Sukadeva Gosvami continued: When the order-carriers of Yamaraja, the son of the sun-god, were thus forbidden, they replied, "Who are you, sirs, that have the audacity to challenge the jurisdiction of Yamaraja? Whose servants are you, where have you come from, and why are you forbidding us to touch the body of Ajamila? Are you demigods from the heavenly planets, are you sub-demigods, or are you the best of devotees? Your eyes are just like the petals of lotus flowers. Dressed in yellow silken garments, decorated with garlands of lotuses, and wearing very attractive helmets on your heads and earrings on your ears, you all appear fresh and youthful. Your four long arms are decorated with bows and quivers of arrows and with swords, clubs, conchshells, discs, and lotus flowers. Your effulgence has dissipated the darkness here with extraordinary illumination. Now, sirs, why are you obstructing us?" (Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.32-36)
Divine Interference
The sins Ajamila had committed placed him within the jurisdiction of Yamaraja, the supreme judge appointed to consider the sins of the living entities. When forbidden to touch Ajamila, the order-carriers of Yamaraja were surprised, because within all the three worlds no one had ever before hindered them in the execution of their duty.
The Vishnudutas were coming from Vaikuntha, and they appeared extraordinary, each with four arms. The servants of Yamaraja immediately received them with respect. They had no idea which planet the Vishnudutas had come from, so they simply suggested, "You must have come from a very exalted planet, but why are you interfering with our business? We are Yamadutas. It is our duty to arrest every sinful man, and Ajamila has committed misdeeds throughout his life. Now, at the end of his life, we are authorized to take him to Yamaraja, the son of Vivasvan, the sun-god, so why are you preventing us?"
The most significant word used in verse 32 is siddha-sattamah, which means "the best of the perfect." In the Bhagavad-gitamanushyanam sahasreshu kascid yatati siddhaye: out of millions of persons, one may try to become siddha, perfect—or, in other words, self-realized. A self-realized person knows that he is not the body but a spiritual soul (aham brahmasmi). At present almost no one is aware of this fact, but one who understands this has attained perfection and is therefore called siddha. When one understands that the soul is part and parcel of the Supreme Soul and one thus engages in the devotional service of the Supreme Soul, one becomes siddha-sattama. One is then eligible to live in Vaikuntha or Krishnaloka. The word siddha-sattama, therefore, refers to a pure devotee of the Lord. (7.3) it is said,
Since the Yamadutas are servants of Yamaraja, who is also one of the siddha-sattamas, they knew that a siddha-sattama is above the demigods and sub-demigods and, indeed, above all the living entities within this material world. The YamadutasVishnudutas were preventing them from carrying out the orders of such an exalted soul as Yamaraja. It should also be noted that Ajamila was not yet dead, for the Yamadutas had been stopped before they could snatch the soul from his heart. Ajamila was simply on the verge of death as the argument progressed between the YamadutasVishnudutas. The conclusion of that argument was to be a decision regarding who would claim the soul of Ajamila. therefore inquired why the and the
----------------------------Written by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
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