Canto
7
Chapter 10: About Prahlâda, the Best Among the Exalted Devotees and the Fall of Tripura
(1) Nârada Muni said: 'Although small considered he [Prahlâda] each and every one of the blessings that came with his bhakti yoga as impediments on the path and made he sure to tell the Lord of the Senses that with a smile.
(2) S'rî Prahlâda said: 'Please do not allure me, because of my asura birth I have a propensity for lusting over all those material blessings. It was of being afraid of such material association that, desiring liberation, for the sake of complete detachment I have taken to the shelter of You. (3) So that I may behave as a pure devotee has Your lordship sent me into this world of lust, the lust that as the root cause of being present here is found in the heart of everyone o Master. (4) Otherwise such a thing could not happen of You, o guru of all; anyone who from You, the soul of friendliness, desires any material benefits, would such a person indeed not be a merchant instead of a servitor [see also B.G. 17: 20]? (5) A person for himself desiring material benefits from his spiritual master is not really a servant nor is the master really of service who for his own prestige desires to bestow material profits upon his servant [see also 10.88: 8-10]. (6) As far as I am concerned is there, fully devoted to You, surely no question of any desire and also do You, in our relating, as the real master, have no further motives such as one finds with a king and his subject. (7) If You want to give me anything to my desire for a blessing, then I pray for the benediction from You, o Lord of All Blessings, that no desire for any material happiness will grow in my heart [see also: S'ikshâshthaka verse four]. (8) From one's very birth on are the senses, the mind, the life-air, the body, the religion, one's patience, intelligence, shyness, opulence, strength, memory and truthfulness overrun by lusty desires. (9) Only indeed when one gives up all the desires that one of human association finds in one's mind is one fit for an opulence equal to that of You, o Lotus-eyed Lord. (10) Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto You, o Supreme Lord, o Original Personality; all my respects for You as the Great Soul, the Lord in the form of Nrisimha, the Brahman, the Supersoul.'
(11) The Supreme Lord said: 'Unalloyed from Me towards Me, not intent on any benedictions in this world nor in the next, is it all the devoted like you nevertheless till the end of Manu's reign given to enjoy all the material wealth of the daitya rule out here [see also 2.3: 10]. (12) Always ponder over My stories; being absorbed in Me as existing within you as the One within all living beings, will give you the greatest pleasure; worship with bhakti yoga the Lord who is the enjoyer of all sacrifices and give up your fruitive activities. (13) With the wealth be pious, by such devoted action are all kinds of reactions overcome. Forced by the time giving up your vehicle of time will your reputation of transcendence spread all over the universe, be sung in the highest spheres and you will, freed from all bondage, return back to Me. (14) Anyone who chants these prayers offered to Me by you, any human being who remembers Me as well as you, will in due course of time become free from the bondage of his karma [see B.G. 4: 9, 6: 7, 9: 27-28, 12: 3-4 and see also 11.14: 21].'
(15-17) S'rî Prahlâda said: 'I pray for this benediction from You, o Lord of Benedictions, o Supreme Controller; my father, not knowing Your strength and supremacy, had with a heart polluted by anger thus a false notion of You, o master and guru of all worlds, as being the killer of his brother and was so of the greatest sin towards me, Your devotee. May my father be purified from that greatest and most difficult to overcome sin, although he was already purified when You casted Your glance upon him, o Merciful Father to the Materialists.'
(18) The Supreme Lord said: 'With the purification of your father have all together twenty-one of your forefathers been purified, o sinless one, because, o saintly boy, the person of you took birth in the dynasty. You indeed are the dynasty its purifier. (19) Wherever and whenever there are My devotees who full of peace and equipoise, with the best qualities are equally graceful towards all, is even the worst of societies purified. (20) Never are they in any way of any violence towards all the beings higher or lower, o King of the Daityas, because they, out of their love for Me, have given up all material aspirations. (21) Persons in this world following in your footsteps become My pure devotees; of all devotees of Mine are you indeed the best example of all the different mellows [see also 6.3: 20-21]. (22) You should perform the obsequies for your father, who already in all respects was purified being in touch with My body, My child, so that he will be promoted to the worlds of better men. (23) Also assume the throne of your father as prescribed by vedic injunction; be with your mind fully absorbed in Me, My dearest, and do your duty just for My supreme sake.'
