Vrtrasura was Maharaj Citraketu in his previous birth. Having been cursed by Mother Parvati - he had to take birth as an ugly demon and fight against the demigods and against Indra. He was destined to be killed by Indra in the battlefield and thus return back home back to Godhead.
Some important qualities that stand out in the chapters 10,11 and 12:
- Change in Designation did not affect his service:
- In his previous life he was Maharaj Citraketu and once he was liberated he had the benediction to fly anywhere at will with access to Kailasa and the Vaikuntha planets.
- So in spite of being in a demon's body - which was a major change in designation from being a king to becoming an ugly demon he was UNFLINCHING in his service to the Lord - he continued fighting enthusiastically because that was the Lord's desire. In fact he was the most enthusiastic fighter from the demons side and could alone challenge and defeat the demigods
- This is an important lesson to be learned by us - that if we lose our designation in a particular service we must not be disheartened - if we are that means we are materially attached. There is a lot of service to do in Lord Caitanya's movement and we must also be attached to mood of service and not the designation that comes with the service
- He was unattached to the material outcome of the battle
- He knew that he would be killed on the battlefield by Indra. However that did not affect his attitude of fighting in the battle, because he did not care about the material outcome of the battle , all he cared about was being unflinching in his service to the Supreme Lord.
- He was not complacent even after knowing that he would go BTG after he died in the battle:
- SP said all his disciples would go back to the Spiritual World - does that mean that the followers of SP do not need to render service anymore and they can become complacent> Similarly Vrtrasura inspite of knowing that he would eventually go BTG and remain in the association of devotees it did not make him complacent- he did not allow Indra to defeat him easily
- He performed his occupational duty even in the most difficult situation:
- He was born as a demon and thus his occupational duty was to fight against the demigods. This was a very difficult occupational duty to perform for anyone. But because he was a great devotee of the Lord he was not at all disturbed by the change of body and he continued his occupational duty with great enthusiasm
- It is said that when there are reversals the devotees of the Lord are not at all disheartened, in fact they are excited in thinking about new ways to engage in the service of the Lord, in spite of the difficult situation. Thus they are always enthusiastic.
- He was attached to the service unlike Indra and the demigods who fought for the protection of their material assets.
- In the verses 6.11.25 -6.11.27 he prays to the Lord that he does not desire Dhruvaloka, the heavenly planets, the powers of mystic yoga ,etc - he basically does not desire anything that is asat - he only desires service to the Lord's Lotus Feet and association of His devotees so that he can always remember the Lord.
- He encouraged Indra in the battle to kill him:
- Indra was overcome by fear in the battlefield- Having dropped his thunderbolt- however Vrtrasura encouraged him to fight in the battle and defeat him- He also reminded Indra of the power of the Thunderbolt which would definitely kill Vrtrasura.
- Vrtrasura could do this because he was not attached to the concept of relative victory- which means he wasn't attached to winning or losing the battle. Vrtrasura was attached to absolute victory- always being engaged in the service of the Lord.
- Because of such consciousness he could encourage Indra to perform his service of fighting properly and give him faith in the thunderbolt as Lord Vishnu himself had said it would kill Vrtrasura.
- In our services we will be able to become non-envious and encourage fellow devotees if we are also situated in the concept of absolute victory of only desiring constant unmotivated uninterrupted service for ourselves and for others. We therefore can encourage others also in the their attempts in glorifying the Lord.
- He had strong faith:
- Because he had strong faith in the Lord, he was able to remain a sincere servant of the Lord in spite of the greatest difficulty
- He had the perfect remedy to stress management:
- His faith and attachment to the Lord's service kept him fixed and unaffected from the greatest source of stress - impending death
- His atttitude towards devotional service was misunderstood but he still continued in service
- If we are doing service very sincerely but our motives are misunderstood by our superiors and our peers it can be very devastating for our devotional life.However Vrtrasura inspite of being so badly misunderstood continued his devotional service.
- He exhibited samadhi
- At the time of death he was deeply meditating upon the Lord oblivious of external circumstances
The materially opulent person does not care about anyone, and thus he commits offenses to great personalities, such as devotees and great saints. This is the way of material opulence. As described by Śukadeva Gosvāmī, dhana-durmadāndha: too much wealth makes one blind. This happens even to Indra in his heavenly kingdom, and what to speak of others in this material world? When one is materially opulent, he should learn to be sober and well-behaved toward Vaiṣṇavas and saintly persons; otherwise he will fall down.
