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Here in the Bhagavatam it is quoted that

In that planet of Satyaloka, there is neither bereavement, nor old age nor death.
http://www.vedabase.com/sb/2/2/27/

But here in the Bhagavad-Gita, it is clearly mentioned that, there is birth and death from lowest to highest material planets (including Satyaloka which is the highest)

http://www.bhagavad-gita.org/Gita/verse-08-16.html

So which one is right?

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2 Answers 2

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There is death in Satyaloka. Let's examine the verse in context:

The duration of life in Satyaloka is calculated to be 15,480,000,000,000 years. In ... Satyaloka, there is neither bereavement, nor old age nor death.

So in Satyaloka, the world of Brahma, life is not eternal. It is just that while Satyaloka itself exists, there is no death there. But eventually Satyaloka itself is destroyed, and that's when its inhabitants finally die.

Let me explain the figure "15,480,000,000,000 years", by the way. As I discuss in this answer, the four Yugas make up one Mahayuga, and 1000 Mahayugas make up a Kalpa. Now a Kalpa is one day for Brahma, who goes to sleep at the end of the Kalpa after which a Pralaya or period of destruction ensues. And then Brahma wakes up and creates the world anew. Now if a Kalpa is one day for Brahma, just imagine how long a hundred years for Brahma is! That is called a Mahakalpa. At the end of a Mahakalpa, Brahma dies, and then there is a period of even greater destruction called a Mahapralaya. And then a new Brahma is born from Vishnu and the process starts all over again.

Now when Brahma dies, so do the inhabitants of Satyaloka who were worshipping him, and Brahma and those inhabitants all attain Moksha together, as described in a later chapter of the Srimad Bhagavatam:

Worshipers of the Hiraṇyagarbha expansion of the Personality of Godhead remain within this material world until the end of two parārdhas, when Lord Brahmā also dies. After experiencing the inhabitable time of the three modes of material nature, known as two parārdhas, Lord Brahmā closes the material universe, which is covered by layers of earth, water, air, fire, ether, mind, ego, etc., and goes back to Godhead. The yogīs who become detached from the material world by practice of breathing exercises and control of the mind reach the planet of Brahmā, which is far, far away. After giving up their bodies, they enter into the body of Lord Brahmā, and therefore when Brahmā is liberated and goes to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the Supreme Brahman, such yogīs can also enter into the kingdom of God.

So that's the meaning of the duration of life given in that verse.

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  • Thanks for the explanation. Do you have any sources about life duration in tapa and jana loka?
    – tekkk
    Jun 21, 2015 at 16:07
  • @sysinit There isn't a fixed duration. In Janaloka and Tapoloka you dwell there until the merit of your good deeds get exhausted and then you get reborn. You can only be in Maharloka for a Kalpa, and you can be in Satyaloka for an entire Mahakalpa, but in the intermediate realms of Janaloka and Tapoloka it varies. Jun 21, 2015 at 16:49
  • Thanks.I know people who has done good deeds go to svarga.But never understood , who will go to jana,tapa,mahar loka
    – tekkk
    Jun 21, 2015 at 17:01
  • @sysinit Well, it's just a question of how good your deeds are. Like the Mahabharata chapter quoted in my answer here gives an example of something that would get you into Svargaloka: "He who lives for a hundred years, who is endued with heroism, who studies the Vedas, and who performs sacrifices with devotion." But it also lists various activities that can get you into even higher Lokas, for instance the Rajasuya Yagna will get you into the world of the Prajapatis, i.e. Maharloka. Jun 21, 2015 at 17:20
  • Thanks again. What happens after the fruits of their action expire in lokas higher than svarga?. Is it possible to upward movement without coming back on earth?
    – tekkk
    Jun 21, 2015 at 18:37
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There is no contradiction, you just need to understand it in the light of the following verse.

SB 5.16.25 yān upajuṣāṇānāṁ na kadācid api prajānāṁ valī-palita-klama-sveda-daurgandhya-jarāmaya-mṛtyu-śītoṣṇa vaivarṇyopasargādayas tāpa-viśeṣā bhavanti yāvaj jīvaṁ sukhaṁ niratiśayam

The residents of the material world who enjoy the products of these flowing rivers have no wrinkles on their bodies and no grey hair. They never feel fatigue, and perspiration does not give their bodies a bad odor. They are not afflicted by old age, disease or untimely death, they do not suffer from chilly cold or scorching heat, nor do their bodies lose their luster. They all live very happily, without anxieties, until death.

The verse above talks about residents of some planets in Jambudvipa. Since, it is known that everyone will die and last line says yavaj jivam. mrtyum should mean not death, but untimely death.

It is clearly known that at the time of destruction, even Satyaloka gets destroyed from the prior verse SB 2.2.26. Hence, in the verse http://www.vedabase.com/sb/2/2/27/ mrtyum can be understood to be untimely death. There is no death in Satyaloka can be understood as there is no untimely death. Thus, it doesn't contradict BG 8.16.

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