(24) S'rî Nârada said: 'Prahlâda performed, as was commissioned by the Supreme Lord, all the functions necessary to the occasion of his father's death, o King [Yudhishthhira], and was crowned by the brahmins present. (25) With his face shining because of the Lord His grace offered Lord Brahmâ, who had witnessed what had happened, with transcendental words the purest of prayers unto Lord Nrisimha, addressing Him in the presence of all the godly. (26) S'rî Brahmâ said: 'O God of gods, o proprietor of the whole universe, o love of all beings, o first among all the living, by your decision has the most sinful Asura, who was of so much trouble to everyone, been killed. (27) That one I have granted the rare benediction that he would not be killed by any creature created by me nor that he would die because of any austerity, mystical or physical power; thus very proud he transgressed all injunctions. (28) By Your decision has his son, who despite of his young age was a great saint and exalted devotee, been released from the clutches of death and enjoys he, the way You wanted it, now Your shelter. (29) For those who, confronted with an adversary, meditate upon this physical presence of Your Supersoul, o omnipresent Supreme Lord, are You the protector against all kinds of fear, including even the fear of death.'
(30) The Supreme Lord replied: 'Do not, as you have done, bestow benedictions upon demons, o Meditator of the Lotus; to bless people of a cruel nature is like giving milk to snakes.'
(31) S'rî Nârada said: 'This is what the Supreme Lord said, o King, and after Hari had been worshiped by the one from the beyond, disappeared He from before the eyes of all the ones alive. (32) Prahlâda bowing his head was thereafter of worship with offering prayers, and so did the One in the beyond as also Lord S'iva, the leading fathers and the demigods, who each were part of the Supreme Lord. (33) Next made S'ukrâcârya and others, with all the sages and the One on the Lotus, him king of all the Daityas and Dânavas. (34) O King, with Brahmâ and all the rest properly honored, congratulated thereafter all the godly him, wishing him all the best and returned they to their respective abodes. (35) In this way were the two associates of Vishnu, who born as the sons of Diti in their forgetfulness were thinking as enemies, both killed by the Lord residing in the core of the heart [see 7.1: 36-39]. (36) Again being cursed by the brahmins were the two devils reborn as Kumbhakarna and ten-head Râvana and were they both killed by the special powers of Lord Râmacandra.(37) Slain laying on the battlefield with their hearts pierced by Râma's arrows, gave they up their bodies with their minds fixed on Him, just as they did in their previous birth. (38) The two this way reappearing out here, again being bound to the Lord in enmity, took their births as S'is'upâla and Dantavakra and merged with Him in your presence. (39) All the kings who were inimical to S'ri Krishna were, upon their death, freed from what they were guilty of in their lives; they became as pure as He like larvae that obtain the same body as the drone that guarded them. (40) In their devotion undivided unto the Supreme One, turned kings like S'is'upâla back to Godhead with the same form as the Supreme Lord, because they had kept Him constantly in mind [see also B.G. 4: 9]. (41) This all I described to you in reply to your inquiry on how, even hating, the son of Damaghosha [S'is'upâla] and others could be of the same kind of body [see 7.1: 34-35]. (42) In this about the Supersoul and the God of all brahmins, Krishna, I related to you the stories about His incarnations of purification wherein He from the beginning defeated the Daityas. (43-44) They describe of that most exalted devotee Prahlâda the characteristics of his devotion, his spiritual knowledge and his renunciation; try to understand each of them and by this indeed know what is of the Lord, the Master of maintenance, creation and destruction; what are His qualities and activities, handed down wisdom and how He, by Time, is the finality of all the higher and lower living beings and their cultures, however great they might be. (45) From this narration, in which the transcendence without reservations is perfectly described, one may understand the bhâgavata dharma [see 7.6: 28] and Bhagavân Himself. (46) Anyone who after hearing this pious narration describing the Supreme Power of Vishnu, with faith repeats it, will be liberated from the entanglement in fruitive labor. (47) Anyone who with great attention reads and hears this story about the activities of the best of all the truthful, this daitya son, and how the Original Personality playing the part of the lion king killed the king of the demons who was as strong as an elephant, will reach the spiritual world where there is never ever any fear. (48) All you Pândavas in your human world are extremely fortunate that in your house resides the human appearance of the Supreme One of the Absolute Truth who is able to purify all the worlds and is always sought by the great saints. (49) The Impersonal Brahman for which all the great are searching is He. He, who in fact is the son of your maternal uncle, is your most dear well-wisher, is the oneness of transcendental happiness and the source of all life. He who is there as your guru leading in the principle, is the One who is worshipable in the complete of His body and soul. (50) Not even by meditation could Lord S'iva, Lord Brahmâ and others directly see Him or describe Him in his real form; may He, this great protector of all His devotees, be pleased with the silence we observe, with our devotion, our forsaking for the better and our worship. (51) He, this very same Supreme Lord, o King, long ago restored the reputation of the divinity of Lord S'iva that was compromised by a demon called Maya who, of great technical cunning, enjoyed an unparalleled power.'
