The Gatekeepers Who Became Demons

The sages told the Pandavas a tale that ties together many of the great stories of the Lord's descents - the strange and beautiful secret of why the Lord's three greatest demon-enemies were, in truth, his own beloved servants.

In Vaikuntha, the highest abode of the Lord Vishnu, there stood at the gates two doorkeepers named Jaya and Vijaya. They were devoted servants of the Lord, beautiful and mighty beings, entrusted with guarding the entrance to his realm. For ages they kept their post faithfully. But pride is a subtle thing, and it can creep even into the servants of the Lord, standing so near to his glory - and so it crept into Jaya and Vijaya, and led them into a fault that would cast them out of heaven and send them down through three terrible births.