Text 18
evaṁ ca tasmin nara-deva-deve
prāyopaviṣṭe divi deva-saṅghāḥ
praśasya bhūmau vyakiran prasūnair
mudā muhur dundubhayaś ca neduḥ
evam — thus; ca — and; tasmin — in that; nara-deva-deve — upon the King’s; prāya-upaviṣṭe — being engaged in fasting to death; divi — in the sky; deva — demigods; saṅghāḥ — all of them; praśasya — having praised the action; bhūmau — on the earth; vyakiran — scattered; prasūnaiḥ — with flowers; mudā — in pleasure; muhuḥ — continually; dundubhayaḥ — celestial drums; ca — also; neduḥ — beaten.
Thus the King, Mahārāja Parīkṣit, sat to fast until death. All the demigods of the higher planets praised the King’s actions and in pleasure continually scattered flowers over the earth and beat celestial drums.
Even up to the time of Mahārāja Parīkṣit there were interplanetary communications, and the news of Mahārāja Parīkṣit’s fasting unto death to attain salvation reached the higher planets in the sky where the intelligent demigods live. The demigods are more luxurious than human beings, but all of them are obedient to the orders of the Supreme Lord. There is no one in the heavenly planets who is an atheist or nonbeliever. Thus any devotee of the Lord on the surface of the earth is always praised by them, and in the case of Mahārāja Parīkṣit they were greatly delighted and thus gave tokens of honor by scattering flowers over the earth and by beating celestial drums. A demigod takes pleasure in seeing someone go back to Godhead. He is always pleased with a devotee of the Lord, so much so that by his adhidaivic powers he may help the devotees in all respects. And by their actions, the Lord is pleased with them. There is an invisible chain of complete cooperation between the Lord, the demigods and the devotee of the Lord on earth.