Jaya and Vijaya

1. In the spiritual world lies beautiful Vaikuntha, where there is no fear or sorrow. Everyone there serves Lord Vishnu with love.
2. Two mighty gatekeepers named Jaya and Vijaya stood at the gates. They guarded the entrance to the Lord's palace.
3. One day the four Kumaras arrived, great sages who looked like small children. They wished to see Lord Vishnu.
4. The Kumaras passed freely through six gates. At the seventh gate, Jaya and Vijaya stopped them.
5. In Vaikuntha no one fears anyone or treats another person as a stranger. Every soul is an eternal part of the Lord, so everyone there treats one another with love.
6. The Kumaras became angry and spoke a stern curse. The gatekeepers would have to take birth in the material world.
7. Jaya and Vijaya understood their mistake at once. They bowed to the sages and prayed that they would not forget the Lord far from Vaikuntha.
8. At that moment Lord Vishnu appeared with goddess Lakshmi. His gentle glance calmed everyone.
9. The Lord humbly asked the sages to forgive His servants. He showed how dear every devotee is to Him.
10. When the Kumaras saw the Lord, they regretted their anger. They praised Him and bowed at His lotus feet.
11. The Lord explained that this difficult event had happened by His plan. Even far from Vaikuntha, the gatekeepers would remain connected to Him.
12. Jaya and Vijaya would be born three times as opponents of the Lord. By thinking of Him constantly, they would quickly return home.
13. The gatekeepers walked around the Lord and bowed respectfully. Then they left the shining gates of Vaikuntha.
14. In the material world they were born as twin sons of Diti and the sage Kashyapa. Their enormous strength frightened the residents of the universe.
15. The elder was named Hiranyakashipu, and the younger was named Hiranyaksha. Thus began the first of Jaya and Vijaya's three unusual lives.
16. Under the influence of anger, the brothers forgot their former service. They began to seek power and battles.
17. The Lord did not forget His servants for even a moment. He Himself would come to bring them back to Him.
18. Hiranyaksha was the first to set out with his heavy club to challenge the Lord. Hiranyakashipu did not yet know that a great devotee would be born in his own family.

Sources for parents

• A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.15 — Description of the Kingdom of God.
• A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.16 — Jaya and Vijaya Cursed by the Sages.
• A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita As It Is 15.7 — the living being as an eternal part of the Lord.