(52) The king [Yudhishthhira] said: 'Please describe for what reason and by what actions Lord S'iva, he who controls the whole universe, was outdone by Maya Dânava and how he with Krishna regained his reputation.'
(53) Nârada said: 'All the Asuras who by the godly by the power of the Lord were defeated in battle, took shelter of the greatest and best of them all, Maya Dânava. (54-55) That demon constructed three big and mighty cities made of gold, silver and iron. Possessing the uncommon ability to change places were they difficult to discern. Thus hidden from view began the Asuras, remembering their former enmity with all the three worlds and their controllers, o ruler of man, to break up the order in the world. (56) Thereupon approached all the worlds with their rulers Lord S'iva, falling at his feet in surrender saying: 'Please save us who are so close to you, for we are frightened, o Godhead, we are most affected by the tripura [three-city] people. (57) To show them his favor said the All-powerful Lord to the Suras: 'Do not fear', and fixed he an arrow on his bow to launch his weapons on the cities. (58) The arrows after being released shone as bright as beams of sunlight from which the cities could no longer be seen. (59) Because of that attack fell they who used to inhabit the houses of the cities, lifeless to the ground, but thanks to the great mystic powers of Maya were they all, one by one, dipped in a well of [life-giving] nectar [called mrita-sanjîvayitari]. (60) Thus touched by the all-potent nectar of the liquid, rose they from death as strong as thunderbolts splitting the sky with flashes of lightning. (61) Seeing how disappointed and unhappy the Emblem of the Lord [S'iva] was at the time, considered the Almighty Lord Vishnu the proper measures. (62) Thus assumed Lord Brahmâ the form of a calf and with Lord Vishnu Himself as the cow entered they in broad daylight Tripura to drink all the nectar in the well. (63) Even though the Asuras took notice of them could they, in their bewilderment, not stop them. And thus did the great mystic Maya who, fully aware of it, thought it was a thing of divine ordinance, address the ones on guard who, once quite content with their illusion, were now greatly dismayed: (64) 'Demigods, demons, human beings, nor anybody else can undo what by God would the fate ordained for oneself, for others or for everybody together.' (65-66) From His personal potencies concerning all the ingredients of life constituted by the religion, the spiritual knowledge, the renunciation, the opulence, the austerity the education, the activities and all of that, equiped He [Lord Vishnu] thereafter Lord S'iva with everything required, like a chariot and charioteer, a flag, horses and elephants, a bow with shield and arrows and so on. Seated on his chariot he then fixed an arrow on his bow. (67) O ruler of man, with the arrows joined on his bow set Lord S'iva as the Master and Controller thus by means of them, at noon, the so difficult to pierce three cities afire. (68) From their celestial chariots in the sky vibrated, with the help of countless kettledrums, the gods and saints, the ancestors, the perfected and the great, 'Jaya, Jaya', as they showered a wealth of flowers over his head and chanted and danced in great ecstacy with the beauties of heaven. (69) O King, the mighty Lord S'iva who thus encouraged by Lord Brahmâ and the others had burnt Tripura to ashes, then returned to his own abode. (70) Thus it happens with all that the Lord is capable of: acting like an ordinary man within the human society are there of Him, the teacher of the universe, the narrations about His transcendental activities that, related by the saintly people, purify all the worlds; what more would you like me to talk about?'
Second edition, loaded July 19, 2007.
Source texts:
Prahlâda, the Best Among Exalted Devotees
Nârada Muni said: 'Although small considered he [Prahlâda] each and every one of the blessings that came with his bhakti yoga as impediments on the path and made he sure to tell the Lord of the Senses that with a smile.The saint Nârada Muni continued: Although Prahlâda Mahârâja was only a boy, when he heard the benedictions offered by Lord Nrisimhadeva he considered them impediments on the path of devotional service. Thus he smiled very mildly and spoke as follows. (Vedabase)
S'rî Prahlâda said: 'Please do not allure me, because of my asura birth I have a propensity for lusting over all those material blessings. It was of being afraid of such material association that, desiring liberation, for the sake of complete detachment I have taken to the shelter of You.
Prahlâda Mahârâja said: My dear Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, because I was born in an atheistic family I am naturally attached to material enjoyment. Therefore, kindly do not tempt me with these illusions. I am very much afraid of material conditions, and I desire to be liberated from materialistic life. It is for this reason that I have taken shelter of Your lotus feet. (Vedabase)
So that I may behave as a pure devotee has Your lordship sent me into this world of lust, the lust that as the root cause of being present here is found in the heart of everyone o Master.
O my worshipable Lord, because the seed of lusty desires, which is the root cause of material existence, is within the core of everyone's heart, You have sent me to this material world to exhibit the symptoms of a pure devotee. (Vedabase)
Otherwise such a thing could not happen of You, o guru of all; anyone who from You, the soul of friendliness, desires any material benefits, would such a person indeed not be a merchant instead of a servitor [see also B.G. 17: 20]?
