SB 06.01.31 vikarsato 'ntar hrdayad... cited

Expressions researched:
"dasi-patim ajamilam" |"varayam asur ojasa" |"vikarsato ntar hrdayad" |"yama-presyan visnuduta"

SB Canto 6

SB 6.1.31, Translation and Purport:

The order carriers of Yamarāja were snatching the soul from the core of the heart of Ajāmila, the husband of the prostitute, but with resounding voices the messengers of Lord Viṣṇu, the Viṣṇudūtas, forbade them to do so.

A Vaiṣṇava, one who has surrendered to the lotus feet of Lord Viṣṇu, is always protected by Lord Viṣṇu's order carriers. Because Ajāmila had chanted the holy name of Nārāyaṇa, the Viṣṇudūtas not only immediately arrived on the spot but also at once ordered the Yamadūtas not to touch him. By speaking with resounding voices, the Viṣṇudūtas threatened to punish the Yamadūtas if they continued trying to snatch Ajāmila's soul from his heart. The order carriers of Yamarāja have jurisdiction over all sinful living entities, but the messengers of Lord Viṣṇu, the Viṣṇudūtas, are capable of punishing anyone, including Yamarāja, if he wrongs a Vaiṣṇava.

Materialistic scientists do not know where to find the soul within the body with their material instruments, but this verse clearly explains that the soul is within the core of the heart (hṛdaya); it is from the heart that the Yamadūtas were extracting the soul of Ajāmila. Similarly, we learn that the Supersoul, Lord Viṣṇu, is also situated within the heart (īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61)). In the Upaniṣads it is said that the Supersoul and the individual soul are living in the same tree of the body as two friendly birds. The Supersoul is said to be friendly because the Supreme Personality of Godhead is so kind to the original soul that when the original soul transmigrates from one body to another, the Lord goes with him. Furthermore, according to the desire and karma of the individual soul, the Lord, through the agency of māyā, creates another body for him.

The heart of the body is a mechanical arrangement. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (18.61):

īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ

hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati

bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni

yantrārūḍhāni māyayā

"The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy." Yantra means a machine, such as an automobile. The driver of the machine of the body is the individual soul, who is also its director or proprietor, but the supreme proprietor is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One's body is created through the agency of māyā (karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1)), and according to one's activities in this life, another vehicle is created, again under the supervision of daivī māyā (daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14)). At the appropriate time, one's next body is immediately chosen, and both the individual soul and the Supersoul transfer to that particular bodily machine. This is the process of transmigration. During transmigration from one body to the next, the soul is taken away by the order carriers of Yamarāja and put into a particular type of hellish life (naraka) in order to become accustomed to the condition in which he will live in his next body.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 6.1.27-34 -- Surat, December 17, 1970:

The nārāyaṇa-sena, the assistants of Lord Nārāyaṇa, they are also looking like Nārāyaṇa. They have also got four hands. In the Vaikuṇṭha planets the residents are also exactly of the same feature of Nārāyaṇa. Just like in this planet the king and the citizens have the same feature of body—two hands, two legs... (break) The same bodily feature. There are five kinds of mukti, liberation: sārūpya, sālokya, sāmīpya, sārṣṭi. Sārṣṭi liberation is not accepted by the devotees. Not sārṣṭi; sārūpya. And those who are devotees of Kṛṣṇa, they do not accept any one of these liberations. Although, by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa, they are elevated to the planet Goloka Vṛndāvana, but from their part they do not wish any kind of liberation. They simply want to serve the Lord. And Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says that "I may take birth in a family as an ant where there are devotees," because in the house of a devotee, the ants also, by eating the remnants of the foodstuff of the devotee, becomes liberated. A devotee's position is so great, a pure devotee. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam (Brs. 1.1.11).

vikarṣato 'ntar hṛdayād

dāsī-patim ajāmilam

yama-preṣyān viṣṇudūtā

vārayām āsur ojasā

The Yamadūtas, the constables of Yamarāja, they are dragging Ajāmila to take him to the planet there Yamarāja is there. And as soon as he uttered the holy name of Nārāyaṇa, immediately Lord Nārāyaṇa's assistants came, and with grave voice they said, "What are you doing? Stop! You cannot take this man to the Yama-mandira." Ojasā. Ojasā, with great gravity they said,

