the material platform. As a representative of the Supreme Lord, the king had the duty to protect the citizens in a perfect way so that they would not be anxious for food and protection and so that they would be jubilant. The king would supply everything for their benefit, and because of this he would levy taxes. If the king or government otherwise levies taxes on the citizens, he becomes responsible for the sinful activities of the citizens.
SB Canto 7
"Even if one commits the most abominable actions, if he engages in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated." A devotee undoubtedly worships the Lord with rapt attention. Similarly, if an enemy (sudurācāraḥ) always thinks of Kṛṣṇa, he also becomes a purified devotee. The example given here concerns the grassworm that becomes beelike because of constantly thinking of the bee that forces it to enter a hole. By always thinking of the bee in fear, the grassworm starts to become a bee. This is a practical example. Lord Kṛṣṇa appears within this material world for two purposes—paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām: (BG 4.8) to protect the devotees and annihilate the demons. The sādhus and devotees certainly think of the Lord always, but duṣkṛtīs, the demons like Kaṁsa and Śiśupāla, also think of Kṛṣṇa in terms of killing Him. By thinking of Kṛṣṇa, both the demons and devotees attain liberation from the clutches of material māyā.
"Whenever and wherever there is a decrease in religious principles and a predominant rise in irreligion, at that time I descend Myself. To deliver the pious and annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself, millennium after millennium." The Lord appears in order to execute two kinds of activities—to kill the demons and to protect the devotees. When the devotees are too disturbed by the demons, the Lord certainly appears in different incarnations to give the devotees protection. The devotees following in the footsteps of Prahlāda Mahārāja should not be disturbed by the demoniac activities of the nondevotees. Rather, they should stick to their principles as sincere servants of the Lord and rest assured that the demoniac activities directed against them will not be able to stop their devotional service.
SB Canto 8
"To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium." The Lord has nothing to do with anyone's protection or destruction, but for the creation, maintenance and annihilation of this material world He apparently has to act either in goodness, in passion or in darkness. Actually, however, He is unaffected by these modes of material nature. He is the Supreme Lord of everyone. As a king sometimes punishes or rewards someone to maintain law and order, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although having nothing to do with the activities of this material world, sometimes appears as various incarnations according to the time, place and object.
"Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion—at that time I descend Myself. To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium." (Bg. 4.7-8) All the śāstras conclude, therefore, that spreading the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is the best welfare activity in the world. Because of the ultimate benefit this bestows upon people in general, the Lord very quickly recognizes such service performed by a devotee.
SB Canto 9
With the blood of the bodies of these sons, Lord Paraśurāma created a ghastly river, which brought great fear to the kings who had no respect for brahminical culture. Because the kṣatriyas, the men of power in government, were performing sinful activities, Lord Paraśurāma, on the plea of retaliating for the murder of his father, rid all the kṣatriyas from the face of the earth twenty-one times. Indeed, in the place known as Samanta-pañcaka he created nine lakes filled with their blood.
Paraśurāma is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and his eternal mission is paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8)—to protect the devotees and annihilate the miscreants. To kill all the sinful men is one among the tasks of the incarnation of Godhead. Lord Paraśurāma killed all the kṣatriyas twenty-one times consecutively because they were disobedient to the brahminical culture. That the kṣatriyas had killed his father was only a plea; the real fact is that because the kṣatriyas, the ruling class, had become polluted, their position was inauspicious. Brahminical culture is enjoined in the śāstra, especially in Bhagavad-gītā (cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13)). According to the laws of nature, whether at the time of Paraśurāma or at the present, if the government becomes irresponsible and sinful, not caring for brahminical culture, there will certainly be an incarnation of God like Paraśurāma to create a devastation by fire, famine, pestilence or some other calamity. Whenever the government disrespects the supremacy of the Personality of Godhead and fails to protect the institution of varṇāśrama-dharma, it will certainly have to face such catastrophes as formerly brought about by Lord Paraśurāma.
"To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium." The Supreme Lord is not forced to appear. Indeed, no one can subject Him to force, for He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Everyone is under His control, and He is not under the control of anyone else. Foolish people who because of a poor fund of knowledge think that one can equal Kṛṣṇa or become Kṛṣṇa are condemned in every way. No one can equal or surpass Kṛṣṇa, who is therefore described as asamaurdhva. According to the Viśva-kośa dictionary, the word māyā is used in the sense of "false pride" and also in the sense of "compassion." For an ordinary living being, the body in which he appears is his punishment. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.14), daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā: "This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome." But when Kṛṣṇa comes the word māyā refers to His compassion or mercy upon the devotees and fallen souls. By His potency, the Lord can deliver everyone, whether sinful or pious.
SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13
"Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion—at that time I descend Myself. To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium."
The Lord's purpose in maintaining this material world is to give everyone a chance to go back home, back to Godhead, but kings and political leaders unfortunately try to hinder the purpose of the Lord, and therefore the Lord appears, either personally or with His plenary portions, to set things right.
O Lord, You are always in full knowledge, and to bring all good fortune to all living entities, You appear in different incarnations, all of them transcendental to the material creation. When You appear in these incarnations, You are pleasing to the pious and religious devotees, but for nondevotees You are the annihilator.
This verse explains why the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears as an incarnation again and again. The incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead all function differently, but their main purpose is paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8)—to protect the devotees and annihilate the miscreants. Yet even though the duṣkṛtīs, or miscreants, are annihilated, this is ultimately good for them.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
“"To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium."
"I have appeared in this incarnation to kill the demons (pāṣaṇḍīs) and, after killing them, to preach the cult of devotional service."
Lord Caitanya's mission is the same as that of Lord Kṛṣṇa, which He states in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.7–8):
- yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata
- abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham
- paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
- dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge
"Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion—at that time I descend Myself. In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium."
As explained here, the real purpose of an incarnation of Godhead is to kill the atheists and maintain the devotees. He does not say, like so many rascal incarnations, that atheists and devotees are on the same platform. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, or Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the real Personality of Godhead, does not advocate such an idea.
Atheists are punishable, whereas devotees are to be protected. To maintain this principle is the mission of all avatāras, or incarnations. One must therefore identify an incarnation by His activities, not by popular votes or mental concoctions. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave protection to devotees and killed many demons in the course of His preaching work. He specifically mentioned that the Māyāvādī philosophers are the greatest demons. Therefore He warned all others not to hear the Māyāvāda philosophy: māyāvādi-bhāṣya śunile haya sarva-nāśa. Simply by hearing the Māyāvāda interpretation of the śāstras, one is doomed (CC Madhya 6.169).
CC Madhya-lila
"Another name for Lord Viṣṇu is Triyuga because there is no incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu in Kali-yuga. Indeed, this is the verdict of the revealed scriptures."
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu, is known as Triyuga, which means that He is manifest in three yugas. However, this means that in the Age of Kali the Lord appears not directly but in disguise. This is confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.9.38):
- itthaṁ nṛ-tiryag-ṛṣi-deva-jhaṣāvatārair
- lokān vibhāvayasi haṁsi jagat-pratīpān
- dharmaṁ mahā-puruṣa pāsi yugānuvṛttaṁ
- channaḥ kalau yad abhavas tri-yugo ’tha sa tvam
"My Lord, You kill all the enemies of the world in Your multifarious incarnations in the families of men, animals, demigods, ṛṣis, aquatics and so on. Thus You illuminate the worlds with transcendental knowledge. In the Age of Kali, O Mahāpuruṣa, You sometimes appear in a covered incarnation. Therefore You are known as Triyuga (one who appears in only three yugas)."
Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī has also verified that Lord Viṣṇu appears in the Age of Kali but does not act as He does in other ages. Lord Viṣṇu incarnates for two purposes: paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8). That is, He comes to engage in pastimes with His devotees and to annihilate the demons. These purposes are visible in the Satya, Tretā and Dvāpara yugas, but in Kali-yuga the Lord appears disguised. He does not directly kill demons and give protection to the faithful. Because the Lord is not directly perceived in Kali-yuga but is directly known in the other three yugas, His name is Triyuga.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
As stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā, Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead and the cause of all causes. Akrūra could understand that the Supreme Personality of Godhead had appeared personally for the welfare of His creation, to reestablish the principles of religion and to annihilate the demons.
After dressing nicely, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma went to a florist of the name Sudāmā. As soon as They reached the precinct of his house, the florist immediately came out and with great devotion fell down on his face to offer his respectful obeisances. He offered a nice seat to Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma and asked his assistant to bring out flowers, betel nuts and pulp of candana. The florist's welcome greatly satisfied the Lord.
The florist very humbly and submissively offered his prayers to the Lord, saying, "My dear Lord, because You have come to my place, I think all my forefathers and all my worshipable superiors are pleased and delivered. My dear Lord, You are the supreme cause of all causes of this cosmic manifestation, but for the benefit of the residents of this earthly planet, You have appeared with Your plenary portion to give protection to Your devotees and annihilate the demons. You are equally disposed as the friend of all living entities; You are the Supersoul, and You do not discriminate between friend and enemy. Yet You are pleased to give Your devotees the special result of their devotional activities. My Lord, I am praying that You please tell me whatever You wish me to do, because I am Your eternal servant. If You would order me to do something, it would be a great favor to me."