Otherwise, O my Lord, O supreme instructor of the entire world, You are so kind to Your devotee that You could not induce him to do something unbeneficial for him. On the other hand, one who desires some material benefit in exchange for devotional service cannot be Your pure devotee. Indeed, he is no better than a merchant who wants profit in exchange for service. (Vedabase)
A person for himself desiring material benefits from his spiritual master is not really a servant nor is the master really of service who for his own prestige desires to bestow material profits upon his servant [see also 10.88: 8-10].
A servant who desires material profits from his master is certainly not a qualified servant or pure devotee. Similarly, a master who bestows benedictions upon his servant because of a desire to maintain a prestigious position as master is also not a pure master. (Vedabase)
As far as I am concerned is there, fully devoted to You, surely no question of any desire and also do You, in our relating, as the real master, have no further motives such as one finds with a king and his subject.
O my Lord, I am Your unmotivated servant, and You are my eternal master. There is no need of our being anything other than master and servant. You are naturally my master, and I am naturally Your servant. We have no other relationship. (Vedabase)
If You want to give me anything to my desire for a blessing, then I pray for the benediction from You, o Lord of All Blessings, that no desire for any material happiness will grow in my heart [see also: S'ikshâshthaka verse four].
O my Lord, best of the givers of benediction, if You at all want to bestow a desirable benediction upon me, then I pray from Your Lordship that within the core of my heart there be no material desires. (Vedabase)
From one's very birth on are the senses, the mind, the life-air, the body, the religion, ones patience, intelligence, shyness, opulence, strength, memory and truthfulness overrun by lusty desires.
O my Lord, because of lusty desires from the very beginning of one's birth, the functions of one's senses, mind, life, body, religion, patience, intelligence, shyness, opulence, strength, memory and truthfulness are vanquished. (Vedabase)
Only indeed when one gives up all the desires that one of human association finds in ones mind, is one fit for an opulence equal to that of You, o Lotus-eyed Lord.
O my Lord, when a human being is able to give up all the material desires in his mind, he becomes eligible to possess wealth and opulence like Yours. (Vedabase)
Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto You, o Supreme Lord, o Original Personality; all my respects for You as the Great Soul, the Lord in the form of Nrisimha, the Brahman, the Supersoul.'
O my Lord, full of six opulences, O Supreme Person! O Supreme Soul, killer of all miseries! O Supreme Person in the form of a wonderful lion and man, let me offer my respectful obeisances unto You. (Vedabase)
The Supreme Lord said: 'Unalloyed from Me towards Me, not intent on any benedictions in this world nor in the next, is it all the devoted like you nevertheless till the end of Manu's reign given to enjoy all the material wealth of the daitya rule out here [see also 2.3: 10].
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Prahlâda, a devotee like you never desires any kind of material opulences, either in this life or in the next. Nonetheless, I order you to enjoy the opulences of the demons in this material world, acting as their king until the end of the duration of time occupied by Manu. (Vedabase)
Always ponder over My stories; being absorbed in Me as existing within you as the One within all living beings, will give you the greatest pleasure; worship with bhakti yoga the Lord who is the enjoyer of all sacrifices and give up your fruitive activities.
It does not matter that you are in the material world. You should always, continuously, hear the instructions and messages given by Me and always be absorbed in thought of Me, for I am the Supersoul existing in the core of everyone's heart. Therefore, give up fruitive activities and worship Me. (Vedabase)
With the wealth be pious, by such devoted action are all kinds of reactions overcome. Forced by the time giving up your vehicle of time will your reputation of transcendence spread all over the universe, be sung in the highest spheres and you will, freed from all bondage, return back to Me.
My dear Prahlâda, while you are in this material world you will exhaust all the reactions of pious activity by feeling happiness, and by acting piously you will neutralize impious activity. Because of the powerful time factor, you will give up your body, but the glories of your activities will be sung in the upper planetary systems, and being fully freed from all bondage, you will return home, back to Godhead. (Vedabase)
Ayone who chants these prayers offered to Me by you, any human being who remembers Me as well as you, will in due course of time become free from the bondage of his karma [see B.G. 4: 9, 6: 7, 9: 27-28, 12: 3-4 and see also 11.14: 21].'
One who always remembers your activities and My activities also, and who chants the prayers you have offered, becomes free, in due course of time, from the reactions of material activities. (Vedabase)
S'rî Prahlâda said: 'I pray for this benediction from You, o Lord of Benedictions, o Supreme Controller; my father, not knowing Your strength and supremacy, had with a heart polluted by anger thus a false notion of You, o master and guru of all worlds, as being the killer of his brother and was so of the greatest sin towards me, Your devotee. May my father be purified from that greatest and most difficult to overcome sin, although he was already purified when You casted Your glance upon him, o Merciful Father to the Materialists.'
