Kumaras, Nrsimha
Thus the great sages, Sanaka, Sanätana, Sanandana and Sanat-kumära, upon reaching the above-mentioned Vaikuëöha in the spiritual world by dint of their mystic yoga performance, perceived unprecedented happiness. They found that the spiritual sky was illuminated by highly decorated airplanes piloted by the best devotees of Vaikuëöha and was predominated by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
After passing through the six entrances of Vaikuëöha-puré, the Lord’s residence, without feeling astonishment at all the decorations, they saw at the seventh gate two shining beings of the same age, armed with maces and adorned with most valuable jewelry, earrings, diamonds, helmets, garments, etc.
The two doormen were garlanded with fresh flowers which attracted intoxicated bees and which were placed around their necks and between their four blue arms. From their arched eyebrows, discontented nostrils and reddish eyes, they appeared somewhat agitated.
The great sages, headed by Sanaka, had opened doors everywhere. They had no idea of “ours” and “theirs.” With open minds, they entered the seventh door out of their own will, just as they had passed through the six other doors, which were made of gold and diamonds.
The four boy-sages, who had nothing to cover their bodies but the atmosphere, looked only five years old, even though they were the oldest of all living creatures and had realized the truth of the self. But when the porters, who happened to possess a disposition quite unpalatable to the Lord, saw the sages, they blocked their way with their staffs, despising their glories, although the sages did not deserve such treatment at their hands.
When the Kumäras, although by far the fittest persons, were thus forbidden entrance by the two chief doorkeepers of Çré Hari while other divinities looked on, their eyes suddenly turned red because of anger due to their great eagerness to see their most beloved master, Çré Hari, the Personality of Godhead.
The sages said: Who are these two persons who have developed such a discordant mentality even though they are posted in the service of the Lord in the highest position and are expected to have developed the same qualities as the Lord? How are these two persons living in Vaikuëöha? Where is the possibility of an enemy’s coming into this kingdom of God? The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no enemy. Who could be envious of Him? Probably these two persons are imposters; therefore they suspect others to be like themselves.
In the Vaikuëöha world there is complete harmony between the residents and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, just as there is complete harmony within space between the big and the small skies. Why then is there a seed of fear in this field of harmony? These two persons are dressed like inhabitants of Vaikuëöha, but wherefrom can their disharmony come into existence?
Therefore let us consider how these two contaminated persons should be punished. The punishment should be apt, for thus benefit can eventually be bestowed upon them. Since they find duality in the existence of Vaikuëöha life, they are contaminated and should be removed from this place to the material world, where the living entities have three kinds of enemies.
When the doormen of Vaikuëöhaloka, who were certainly devotees of the Lord, found that they were going to be cursed by the brähmaëas, they at once became very much afraid and fell down at the feet of the brähmaëas in great anxiety, for a brähmaëa’s curse cannot be counteracted by any kind of weapon.
After being cursed by the sages, the doormen said: It is quite apt that you have punished us for neglecting to respect sages like you. But we pray that due to your compassion at our repentance, the illusion of forgetting the Supreme Personality of Godhead will not come upon us as we go progressively downward.
At that very moment, the Lord, who is called Padmanäbha because of the lotus grown from His navel and who is the delight of the righteous, learned about the insult offered by His own servants to the saints. Accompanied by His spouse, the goddess of fortune, He went to the spot on those very feet sought for by recluses and great sages.
The sages, headed by Sanaka Åñi, saw that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viñëu, who was formerly visible only within their hearts in ecstatic trance, had now actually become visible to their eyes. As He came forward, accompanied by His own associates bearing all paraphernalia, such as an umbrella and a cämara fan, the white bunches of hair moved very gently, like two swans, and due to their favorable breeze the pearls garlanding the umbrella also moved, like drops of nectar falling from the white full moon or ice melting due to a gust of wind.
The Lord is the reservoir of all pleasure. His auspicious presence is meant for everyone’s benediction, and His affectionate smiling and glancing touch the core of the heart. The Lord’s beautiful bodily color is blackish, and His broad chest is the resting place of the goddess of fortune, who glorifies the entire spiritual world, the summit of all heavenly planets. Thus it appeared that the Lord was personally spreading the beauty and good fortune of the spiritual world.
