Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.24.16
Ūti· What drives us to actIntoxication and Pride Hide Impending Death
“My dear King, now I shall describe to you the lower planetary systems, one by one, beginning from Atala. In Atala there is a demon, the son of Maya Dānava named Bala, who created ninety-six kinds of mystic power. Some so-called yogīs and svāmīs take advantage of this mystic power to cheat people even today. Simply by yawning, the demon Bala created three kinds of women, known as svairiṇī, kāmiṇī and puṁścalī. The svairiṇīs like to marry men from their own group, the kāmiṇīs marry men from any group, and the puṁścalīs change husbands one after another. If a man enters the planet of Atala, these women immediately capture him and induce him to drink an intoxicating beverage made with a drug known as hāṭaka [cannabis indica]. This intoxicant endows the man with great sexual prowess, of which the women take advantage for enjoyment. A woman will enchant him with attractive glances, intimate words, smiles of love and then embraces. In this way she induces him to enjoy sex with her to her full satisfaction. Because of his increased sexual power, the man thinks himself stronger than ten thousand elephants and considers himself most perfect. Indeed, illusioned and intoxicated by false pride, he thinks himself God, ignoring impending death.”
What the purport teaches
- Bala, the son of Maya Dānava, lives in Atala and created ninety-six kinds of mystic power. Some so-called yogīs and svāmīs use such power to cheat people.
- Bala created three kinds of women, who entice visiting men into intoxication and sexual enjoyment. The intoxicating drink is made with the drug hāṭaka.
- Intoxicated by increased sexual power and false pride, a man considers himself perfect and thinks himself God. In this illusion, he ignores impending death.
Try this today
Identify one source of false pride and pause today before acting on it.
Ask yourself
Does any pleasure or sense of power make me forget my limitations and impending death?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.