Prahlâda Mahârâja said: O Supreme Lord, because You are so merciful to the fallen souls, I ask You for only one benediction. I know that my father, at the time of his death, had already been purified by Your glance upon him, but because of his ignorance of Your beautiful power and supremacy, he was unnecessarily angry at You, falsely thinking that You were the killer of his brother. Thus he directly blasphemed Your Lordship, the spiritual master of all living beings, and committed heavily sinful activities directed against me, Your devotee. I wish that he be excused for these sinful activities. (Vedabase)
The Supreme Lord said: 'With the purification of your father have all together twenty-one of your forefathers been purified, o sinless one, because, o saintly boy, the person of you took birth in the dynasty. You indeed are the dynasty its purifier.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Prahlâda, O most pure, O great saintly person, your father has been purified, along with twenty-one forefathers in your family. Because you were born in this family, the entire dynasty has been purified. (Vedabase)Text 19:
Wherever and whenever there are My devotees who full of peace and equipoise, with the best qualities are equally graceful towards all, is even the worst of societies purified.
Whenever and wherever there are peaceful, equipoised devotees who are well behaved and decorated with all good qualities, that place and the dynasties there, even if condemned, are purified. (Vedabase)
Never are they in any way of any violence towards all the beings higher or lower, o King of the Daityas, because they, out of their love for Me, have given up all material aspirations.
My dear Prahlâda, King of the Daityas, because of being attached to devotional service to Me, My devotee does not distinguish between lower and higher living entities. In all respects, he is never jealous of anyone. (Vedabase)
Persons in this world following in your footsteps become My pure devotees; of all devotees of Mine are you indeed the best example of all the different mellows [see also 6.3: 20-21].
Those who follow your example will naturally become My pure devotees. You are the best example of My devotee, and others should follow in your footsteps. (Vedabase)
You should perform the obsequies for your father, who already in all respects was purified being in touch with My body, My child, so that he will be promoted to the worlds of better men.
My dear child, your father has already been purified just by the touch of My body at the time of his death. Nonetheless, the duty of a son is to perform the s'râddha ritualistic ceremony after his father's death so that his father may be promoted to a planetary system where he may become a good citizen and devotee. (Vedabase)
Also assume the throne of your father as prescribed by vedic injunction; be with your mind fully absorbed in Me, My dearest, and do your duty just for My supreme sake.'
After performing the ritualistic ceremonies, take charge of your father's kingdom. Sit upon the throne and do not be disturbed by materialistic activities. Please keep your mind fixed upon Me. Without transgressing the injunctions of the Vedas, as a matter of formality you may perform your particular duties. (Vedabase)
S'rî Nârada said: 'Prahlâda performed, as was commissioned by the Supreme Lord, all the functions necessary to the occasion of his father's death, o King [Yudhishthhira], and was crowned by the brahmins present.
S'rî Nârada Muni continued: Thus, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead ordered, Prahlâda Mahârâja performed the ritualistic ceremonies for his father. O King Yudhishthhira, he was then enthroned in the kingdom of Hiranyakas'ipu, as directed by the brâhmanas. (Vedabase)
With his face shining because of the Lord His grace offered Lord Brahmâ, who had witnessed what had happened, with transcendental words the purest of prayers unto Lord Nrisimha, addressing Him in the presence of all the godly.
Lord Brahmâ, surrounded by the other demigods, was bright-faced because the Lord was pleased. Thus he offered prayers to the Lord with transcendental words. (Vedabase)
S'rî Brahmâ said: 'O God of gods, o proprietor of the whole universe, o love of all beings, o first among all the living, by your decision has the most sinful Asura, who was of so much trouble to everyone, been killed.
Lord Brahmâ said: O Supreme Lord of all lords, proprietor of the entire universe, O benedictor of all living entities, O original person [âdi-purusha], because of our good fortune You have now killed this sinful demon, who was giving trouble to the entire universe. (Vedabase)
That one I have granted the rare benediction that he would not be killed by any creature created by me nor that he would die because of any austerity, mystical or physical power; thus very proud he transgressed all injunctions.
This demon, Hiranyakas'ipu, received from me the benediction that he would not be killed by any living being within my creation. With this assurance and with strength derived from austerities and mystic power, he became excessively proud and transgressed all the Vedic injunctions. (Vedabase)
By Your decision has his son, who despite of his young age was a great saint and exalted devotee, been released from the clutches of death and enjoys he, the way You wanted it, now Your shelter.