He was adorned with a girdle that shone brightly on the yellow cloth covering His large hips, and He wore a garland of fresh flowers which was distinguished by humming bees. His lovely wrists were graced with bracelets, and He rested one of His hands on the shoulder of Garuòa, His carrier, and twirled a lotus with another hand.
His countenance was distinguished by cheeks that enhanced the beauty of His alligator-shaped pendants, which outshone lightning. His nose was prominent, and His head was covered with a gem-studded crown. A charming necklace hung between His stout arms, and His neck was adorned with the gem known by the name Kaustubha.
The exquisite beauty of Näräyaëa, being many times magnified by the intelligence of His devotees, was so attractive that it defeated the pride of the goddess of fortune in being the most beautiful. My dear demigods, the Lord who thus manifested Himself is worshipable by me, by Lord Çiva and by all of you. The sages regarded Him with unsated eyes and joyously bowed their heads at His lotus feet.
When the breeze carrying the aroma of tulasé leaves from the toes of the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead entered the nostrils of those sages, they experienced a change both in body and in mind, even though they were attached to the impersonal Brahman understanding.
The Lord’s beautiful face appeared to them like the inside of a blue lotus, and the Lord’s smile appeared to be a blossoming jasmine flower. After seeing the face of the Lord, the sages were fully satisfied, and when they wanted to see Him further, they looked upon the nails of His lotus feet, which resembled rubies. Thus they viewed the Lord’s transcendental body again and again, and so they finally achieved meditation on the Lord’s personal feature.
This is the form of the Lord which is meditated upon by the followers of the yoga process, and it is pleasing to the yogés in meditation. It is not imaginary but factual, as proved by great yogés. The Lord is full in eight kinds of achievement, but for others these achievements are not possible in full perfection.
…Then, the Kumaras offered prayers to the Lord.
Lord Brahmä said: After thus congratulating the sages for their nice words, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose abode is in the kingdom of God, spoke as follows.
The Personality of Godhead said: These attendants of Mine, Jaya and Vijaya by name, have committed a great offense against you because of ignoring Me.
O great sages, I approve of the punishment that you who are devoted to Me have meted out to them.
To Me, the brähmaëa is the highest and most beloved personality. The disrespect shown by My attendants has actually been displayed by Me because the doormen are My servitors. I take this to be an offense by Myself; therefore I seek your forgiveness for the incident that has arisen.
A wrong act committed by a servant leads people in general to blame his master, just as a spot of white leprosy on any part of the body pollutes all of the skin.
Anyone in the entire world, even down to the caëòäla, who lives by cooking and eating the flesh of the dog, is immediately purified if he takes bath in hearing through the ear the glorification of My name, fame, etc. Now you have realized Me without doubt; therefore I will not hesitate to lop off My own arm if its conduct is found hostile to you.
The Lord continued: Because I am the servitor of My devotees, My lotus feet have become so sacred that they immediately wipe out all sin, and I have acquired such a disposition that the goddess of fortune does not leave Me, even though I have no attachment for her and others praise her beauty and observe sacred vows to secure from her even a slight favor.
I do not enjoy the oblations offered by the sacrificers in the sacrificial fire, which is one of My own mouths, with the same relish as I do the delicacies overflowing with ghee which are offered to the mouths of the brähmaëas who have dedicated to Me the results of their activities and who are ever satisfied with My prasäda.
I am the master of My unobstructed internal energy, and the water of the Ganges is the remnant left after My feet are washed. That water sanctifies the three worlds, along with Lord Çiva, who bears it on his head. If I can take the dust of the feet of the Vaiñëava on My head, who will refuse to do the same?
The brähmaëas, the cows and the defenseless creatures are My own body. Those whose faculty of judgment has been impaired by their own sin look upon these as distinct from Me. They are just like furious serpents, and they are angrily torn apart by the bills of the vulturelike messengers of Yamaräja, the superintendent of sinful persons.
On the other hand, they captivate My heart who are gladdened in heart and who, their lotus faces enlightened by nectarean smiles, respect the brähmaëas, even though the brähmaëas utter harsh words. They look upon the brähmaëas as My own Self and pacify them by praising them in loving words, even as a son would appease an angry father or as I am pacifying you.
These servants of Mine have transgressed against you, not knowing the mind of their master. I shall therefore deem it a favor done to Me if you order that, although reaping the fruit of their transgression, they may return to My presence soon and the time of their exile from My abode may expire before long.
