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THE MYSTERIES ABOUT THE SURAS AND THE ASURAS.
SKANDIIA VII. CHAP. 7-1.
Raja Parikshit said: "To Bhagavan, all beings are equal, and
He is the dear friend of all. Why did he kill the Daityasjor the
sake of Indra, as if He was not above partiality. Supreme Bliss
Himself, He had nothing to gain from the Devas. Being above the
control of the Gunas, He had no fear from the Asuras, and he did
not bear any unfriendly feeling for them. We are in doubt as to the
virtues of Narayana. Please clear up the doubt."
Suka replied: Void of Gunas, without beginning, without mani-
festation, beyond Prakriti, Bhagavan pervades and permeates the Gunas
of His Maya. Hence His seeming relations. Satva, Rajas and Tamas
are not His Gunas, but they are the Gunas of Prakriti. These attributes
or tendencies of Prakriti do not all prevail at one and the same period;
but they have got their periods of increase and decrease. (That is, since
the beginning of the universe, the general tendency which guides all
beings is different at different times. Thus at the very outset there
was inertia, Tamas. This inertia was got over by Rajas, which predo-
minated in the Prajapatis, and the life-forms appeared on the globes.
There was Tamas again in the mineral kingdom, which had to be con-
quered by Rajasic activity. And Rajas was in full swing till human-
ity reached a certain stage. Then Satva manifested itself for the
evolution of men. The spiritual regeneration will be brought about by
the ever increasing prevalence of Satva).
When Satva prevails, Bhagavan favours the Devas and Rishis.
When Rajas prevails, He favours the Asuras. When Tamas prevails,
He favors the Yakshas and Rakshasas. He follows in fact the
periodic tendency.
It is Kala (Periodicity) that now brings up Satva. So the Lord
seems to favour the hosts of Devas, in whom Satva prevails. He also
seems to put down the hosts of Asuras, who are opposed to the
D eva s being full of Rajas and Tamas,
It is also to favour the Asuras that He kills them. For we
have seen above, how the gate-keepers of Vishnu became Hiranya-
ksha and Hiranyakasipu by the curse of the Kumara brothers.
They had to become Asuras for three successive births. In the
second birth, they became Ravana and Kumbhakarna, when they
were killed by Rama. In their last b'irth, they became Shishupala and
Danta-vakra, when they were killed by Sri Krishna. Then they be-
came finally liberated and restored to their place in Vaikuntha.
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