By great fortune, Hiranyakas'ipu's son Prahlâda Mahârâja has now been released from death, for although he is a child, he is an exalted devotee. Now he is fully under the protection of Your lotus feet. (Vedabase)
For those who, confronted with an adversary, meditate upon this physical presence of Your Supersoul, o omnipresent Supreme Lord, are You the protector against all kinds of fear, including even the fear of death.'
My dear Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, You are the Supreme Soul. If one meditates upon Your transcendental body, You naturally protect him from all sources of fear, even the imminent danger of death. (Vedabase)
The Supreme Lord replied: 'Do not, as you have done, bestow benedictions upon demons, o Meditator of the Lotus; to bless people of a cruel nature is like giving milk to snakes.'
The Personality of Godhead replied: My dear Lord Brahmâ, O great lord born from the lotus flower, just as it is dangerous to feed milk to a snake, so it is dangerous to give benedictions to demons, who are by nature ferocious and jealous. I warn you not to give such benedictions to any demon again. (Vedabase)
S'rî Nârada said: 'This is what the Supreme Lord said, o King, and after Hari had been worshiped by the one from the beyond, disappeared He from before the eyes of all the ones alive.
Nârada Muni continued: O King Yudhishthhira, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is not visible to an ordinary human being, spoke in this way, instructing Lord Brahmâ. Then, being worshiped by Brahmâ, the Lord disappeared from that place. (Vedabase)
Prahlâda bowing his head was thereafter of worship with offering prayers, and so did the One in the beyond as also Lord S'iva, the leading fathers and the demigods, who each were part of the Supreme Lord.
Prahlâda Mahârâja then worshiped and offered prayers to all the demigods, such as Brahmâ, S'iva and the Prajâpatis, who are all parts of the Lord. (Vedabase)
Next made S'ukrâcârya and others, with all the sages and the One on the Lotus, him king of all the Daityas and Dânavas.
Thereafter, along with S'ukrâcârya and other great saints, Lord Brahmâ, whose seat is on the lotus flower, made Prahlâda the king of all the demons and giants in the universe. (Vedabase)
O King, with Brahmâ and all the rest properly honored, congratulated thereafter all the godly him, wishing him all the best and returned they to their respective abodes.
O King Yudhishthhira, after all the demigods, headed by Lord Brahmâ, were properly worshiped by Prahlâda Mahârâja, they offered Prahlâda their utmost benedictions and then returned to their respective abodes. (Vedabase)
In this way were the two associates of Vishnu, who born as the sons of Diti in their forgetfulness were thinking as enemies, both killed by the Lord residing in the core of the heart [see 7.1: 36-39].
Thus the two associates of Lord Vishnu who had become Hiranyâksha and Hiranyakas'ipu, the sons of Diti, were both killed. By illusion they had thought that the Supreme Lord, who is situated in everyone's heart, was their enemy. (Vedabase)
Again being cursed by the brahmins were the two devils reborn as Kumbhakarna and ten-head Râvana and were they both killed by the special powers of Lord Râmacandra.
Being cursed by the brâhmanas, the same two associates took birth again as Kumbhakarna and the ten-headed Râvana. These two Râkshasas were killed by Lord Râmacandra's extraordinary power. (Vedabase)
Slain laying on the battlefield with their hearts pierced by Râma's arrows, gave they up their bodies with their minds fixed on Him, just as they did in their previous birth.
Pierced by the arrows of Lord Râmacandra, both Kumbhakarna and Râvana lay on the ground and left their bodies, fully absorbed in thought of the Lord, just as they had in their previous births as Hiranyâksha and Hiranyakas'ipu. (Vedabase)
The two this way reappearing out here, again being bound to the Lord in enmity, took their births as S'is'upâla and Dantavakra and merged with Him in your presence.
They both took birth again in human society as S'is'upâla and Dantavakra and continued in the same enmity toward the Lord. It is they who merged into the body of the Lord in your presence. (Vedabase)
All the kings who were inimical to S'ri Krishna were, upon their death, freed from what they were guilty of in their lives; they became as pure as He like larvae that obtain the same body as the drone that guarded them.
Not only S'is'upâla and Dantavakra but also many, many other kings who acted as enemies of Krishna attained salvation at the time of death. Because they thought of the Lord, they received spiritual bodies and forms the same as His, just as worms captured by a black drone obtain the same type of body as the drone. (Vedabase)
In their devotion undivided unto the Supreme One, turned kings like S'is'upâla back to Godhead with the same form as the Supreme Lord, because they had kept Him constantly in mind [see also B.G. 4: 9].
By devotional service, pure devotees who incessantly think of the Supreme Personality of Godhead receive bodies similar to His. This is known as sarupya-mukti. Although S'is'upâla, Dantavakra and other kings thought of Krishna as an enemy, they also achieved the same result. (Vedabase)
This all I described to you in reply to your inquiry on how, even hating, the son of Damaghosha [S'is'upâla] and others could be of the same kind of body [see 7.1: 34-35].