Brahmä continued: Even though the sages had been bitten by the serpent of anger, their souls were not satiated with hearing the Lord’s lovely and illuminating speech, which was like a series of Vedic hymns.
The Lord’s excellent speech was difficult to comprehend because of its momentous import and its most profound significance. The sages heard it with wide-open ears and pondered it as well. But although hearing, they could not understand what He intended to do.
The four brähmaëa sages were nevertheless extremely delighted to behold Him, and they experienced a thrill throughout their bodies. They then spoke as follows to the Lord, who had revealed the multiglories of the Supreme Personality through His internal potency, yogamäyä.
The sages said: O Supreme Personality of Godhead, we are unable to know what You intend for us to do, for even though You are the supreme ruler of all, You speak in our favor as if we had done something good for You.
O Lord, You are the supreme director of the brahminical culture. Your considering the brähmaëas to be in the highest position is Your example for teaching others. Actually You are the supreme worshipable Deity, not only for the gods but for the brähmaëas also.
You are the source of the eternal occupation of all living entities, and by Your multimanifestations of Personalities of Godhead, You have always protected religion. You are the supreme objective of religious principles, and in our opinion You are inexhaustible and unchangeable eternally.
Mystics and transcendentalists, by the mercy of the Lord, cross beyond nescience by ceasing all material desires. It is not possible, therefore, that the Supreme Lord can be favored by others.
The goddess of fortune, Lakñmé, the dust of whose feet is worn on the head by others, waits upon You, as appointed, for she is anxious to secure a place in the abode of the king of bees, who hovers on the fresh wreath of tulasé leaves offered at Your feet by some blessed devotee.
O Lord, You are exceedingly attached to the activities of Your pure devotees, yet You are never attached to the goddesses of fortune who constantly engage in Your transcendental loving service. How can You be purified, therefore, by the dust of the path traversed by the brähmaëas, and how can You be glorified or made fortunate by the marks of Çrévatsa on Your chest?
O Lord, You are the personification of all religion. Therefore You manifest Yourself in three millenniums, and thus You protect this universe, which consists of animate and inanimate beings. By Your grace, which is of pure goodness and is the bestower of all blessings, kindly drive away the elements of rajas and tamas for the sake of the demigods and twice-born.
….. and then, they said,
O Lord, whatever punishment You wish to award to these two innocent persons or also to us we shall accept without duplicity. We understand that we have cursed two faultless persons.
The Lord replied: O brähmaëas, know that the punishment you inflicted on them was originally ordained by Me, and therefore they will fall to a birth in a demoniac family. But they will be firmly united with Me in thought through mental concentration intensified by anger, and they will return to My presence shortly.
Lord Brahmä said: After seeing the Lord of Vaikuëöha, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in the self-illuminated Vaikuëöha planet, the sages left that transcendental abode.
The sages circumambulated the Supreme Lord, offered their obeisances and returned, extremely delighted at learning of the divine opulences of the Vaiñëava.
The Lord then said to His attendants, Jaya and Vijaya: Depart this place, but fear not. All glories unto you. Though I am capable of nullifying the brähmaëas’ curse, I would not do so. On the contrary, it has My approval.
This departure from Vaikuëöha was foretold by Lakñmé, the goddess of fortune. She was very angry because when she left My abode and then returned, you stopped her at the gate while I was sleeping.
The Lord assured the two Vaikuëöha inhabitants, Jaya and Vijaya: By practicing the mystic yoga system in anger, you will be cleansed of the sin of disobeying the brähmaëas and within a very short time return to Me.
After thus speaking at the door of Vaikuëöha, the Lord returned to His abode, where there are many celestial airplanes and all-surpassing wealth and splendor.
But those two gatekeepers, the best of the demigods, their beauty and luster diminished by the curse of the brähmaëas, became morose and fell from Vaikuëöha, the abode of the Supreme Lord.
Then, as Jaya and Vijaya fell from the Lord’s abode, a great roar of disappointment arose from all the demigods, who were sitting in their splendid airplanes.
Lord Brahmä continued: Those two principal doorkeepers of the Personality of Godhead have now entered the womb of Diti, the powerful semen of Kaçyapa Muni having covered them.
It is the prowess of these twin asuras [demons] that has disturbed you, for it has minimized your power. There is no remedy within my power, however, for it is the Lord Himself who desires to do all this.
