Study a Verse

• Anyone who is a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa is called a deva, and others, even though they may be devotees of demigods, are called asuras.
• Concerning ajitasya padam, the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the Milk Ocean of this material world, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says: padaṁ kṣīrodadhi-stha-śvetadvīpaṁ tamasaḥ prakṛteḥ param.
• Similarly, although Śvetadvīpa, which is in the Ocean of Milk, is in this material world, it is paraṁ padam, transcendental.

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

Danger and ambition → Divine rescue and surprise. Cooperation, rivalry and revelation alternate rapidly.

Chapters 5–12 of Canto 8: Churning the ocean, poison and nectar. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 5: The Demigods Appeal to the Lord for Protection

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Mahārāja Parīkṣit was very eager to hear about the churning of the ocean, and therefore Śukadeva Gosvāmī began to explain to him how the demigods, having been cursed by Durvāsā Muni, were defeated in battle by the asuras. When the demigods were deprived of their heavenly kingdom, they went to the assembly house of Lord Brahmā and informed Lord Brahmā of what had happened.