Study a Verse

• The demigods and the Vaiṣṇavas especially are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, because they are always obedient to His orders (oṁ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā paśyanti sūrayaḥ).
• The asuras perpetually struggle to persecute the Vaiṣṇavas because they do not want Vaiṣṇavism to spread.
• Vaiṣṇavas preach only devotional service, not encouraging karmīs, jñānīs and yogīs, because if one must liberate oneself from material, conditional life, one must ultimately become a Vaiṣṇava.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Terror → Wonder and relief. The threat of destruction yields to divine appearance.

Chapters 1–4 of Canto 10: Threat from Kaṁsa and Kṛṣṇa's birth. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 4: The Atrocities of King Kaṁsa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The brāhmaṇas, the cows, the Vedas, austerity, truthfulness, control of the senses and mind, faithfulness and mercy are among the different parts of the body of Viṣṇu, who is the origin of all the demigods, including Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva. Therefore, the ministers advised, the demigods, the saintly persons, the cows and the brāhmaṇas should be systematically persecuted.