My dear sons, the Lord is the controller of the three modes of nature and is responsible for the creation, preservation and dissolution of the universe. His wonderful creative power, yogamäyä, cannot be easily understood even by the masters of yoga. That most ancient person, the Personality of Godhead, will alone come to our rescue. What purpose can we serve on His behalf by deliberating on the subject?
SB 7.3 Summary
This chapter describes how Hiraëyakaçipu performed a severe type of austerity for material benefit, thus causing great distress throughout the universe. Even Lord Brahmä, the chief personality within this universe, became somewhat disturbed and personally went to see why Hiraëyakaçipu was engaged in such a severe austerity.
Hiraëyakaçipu wanted to become immortal. He wanted not to be conquered by anyone, not to be attacked by old age and disease, and not to be harassed by any opponent. Thus he wanted to become the absolute ruler of the entire universe. With this desire, he entered the valley of Mandara Mountain and began practicing a severe type of austerity and meditation. Seeing Hiraëyakaçipu engaged in this austerity, the demigods returned to their respective homes, but while Hiraëyakaçipu was thus engaged, a kind of fire began blazing from his head, disturbing the entire universe and its inhabitants, including the birds, beasts and demigods. When all the higher and lower planets became too hot to live on, the demigods, being disturbed, left their abodes in the higher planets and went to see Lord Brahmä, praying to him that he curtail this unnecessary heat. The demigods disclosed to Lord Brahmä Hiraëyakaçipu’s ambition to become immortal, overcoming his short duration of life, and to be the master of all the planetary systems, even Dhruvaloka.
Upon hearing about the purpose of Hiraëyakaçipu’s austere meditation, Lord Brahmä, accompanied by the great sage Bhågu and great personalities like Dakña, went to see Hiraëyakaçipu. He then sprinkled water from his kamaëòalu, a type of waterpot, upon Hiraëyakaçipu’s head.
Hiraëyakaçipu, the King of the Daityas, bowed down before Lord Brahmä, the creator of this universe, offering respectful obeisances again and again and offering prayers. When Lord Brahmä agreed to give him benedictions, he prayed not be killed by any living entity, not to be killed in any place, covered or uncovered, not to die in the daytime or at night, not to be killed by any weapon, on land or in the air, and not to be killed by any human being, animal, demigod or any other entity, living or nonliving. He further prayed for supremacy over the entire universe and requested the eight yogic perfections, such as aëimä and laghimä.
SB 7.4 Summary
This chapter fully describes how Hiraëyakaçipu obtained power from Lord Brahmä and misused it by harassing all the living entities within this universe.
By severe austerities, Hiraëyakaçipu satisfied Lord Brahmä and obtained the benedictions he desired. After he received these benedictions, his body, which had been almost entirely consumed, was revived with full beauty and a luster like gold. Nonetheless, he continued to be envious of Lord Viñëu, unable to forget Lord Viñëu’s having killed his brother. Hiraëyakaçipu conquered everyone in the ten directions and the three worlds and brought all living entities, both demigods and asuras, under his control. Becoming the master of all places, including the residence of Indra, whom he had driven out, he began enjoying life in great luxury and thus became mad. All the demigods but Lord Viñëu, Lord Brahmä and Lord Çiva came under his control and began serving him, but despite all his material power he was dissatisfied because he was always puffed up, proud of transgressing the Vedic regulations. All the brähmaëas were dissatisfied with him, and they cursed him with determination. Eventually, all the living entities within the universe, represented by the demigods and sages, prayed to the Supreme Lord for relief from Hiraëyakaçipu’s rule.
Lord Viñëu informed the demigods that they and the other living entities would be saved from the fearful conditions created by Hiraëyakaçipu. Since Hiraëyakaçipu was the oppressor of all the demigods, the followers of the Vedas, the cows, the brähmaëas and the religious, saintly persons, and since he was envious of the Supreme Lord, he would naturally be killed very soon. Hiraëyakaçipu’s last exploit would be to torment his own son Prahläda, who was a mahä-bhägavata, an exalted Vaiñëava. Then his life would end. When the demigods were thus reassured by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, everyone was satisfied, knowing that the miseries inflicted upon them by Hiraëyakaçipu would come to an end.