Everything you asked me about how S'is'upâla and others attained salvation although they were inimical has now been explained to you by me. (Vedabase)
In this about the Supersoul and the God of all brahmins, Krishna, I related to you the stories about His incarnations of purification wherein He from the beginning defeated the Daityas.
In this narration about Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, various expansions or incarnations of the Lord have been described, and the killing of the two demons Hiranyâksha and Hiranyakas'ipu has also been described. (Vedabase)
They describe of that most exalted devotee Prahlâda the characteristics of his devotion, his spiritual knowledge and his renunciation; try to understand each of them and by this indeed know what is of the Lord, the Master of maintenance, creation and destruction; what are His qualities and activities, handed down wisdom and how He, by Time, is the finality of all the higher and lower living beings and their cultures, however great they might be.
This narration describes the characteristics of the great and exalted devotee Prahlâda Mahârâja, his staunch devotional service, his perfect knowledge, and his perfect detachment from material contamination. It also describes the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the cause of creation, maintenance and annihilation. Prahlâda Mahârâja, in his prayers, has described the transcendental qualities of the Lord and has also described how the various abodes of the demigods and demons, regardless of how materially opulent, are destroyed by the mere direction of the Lord. (Vedabase)
From this narration, in which the transcendence without reservations is perfectly described, one may understand the bhâgavata dharma [see 7.6: 28] and Bhagavân Himself.
The principles of religion by which one can actually understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead are called bhâgavata-dharma. In this narration, therefore, which deals with these principles, actual transcendence is properly described. (Vedabase)
Anyone who after hearing this pious narration describing the Supreme Power of Vishnu, with faith repeats it, will be liberated from the entanglement in fruitive labor.
One who hears and chants this narration about the omnipotence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vishnu, is certainly liberated from material bondage without fail. (Vedabase)
Anyone who with great attention reads and hears this story about the activities of the best of all the truthful, this daitya son, and how the Original Personality playing the part of the lion king killed the king of the demons who was as strong as an elephant, will reach the spiritual world where there is never ever any fear.
Prahlâda Mahârâja was the best among exalted devotees. Anyone who with great attention hears this narration concerning the activities of Prahlâda Mahârâja, the killing of Hiranyakas'ipu, and the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nrisimhadeva, surely reaches the spiritual world, where there is no anxiety. (Vedabase)
All you Pândavas in your human world are extremely fortunate that in your house resides the human appearance of the Supreme One of the Absolute Truth who is able to purify all the worlds and is always sought by the great saints.
Nârada Muni continued: My dear Mahârâja Yudhishthhira, all of you [the Pândavas] are extremely fortunate, for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, lives in your palace just like a human being. Great saintly persons know this very well, and therefore they constantly visit this house. (Vedabase)
The Impersonal Brahman for which all the great are searching is He. He, who in fact is the son of your maternal uncle, is your most dear well-wisher, is the oneness of transcendental happiness and the source of all life. He who is there as your guru leading in the principle, is the One who is worshipable in the complete of His body and soul.
The impersonal Brahman is Krishna Himself because Krishna is the source of the impersonal Brahman. He is the origin of the transcendental bliss sought by great saintly persons, yet He, the Supreme Person, is your most dear friend and constant well-wisher and is intimately related to you as the son of your maternal uncle. Indeed, He is always like your body and soul. He is worshipable, yet He acts as your servant and sometimes as your spiritual master. (Vedabase)
Not even by meditation could Lord S'iva, Lord Brahmâ and others directly see Him or describe Him in his real form; may He, this great protector of all His devotees, be pleased with the silence we observe, with our devotion, our forsaking for the better and our worship.
Exalted persons like Lord S'iva and Lord Brahmâ could not properly describe the truth of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. May the Lord, who is always worshiped as the protector of all devotees by great saints who observe vows of silence, meditation, devotional service and renunciation, be pleased with us. (Vedabase)
He, this very same Supreme Lord, o King, long ago restored the reputation of the divinity of Lord S'iva that was compromised by a demon called Maya who, of great technical cunning, enjoyed an unparalleled power.'
My dear King Yudhishthhira, long, long ago in history, a demon known as Maya Dânava, who was very expert in technical knowledge, reduced the reputation of Lord S'iva. In that situation, Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, saved Lord S'iva. (Vedabase)
The king [Yudhishthhira] said: 'Please describe for what reason and by what actions Lord S'iva, he who controls the whole universe, was outdone by Maya Dânava and how he with Krishna regained his reputation.'