It may be questioned why a devotee is put into such tribulation by the Personality of Godhead. The answer is that this kind of arrangement by the Lord is just like a father's sometimes becoming unkind to his sons. Because the devotee is a surrendered soul and is taken charge of by the Supreme Lord, whatever condition of life the Lord puts him in—whether one of distress or of happiness—it is to be understood that behind this arrangement is a large plan designed by the Personality of Godhead. For example, Lord Kṛṣṇa put the Pāṇḍavas into a distressed condition so acute that even grandfather Bhīṣma could not comprehend how such distress could occur. He lamented that although the whole Pāṇḍava family was headed by King Yudhiṣṭhira, the most pious king, and protected by the two great warriors Bhīma and Arjuna, and although, above all, the Pāṇḍavas were all intimate friends and relatives of Lord Kṛṣṇa, they still had to undergo such tribulations. Later, however, it was proved that this was planned by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, as part of His great mission to annihilate the miscreants and protect the devotees.
"My dear Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, I was very eager to see you both, and therefore I arranged to take away the babies of the brāhmaṇa and keep them here. I have been expecting to see you both at this palace. You have appeared in the material world as My incarnations in order to minimize the force of the demoniac persons who burden the world. Now, after killing all these unwanted demons, you will please come back to Me. The two of you are incarnations of the great sage Nara-Nārāyaṇa. Although you are both complete in yourselves, to protect the devotees and to annihilate the demons, and especially to establish religious principles in the world so that peace and tranquillity may continue, you are teaching the basic principles of factual religion so that the people of the world may follow you and thereby be peaceful and prosperous."
Before the advent of Lord Kṛṣṇa within this universe, there were many battles between the demons and the demigods. Many demons died in the fighting, and they all were given the chance to take birth in high royal families on this earth. Because of their royal exalted posts, all these demons became very much puffed up, and their only business was to harass their subjects. Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared on this planet just at the end of Dvāpara-yuga to annihilate all these demoniac kings. As it is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām: (BG 4.8) "The Lord comes to protect the devotees and annihilate the miscreants." Some of the demigods were asked to appear on this earth to assist in the transcendental pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa appeared, He came in the association of His eternal servitors, but some of the demigods also were requested to come down to assist Him, and thus they took their births in the Yadu dynasty. The Yadu dynasty had 101 clans in different parts of the country. All the members of these different clans respected Lord Kṛṣṇa in a manner befitting His divine position, and all of them were His devotees heart and soul. Thus all the members of the Yadu dynasty were very opulent, happy and prosperous, and they had no anxieties. Because of their implicit faith in and devotion to Lord Kṛṣṇa, they were never defeated by any other kings.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Eight: "In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium."
Nine: "One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not upon leaving the body take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna."
Prabhupāda: This is very nice. If one can understand the principles of appearance and disappearance of God, His activities, so simply by understanding these principles he will be liberated. It is said here that after quitting this body, he is no more coming to take birth again in this material world. So just like a layman does not know how the sun appears and disappears, but an astronomer, he knows very well the movements of the sun, moon, and other planets' appearance and disappearance. This is a science, astronomy. Similarly, there is a science of God by which you can understand how God appears, disappears, how He acts, how He works. Everything is there, but if you are not interested that does not mean that the science of God is false or there is no such science. There is. You must be interested to know; then you can understand. And if you simply understand this science, then you become liberated. It is open order. Simply by understanding, even not engaging yourself in transcendental service of the Lord, simply by understanding the process of appearance and disappearance. So why don't you try that?
Nitāi: (leads chanting of verse and synonyms) "In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium."
Prabhupāda:
- paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ
- vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
- dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya
- sambhavāmi yuge yuge
- (BG 4.8)
So the routine work of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, how and when He appears. Because Kṛṣṇa is the proprietor of all planets. Bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram (BG 5.29). Sarva-loka. Loka means planets or universes. There are innumerable universes, unlimited number. And those universes are coming out within the breathing period of Mahā-Viṣṇu. Yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ (Bs. 5.48). Jagad-aṇḍa means universe. Jagad-aṇḍa-nātḥāḥ. Plural number. There are innumerable universes, and on each universe there is a predominating deity who is called Lord Brahmā.