Finally, Närada Muni describes the characteristics of Prahläda Mahäräja, the son of Hiraëyakaçipu, and describes how his father envied his own qualified son. In this way the chapter ends.
Prahläda Mahäräja did not carry out the orders of his teachers, for he was always engaged in worshiping Lord Viñëu. As described in this chapter, Hiraëyakaçipu tried to kill Prahläda Mahäräja, even by having a snake bite him and by putting him under the feet of elephants, yet he was unsuccessful.
Hiraëyakaçipu’s spiritual master, Çukräcärya, had two sons named Ñaëòa and Amarka, to whom Prahläda Mahäräja was entrusted for education. Although the teachers tried to educate the boy Prahläda in politics, economics and other material activities, he did not care for their instructions. Instead, he continued to be a pure devotee. Prahläda Mahäräja never liked the idea of discriminating between one’s friends and enemies. Because he was spiritually inclined, he was equal toward everyone.
Once upon a time, Hiraëyakaçipu inquired from his son what the best thing was that he had learned from his teachers. Prahläda Mahäräja replied that a man engrossed in the material consciousness of duality, thinking, “This is mine, and that belongs to my enemy,” should give up his householder life and go to the forest to worship the Supreme Lord.
When Hiraëyakaçipu heard from his son about devotional service, he decided that this small boy had been polluted by some friend in school. Thus he advised the teachers to take care of the boy so that he would not become a Kåñëa conscious devotee. However, when the teachers inquired from Prahläda Mahäräja why he was going against their teachings, Prahläda Mahäräja taught the teachers that the mentality of ownership is false and that he was therefore trying to become an unalloyed devotee of Lord Viñëu. The teachers, being very angry at this answer, chastised and threatened the boy with many fearful conditions. They taught him to the best of their ability and then brought him before his father.
Hiraëyakaçipu affectionately took his son Prahläda on his lap and then inquired from him what the best thing was that he had learned from his teachers. As usual, Prahläda Mahäräja began praising the nine processes of devotional service, such as çravaëam and kértanam. Thus the King of the demons, Hiraëyakaçipu, being extremely angry, chastised the teachers, Ñaëòa and Amarka, for having wrongly trained Prahläda Mahäräja. The so-called teachers informed the King that Prahläda Mahäräja was automatically a devotee and did not listen to their instructions. When they proved themselves innocent, Hiraëyakaçipu inquired from Prahläda where he had learned viñëu-bhakti. Prahläda Mahäräja replied that those who are attached to family life do not develop Kåñëa consciousness, either personally or collectively. Instead, they suffer repeated birth and death in this material world and continue simply chewing the chewed. Prahläda explained that the duty of every man is to take shelter of a pure devotee and thus become eligible to understand Kåñëa consciousness.
Enraged at this answer, Hiraëyakaçipu threw Prahläda Mahäräja from his lap. Since Prahläda was so treacherous that he had become a devotee of Viñëu, who had killed his uncle Hiraëyäkña, Hiraëyakaçipu asked his assistants to kill him. The assistants of Hiraëyakaçipu struck Prahläda with sharp weapons, threw him under the feet of elephants, subjected him to hellish conditions, threw him from the peak of a mountain and tried to kill him in thousands of other ways, but they were unsuccessful. Hiraëyakaçipu therefore became increasingly afraid of his son Prahläda Mahäräja and arrested him. The sons of Hiraëyakaçipu’s spiritual master, Çukräcärya, began teaching Prahläda in their own way, but Prahläda Mahäräja did not accept their instructions. While the teachers were absent from the classroom, Prahläda Mahäräja began to preach Kåñëa consciousness in the school, and by his instructions all his class friends, the sons of the demons, became devotees like him.
SB 7.5 Summary
Prahläda Mahäräja did not carry out the orders of his teachers, for he was always engaged in worshiping Lord Viñëu. As described in this chapter, Hiraëyakaçipu tried to kill Prahläda Mahäräja, even by having a snake bite him and by putting him under the feet of elephants, yet he was unsuccessful.
Hiraëyakaçipu’s spiritual master, Çukräcärya, had two sons named Ñaëòa and Amarka, to whom Prahläda Mahäräja was entrusted for education. Although the teachers tried to educate the boy Prahläda in politics, economics and other material activities, he did not care for their instructions. Instead, he continued to be a pure devotee. Prahläda Mahäräja never liked the idea of discriminating between one’s friends and enemies. Because he was spiritually inclined, he was equal toward everyone.
