Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 6.11.18
Mukti· LiberationReturn to Godhead Through Devotees’ Grace
“But if in this battle you cut off my head with your thunderbolt and kill my soldiers, O Indra, O great hero, I shall take great pleasure in offering my body to other living entities [such as jackals and vultures]. I shall thus be relieved of my obligations to the reactions of my karma, and my fortune will be to receive the dust from the lotus feet of great devotees like Nārada Muni.”
What the purport teaches
- Vṛtrāsura was prepared for death because he knew that this was Lord Viṣṇu’s desire and that he would return home, back to Godhead.
- A Vaiṣṇava always desires the dust of the lotus feet of previous ācāryas and Vaiṣṇavas. Returning to Godhead is achieved by a Vaiṣṇava’s grace.
- Great devotees such as Nārada Muni always think of Kṛṣṇa and are peaceful. Vṛtrāsura longed to receive the dust of such devotees’ lotus feet.
Try this today
Offer one small act of service to a devotee today.
Ask yourself
Do I value the favor of devotees as essential to my spiritual progress?
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.