God advents for two purposes. What are the two purposes? Paritrāṇāya sādhūnām (BG 4.8). Just to give relief and deliver the devotees. The devotees are always anxious to see God, so God comes down to give relief to the devotee, being present before them. Paritrāṇāya sādhūnām. Another: vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām, to annihilate the demons. So there..., for annihilating, for killing, you require weapon. Kṛṣṇa has His weapon, sudarśana-cakra. Lord Rāmacandra has His weapon, bow and arrow. What is the weapon of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu? Sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam. His associates are His weapons. This is astra. Because in the Kali-yuga they are so fallen, even they are demons, they are third-class, fourth-class demons. (laughter) So they need not be killed. They are already killed. Their mode of life, their atmosphere, they are always dead. Just like we see so many demons. So what is there to kill them? They are already killed. They have no life. So this killing process in Kali-yuga is to kill their demonic propensities. And how to kill that demonic propensities? By spreading Hare Kṛṣṇa movement. This is astra. Otherwise to kill them is not... By life, it is not difficult. One slap is sufficient. You don't require other weapon. But real Kṛṣṇa comes to kill or to give protection—because He is Absolute, it is the same thing. If He is killing some demons, He is giving him protection. He stops his demonic activities further, to implicate himself in more trouble. Therefore when Kṛṣṇa kills one demon, that means He saves him. He saves him. The Absolute, this is Absolute. Either He protects His devotee or kills the demon, the result is the same. Therefore He is called Absolute.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
So we are teaching this real religion. Here is Deity, Kṛṣṇa. So we are thinking of Kṛṣṇa, "Hare Kṛṣṇa." We are worshiping Deity, Kṛṣṇa. There is no difference between Lord Kṛṣṇa and Deity. He's Kṛṣṇa. And we are offering obeisances. So the same... This... Therefore it is real religion because we are strictly following the laws of God. Anyābhilāṣitā... We have no other business. So therefore this is real religion, if you take, or real culture, real society—everything real. Because God is real, anything in connection with God, according to His instruction, that is real. All other things are imitation. So always remember that if somebody takes us as religionists, yes, we are religionists, but pure religionists. If somebody says socialist, we are pure socialist. If somebody says we are diplomats, poli..., yes, we are pure politicians. What is pure politicians? Politics requires violence. So annihilate the demons and give protection. The politics means two things. The state, government, what is that? Government gives protection to the good citizen, and those who are rogues, punish them. Law and order. Two things are there: maintenance and law and order. So similarly, our Kṛṣṇa consciousness is also the same thing. But so far we are concerned, because we are not in political power... Otherwise we have, would have followed the principles of Kṛṣṇa.
Kṛṣṇa descends, and He leaves behind Him so many activities. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said: paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām. Sādhūnām. Paritrāṇāya means to give protection; sādhu, those who are devotees. To give protection to the devotees. And vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām: and to annihilate the demons. Paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya (BG 4.8). Yuge yuge sambhavām. So God comes. So far destruction or annihilation of the demons is concerned, God is not required to come down, because His agents Take, for example, this material energy. It is sufficient. If God wants, this whole city of Los Angeles can be, within a second, overpowered by this water of the Pacific Ocean. Within a second. It does not take much time. Therefore for annihilating purpose God does not require to come down. But He comes down for His devotee. Just like Hiraṇyakaśipu. Nṛsiṁhadeva appeared not He, He There was no necessity of His coming for killing Hiraṇyakaśipu; there were many agencies or implements to kill him. But He came to solace Prahlāda Mahārāja. He was so much harassed by his father that He came down just to put His hands, lotus hands, palms on the head of Prahlāda Mahārāja. So He comes. But the benefit, for both the demons and the devotees, are the same. That is God's mercy. Because He's absolute, if He kills somebody, he also gets the same result and as His devotee. This is absolute. Just like Pūtanā. Pūtanā was killed by Kṛṣṇa. Pūtanā planned to smear some poison on the nipples of her breast with a plan to kill Kṛṣṇa. But Kṛṣṇa took it otherwise, that "She acted as My mother; therefore she should be elevated to the position, as Mother Yaśodā is also be elevated." This is God's mercy.
Correspondence
1970 Correspondence
In the Bhagavad-gita the Lord says that He descends in every millenium to give protection to the faithful and to annihilate the miscreants. So God has got always these two features of His authority, namely protection and death.
So the atheist is hypocrite himself when he says that he does not believe in God. He has to believe in God in the form of Death. A criminal hypocritically says that he does not believe in the Government, but a civil citizen abides by the law of the Government. The Government is present therefore both for the criminal and for the law abiding citizen. To the criminal the Government is present as force of law and order, putting the criminal in the prison house and giving the civil citizen all facilities for peaceful life.
| Page Title: | To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants |
| Compiler: | Matea, MadhuGopaldas |
| Created: | 20 of Oct, 2009 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=1, SB=16, CC=3, OB=6, Lec=5, Con=0, Let=1 |
| No. of Quotes: | 32 |