Once upon a time, Hiraëyakaçipu inquired from his son what the best thing was that he had learned from his teachers. Prahläda Mahäräja replied that a man engrossed in the material consciousness of duality, thinking, “This is mine, and that belongs to my enemy,” should give up his householder life and go to the forest to worship the Supreme Lord.
When Hiraëyakaçipu heard from his son about devotional service, he decided that this small boy had been polluted by some friend in school. Thus he advised the teachers to take care of the boy so that he would not become a Kåñëa conscious devotee. However, when the teachers inquired from Prahläda Mahäräja why he was going against their teachings, Prahläda Mahäräja taught the teachers that the mentality of ownership is false and that he was therefore trying to become an unalloyed devotee of Lord Viñëu. The teachers, being very angry at this answer, chastised and threatened the boy with many fearful conditions. They taught him to the best of their ability and then brought him before his father.
Hiraëyakaçipu affectionately took his son Prahläda on his lap and then inquired from him what the best thing was that he had learned from his teachers. As usual, Prahläda Mahäräja began praising the nine processes of devotional service, such as çravaëam and kértanam. Thus the King of the demons, Hiraëyakaçipu, being extremely angry, chastised the teachers, Ñaëòa and Amarka, for having wrongly trained Prahläda Mahäräja. The so-called teachers informed the King that Prahläda Mahäräja was automatically a devotee and did not listen to their instructions. When they proved themselves innocent, Hiraëyakaçipu inquired from Prahläda where he had learned viñëu-bhakti. Prahläda Mahäräja replied that those who are attached to family life do not develop Kåñëa consciousness, either personally or collectively. Instead, they suffer repeated birth and death in this material world and continue simply chewing the chewed. Prahläda explained that the duty of every man is to take shelter of a pure devotee and thus become eligible to understand Kåñëa consciousness.
Enraged at this answer, Hiraëyakaçipu threw Prahläda Mahäräja from his lap. Since Prahläda was so treacherous that he had become a devotee of Viñëu, who had killed his uncle Hiraëyäkña, Hiraëyakaçipu asked his assistants to kill him. The assistants of Hiraëyakaçipu struck Prahläda with sharp weapons, threw him under the feet of elephants, subjected him to hellish conditions, threw him from the peak of a mountain and tried to kill him in thousands of other ways, but they were unsuccessful. Hiraëyakaçipu therefore became increasingly afraid of his son Prahläda Mahäräja and arrested him. The sons of Hiraëyakaçipu’s spiritual master, Çukräcärya, began teaching Prahläda in their own way, but Prahläda Mahäräja did not accept their instructions. While the teachers were absent from the classroom, Prahläda Mahäräja began to preach Kåñëa consciousness in the school, and by his instructions all his class friends, the sons of the demons, became devotees like him.
Prahläda Mahäräja replied: Because of their uncontrolled senses, persons too addicted to materialistic life make progress toward hellish conditions and repeatedly chew that which has already been chewed. Their inclinations toward Kåñëa are never aroused, either by the instructions of others, by their own efforts, or by a combination of both.
Persons who are strongly entrapped by the consciousness of enjoying material life, and who have therefore accepted as their leader or guru a similar blind man attached to external sense objects, cannot understand that the goal of life is to return home, back to Godhead, and engage in the service of Lord Viñëu. As blind men guided by another blind man miss the right path and fall into a ditch, materially attached men led by another materially attached man are bound by the ropes of fruitive labor, which are made of very strong cords, and they continue again and again in materialistic life, suffering the threefold miseries.
Unless they smear upon their bodies the dust of the lotus feet of a Vaiñëava completely freed from material contamination, persons very much inclined toward materialistic life cannot be attached to the lotus feet of the Lord, who is glorified for His uncommon activities. Only by becoming Kåñëa conscious and taking shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord in this way can one be freed from material contamination.
After Prahläda Mahäräja had spoken in this way and become silent, Hiraëyakaçipu, blinded by anger, threw him off his lap and onto the ground.
… Prahlada was delivered to his teachers for more material education and later he came back to see his father….,
Hiraëyakaçipu said: My dear Prahläda, my dear son, O long-lived one, for so much time you have heard many things from your teachers. Now please repeat to me whatever you think is the best of that knowledge.
