Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 6 - Chapter 1 - Verse 17

Sanskrit:

तस्यात्मतन्त्रस्य हरेरधीशितु:परस्य मायाधिपतेर्महात्मन: ।प्रायेण दूता इह वै मनोहरा-श्चरन्ति तद्रूपगुणस्वभावा: ॥ १७ ॥

ITRANS:

tasyātma-tantrasya harer adhīśituḥparasya māyādhipater mahātmanaḥprāyeṇa dūtā iha vai manoharāścaranti tad-rūpa-guṇa-svabhāvāḥ

Translation:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is self-sufficient and fully independent. He is the master of everyone and everything, including the illusory energy. He has His form, qualities and features; and similarly His order carriers, the Vaiṣṇavas, who are very beautiful, possess bodily features, transcendental qualities and a transcendental nature almost like His. They always wander within this world with full independence.

Purport:

Yamarāja was describing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the supreme controller, but the order carriers of Yamarāja were very eager to know about the Viṣṇudūtas, who had defeated them in their encounter with Ajāmila. Yamarāja therefore stated that the Viṣṇudūtas resemble the Supreme Personality of Godhead in their bodily features, transcendental qualities and nature. In other words, the Viṣṇudūtas, or Vaiṣṇavas, are almost as qualified as the Supreme Lord. Yamarāja informed the Yamadūtas that the Viṣṇudūtas are no less powerful than Lord Viṣṇu. Since Viṣṇu is above Yamarāja, the Viṣṇudūtas are above the Yamadūtas. Persons protected by the Viṣṇudūtas, therefore, cannot be touched by the Yamadūtas.