ūcur niṣedhitās tāṁs te

vaivasvata-puraḥsarāḥ

ke yūyaṁ pratiṣeddhāro

dharma-rājasya śāsanam

The assistants of the Yamarāja, Yamadūtas, saw that they are very beautiful and their bodily features are very attractive because they are coming from Vaikuṇṭha, with four hands. So immediately they got some respectful attitude and inquired that "Who are you, that you are trying to interrupt in the administration of Yamarāja? It is not possible. You cannot... Nobody has ever interrupted with the administration of Yamarāja, so we are surprised. Who are you?" Ūcur niṣedhitās tāṁs te vaivasvata-puraḥsarāḥ. Vaivasvata-puraḥsarāḥ. Yamarāja is also the son of Manu; therefore his assistants are called vaivasvata-puraḥ. Ke yūyaṁ pratiṣeddhāro dharma-rājasya śāsanam: "Who are you? You have appeared before us as opposing party," pratiyuddhāraḥ. Warriors, they have got opposite party to fight. So they expected there will be fight because they are determined to take away Ajāmila to the Yama-mandira, whereas the Viṣṇudūtas, they forbade, "Oh, you cannot take them. You cannot take him. Stop."

Lecture on SB 6.1.31 -- San Francisco, July 16, 1975:

Nitāi: "As the order carriers of Yamarāja were snatching out the soul from the core of the heart of Ajāmila, the husband of the prostitute, the order carriers of Viṣṇu forbade them with great resounding voices to do so."

Prabhupāda:

vikarṣato 'ntar hṛdayād

dāsī-patim ajāmilam

yama-preṣyān viṣṇudūtā

vārayām āsur ojasā

(SB 6.1.31)

So when the order carriers of Yamarāja were trying to take away Ajāmila from this world to the other lower planetary system... Below this universe there are many planetary systems. They are called Pātāla, Atala, Vitala, Talātala, Rasātala, Mahātala, Sutala—seven layers. So below that layers there is hellish planets. Just like up there are heavenly planets, similarly, down there are hellish planets. So Yamarāja, his kingdom, his jurisdiction, is within these hellish planets.

Lecture on SB 6.1.31 -- San Francisco, July 16, 1975:

So he was attached to the son, always chanting "Nārāyaṇa." "Nārāyaṇa, please come. Nārāyaṇa, please eat. Nārāyaṇa, please sit down." So at the time of death he loudly chanted, "Nārāyaṇa." He thought his son will save him from the hands of these Yamadūtas. But immediately Kṛṣṇa's attendants immediately came there, Viṣṇudūtas. And immediately they ordered, "You Yamadūtas, carriers of order, stop, you cannot do it." That is stated here. Yama-preṣyān viṣṇudūtā vārayām āsuḥ: "Do not touch him." Ojasā: "very strongly." "If you touch, then you will be punished. Don't do it." (laughter) Ojasā. Ojasā. Ojasā means very strongly. Just like a master orders the servant, "You must do it," similarly, ojasā. This is the benefit of becoming Vaiṣṇava and chanting. If you chant offenselessly... This man had no offense. He was misguided accidentally, but he did not commit any offense. He did not perform all sinful activities, that "I am now chanting Nārāyaṇa, so it is being nullified. So let me go on doing these sinful activities and chant Nārāyaṇa." No, he did not do so. He did not know what is the benefit of chanting Nārāyaṇa's name. He did not know. So therefore, unconsciously, he was offenseless. Nāmno balād yasya hi pāpa-buddhiḥ. If one thinks that "I am chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, and it is said, 'By chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, everyone's sinful reaction of life becomes nullified,' so let me do these two thing," oh, that is very great offense. Nāmno balād yasya. You have heard about ten offenses. This is the gravest offense.

Lecture on SB 6.1.31 -- Honolulu, May 30, 1976:

Pradyumna: "The order carriers of Yamarāja were snatching the soul from the core of the heart of Ajāmila, the husband of the prostitute. But with resounding voices the messengers of Lord Viṣṇu, the Viṣṇudūtas, forbade them to do so."

Prabhupāda:

vikarṣato 'ntar hṛdayād

dāsī-patim ajāmilam

yama-preṣyān viṣṇudūta

vārayām āsur ojasā

(SB 6.1.31)

So the Yamadūtas were dragging Ajāmila—not this body, but the soul. Body will stay there, but the soul (indistinct). Now wherefrom? Vikarṣato antar hṛdayād. From the core of the heart. Now, from the śāstra you can understand where the soul is. Soul is not in the brain, not in the here, there. No. Therefore when the soul is taken away, going away from the heart, we say "heart failure." Heart failure means the soul has gone. The soul lives in the heart. This is proof from the śāstra. Not only the soul, but the Supersoul also is there. Supersoul is God, Kṛṣṇa, and the individual soul, they're living together. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe (BG 18.61). Īśvara, the Supreme Lord, He's also there, very minute form, aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān. The dimension of the soul is also mentioned in the śāstra: one ten thousandth part of the tip of a hair.