Prahläda Mahäräja said: Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Viñëu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one’s best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words)—these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service. One who has dedicated his life to the service of Kåñëa through these nine methods should be understood to be the most learned person, for he has acquired complete knowledge.
Hiraëyakaçipu accused the teachers of not having given proper education to his son but the two brahmanas defended themselves
Hiraëyakaçipu, after received this reply from the teacher, he again addressed his son Prahläda.
Hiraëyakaçipu said: You rascal, most fallen of our family, if you have not received this education from your teachers, where have you gotten it?
Prahläda Mahäräja replied: Because of their uncontrolled senses, persons too addicted to materialistic life make progress toward hellish conditions and repeatedly chew that which has already been chewed. Their inclinations toward Kåñëa are never aroused, either by the instructions of others, by their own efforts, or by a combination of both.
Persons who are strongly entrapped by the consciousness of enjoying material life, and who have therefore accepted as their leader or guru a similar blind man attached to external sense objects, cannot understand that the goal of life is to return home, back to Godhead, and engage in the service of Lord Viñëu. As blind men guided by another blind man miss the right path and fall into a ditch, materially attached men led by another materially attached man are bound by the ropes of fruitive labor, which are made of very strong cords, and they continue again and again in materialistic life, suffering the threefold miseries.
Unless they smear upon their bodies the dust of the lotus feet of a Vaiñëava completely freed from material contamination, persons very much inclined toward materialistic life cannot be attached to the lotus feet of the Lord, who is glorified for His uncommon activities. Only by becoming Kåñëa conscious and taking shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord in this way can one be freed from material contamination.
After Prahläda Mahäräja had spoken in this way and become silent, Hiraëyakaçipu, blinded by anger, threw him off his lap and onto the ground.
Indignant and angry, his reddish eyes like molten copper, Hiraëyakaçipu said to his servants: O demons, take this boy away from me! He deserves to be killed. Kill him as soon as possible!
…seeing that Prahlad could not be killed by any means, his father become very morose and fearful about his end. The two sons of Sukracarya consoled the King and told him to wait the arrival of Sukracarya. They resumed the education of Prahlada…
Thereafter, Ñaëòa and Amarka systematically and unceasingly taught Prahläda Mahäräja, who was very submissive and humble, about mundane religion, economic development and sense gratification.
SB 7.6 Summary
This chapter describes Prahläda Mahäräja’s instructions to his class friends. In speaking to his friends, who were all sons of demons, Prahläda Mahäräja stressed that every living entity, especially in human society, must be interested in spiritual realization from the very beginning of life. When human beings are children, they should be taught that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the worshipable Deity for everyone. One should not be very much interested in material enjoyment; instead, one should be satisfied with whatever material profits are easily obtainable, and because the duration of one’s life is very short, one should utilize every moment for spiritual advancement. One may wrongly think, “In the beginning of our lives let us enjoy material facilities, and in old age we may become Kåñëa conscious.” Such materialistic thoughts are always useless because in old age one cannot be trained in the spiritual way of life. Therefore, from the very beginning of life, one should engage in devotional service (çravaëaà kértanaà viñëoù). This is the duty of all living entities. Material education is infected by the three modes of nature, but spiritual education, for which there is a great need in human society, is transcendental. Prahläda Mahäräja disclosed the secret of how he had received instructions from Närada Muni. By accepting the lotus feet of Prahläda Mahäräja, who is in the paramparä succession, one will be able to understand the mode of spiritual life. In accepting this mode of activity, there is no need for material qualifications.
After Prahläda Mahäräja’s class friends had listened to Prahläda Mahäräja, they inquired how he had become so learned and advanced. In this way the chapter ends.
SB 7.7 Summary
In this chapter, to dissipate the doubts of his class friends, the sons of the demons, Prahläda Mahäräja states how, within the womb of his mother, he had heard from the mouth of Närada Muni, who had instructed him in bhägavata-dharma.
When Hiraëyakaçipu left his kingdom and went to the mountain known as Mandaräcala to execute severe austerities, all the demons scattered. Hiraëyakaçipu’s wife, Kayädhu, was pregnant at that time, and the demigods, mistakenly thinking that she carried another demon in her womb, arrested her. Their plan was that as soon as the child took birth they would kill him. While they were taking Kayädhu to the heavenly planets, they met Närada Muni, who stopped them from taking her away and took her to his äçrama until Hiraëyakaçipu’s return. In Närada Muni’s äçrama, Kayädhu prayed for the protection of the baby in her womb, and Närada Muni reassured her and gave her instructions on spiritual knowledge. Taking advantage of those instructions, Prahläda Mahäräja, although a small baby within the womb, listened very carefully. The spirit soul is always apart from the material body. There is no change in the spiritual form of the living entity. Any person above the bodily conception of life is pure and can receive transcendental knowledge. This transcendental knowledge is devotional service, and Prahläda Mahäräja, while living in the womb of his mother, received instructions in devotional service from Närada Muni. Any person engaged in the service of the Lord through the instructions of a bona fide spiritual master is immediately liberated, and being free from the clutches of mäyä, he is relieved of all ignorance and material desires. The duty of everyone is to take shelter of the Supreme Lord and thus become free from all material desires. Regardless of the material condition in which one is situated, one can achieve this perfection. Devotional service is not dependent on the material activities of austerity, penance, mystic yoga or piety. Even without such assets, one can achieve devotional service through the mercy of a pure devotee.
SB 7.8 Summary
As described in this chapter, Hiraëyakaçipu was ready to kill his own son Prahläda Mahäräja, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared in front of the demon as Çré Nåkeçaré, half lion and half man, and killed him.
Following the instructions of Prahläda Mahäräja, all the sons of the demons became attached to Lord Viñëu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When this attachment became pronounced, their teachers, Ñaëòa and Amarka, were very much afraid that the boys would become more and more devoted to the Lord. In a helpless condition, they approached Hiraëyakaçipu and described in detail the effect of Prahläda’s preaching. After hearing of this, Hiraëyakaçipu decided to kill his son Prahläda. Hiraëyakaçipu was so angry that Prahläda Mahäräja fell down at his feet and said many things just to pacify him, but he was unsuccessful in satisfying his demoniac father. Hiraëyakaçipu, as a typical demon, began to advertise himself as being greater than the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but Prahläda Mahäräja challenged him, saying that Hiraëyakaçipu was not God, and began to glorify the Supreme personality of Godhead, declaring that the Lord is all-pervading, that everything is under Him, and that no one is equal to or greater than Him. Thus he requested his father to be submissive to the omnipotent Supreme Lord.
The more Prahläda Mahäräja glorified the Supreme personality of Godhead, the more angry and agitated the demon became. Hiraëyakaçipu asked his Vaiñëava son whether his God existed within the columns of the palace, and Prahläda Mahäräja immediately accepted that since the Lord is present everywhere, He was also present within the columns. When Hiraëyakaçipu heard this philosophy from his young son, he derided the boy’s statement as just the talk of a child and forcefully struck the pillar with his fist.
As soon as Hiraëyakaçipu struck the column, there issued forth a tumultuous sound. At first Hiraëyakaçipu, the King of the demons, could not see anything but the pillar, but to substantiate Prahläda’s statements, the Lord came out of the pillar in His wonderful incarnation as Narasiàha, half lion and half man. Hiraëyakaçipu could immediately understand that the extraordinarily wonderful form of the Lord was surely meant for his death, and thus he prepared to fight with the form of half lion and half man. The Lord performed His pastimes by fighting with the demon for some time, and in the evening, on the border between day and night, the Lord captured the demon, threw him on His lap, and killed him by piercing his abdomen with His nails. The Lord not only killed Hiraëyakaçipu, the King of the demons, but also killed many of his followers. When there was no one else to fight, the Lord, roaring with anger, sat down on Hiraëyakaçipu’s throne.
The entire universe was thus relieved of the rule of Hiraëyakaçipu, and everyone was jubilant in transcendental bliss. Then all the demigods, headed by Lord Brahmä, approached the Lord. These included the great saintly persons, the Pitäs, the Siddhas, the Vidyädharas, the Nägas, the Manus, the prajäpatis, the Gandharvas, the Cäraëas, the Yakñas, the Kimpuruñas, the Vaitälikas, the Kinnaras and also many other varieties of beings in human form. All of them stood not far from the Supreme Personality of Godhead and began offering their prayers unto the Lord, whose spiritual effulgence was brilliant as He sat on the throne.
SB 7.8.1