Mahârâja Yudhishthhira said: For what reason did the demon Maya Dânava vanquish Lord S'iva's reputation? How did Lord Krishna save Lord S'iva and expand his reputation again? Kindly describe these incidents. (Vedabase)
Nârada said: 'All the Asuras who by the godly by the power of the Lord were defeated in battle, took shelter of the greatest and best of them all, Maya Dânava.
Nârada Muni said: When the demigods, who are always powerful by the mercy of Lord Krishna, fought with the Asuras, the Asuras were defeated, and therefore they took shelter of Maya Dânava, the greatest of the demons. (Vedabase)
That demon constructed three big and mighty cities made of gold, silver and iron. Possessing the uncommon ability to change places were they difficult to discern. Thus hidden from view began the Asuras, remembering their former enmity with all the three worlds and their controllers, o ruler of man, to break up the order in the world.
Maya Dânava, the great leader of the demons, prepared three invisible residences and gave them to the demons. These dwellings resembled airplanes made of gold, silver and iron, and they contained uncommon paraphernalia. My dear King Yudhishthhira, because of these three dwellings the commanders of the demons remained invisible to the demigods. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the demons, remembering their former enmity, began to vanquish the three worlds--the upper, middle and lower planetary systems. (Vedabase)
Thereupon approached all the worlds with their rulers Lord S'iva, falling at his feet in surrender saying: 'Please save us who are so close to you, for we are frightened, o Godhead, we are most affected by the tripura [three-city] people.
Thereafter, when the demons had begun to destroy the higher planetary systems, the rulers of those planets went to Lord S'iva, fully surrendered unto him and said: Dear Lord, we demigods living in the three worlds are about to be vanquished. We are your followers. Kindly save us. (Vedabase)
To show them his favor said the All-powerful Lord to the Suras: 'Do not fear', and fixed he an arrow on his bow to launch his weapons on the cities.
The most powerful and able Lord S'iva reassured them and said, "Do not be afraid." He then fixed his arrows to his bow and released them toward the three residences occupied by the demons. (Vedabase)
The arrows after being released shone as bright as beams of sunlight from which the cities could no longer be seen.
The arrows released by Lord S'iva appeared like fiery beams emanating from the sun globe and covered the three residential airplanes, which could then no longer be seen. (Vedabase)
Because of that attack fell they who used to inhabit the houses of the cities, lifeless to the ground, but thanks to the great mystic powers of Maya were they all, one by one, dipped in a well of [life-giving] nectar [called mrita-sanjîvayitari].
Attacked by Lord S'iva's golden arrows, all the demoniac inhabitants of those three dwellings lost their lives and fell down. Then the great mystic Maya Dânava dropped the demons into a nectarean well that he had created. (Vedabase)
Thus touched by the all-potent nectar of the liquid, rose they from death as strong as thunderbolts splitting the sky with flashes of lightning.
When the dead bodies of the demons came in touch with the nectar, their bodies became invincible to thunderbolts. Endowed with great strength, they got up like lightning penetrating clouds. (Vedabase)
Seeing how disappointed and unhappy the Emblem of the Lord [S'iva] was at the time, considered the Almighty Lord Vishnu the proper measures.
Seeing Lord S'iva very much aggrieved and disappointed, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Vishnu, considered how to stop this nuisance created by Maya Dânava. (Vedabase)
Thus assumed Lord Brahmâ the form of a calf and with Lord Vishnu Himself as the cow entered they in broad daylight Tripura to drink all the nectar in the well.
Then Lord Brahmâ became a calf and Lord Vishnu a cow, and at noon they entered the residences and drank all the nectar in the well. (Vedabase)
Even though the Asuras took notice of them could they, in their bewilderment, not stop them. And thus did the great mystic Maya who, fully aware of it, thought it was a thing of divine ordinance, address the ones on guard who, once quite content with their illusion, were now greatly dismayed:
The demons could see the calf and cow, but because of the illusion created by the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the demons could not forbid them. The great mystic Maya Dânava became aware that the calf and cow were drinking the nectar, and he could understand this to be the unseen power of providence. Thus he spoke to the demons, who were grievously lamenting. (Vedabase)
'Demigods, demons, human beings, nor anybody else can undo what by God would the fate ordained for oneself, for others or for everybody together.'
Maya Dânava said: What has been destined by the Supreme Lord for oneself, for others, or for both oneself and others cannot be undone anywhere or by anyone, whether one be a demigod, a demon, a human being or anyone else. (Vedabase)
From His personal potencies concerning all the ingredients of life constituted by the religion, the spiritual knowledge, the renunciation, the opulence, the austerity the education, the activities and all of that, equiped He [Lord Vishnu] thereafter Lord S'iva with everything required, like a chariot and charioteer, a flag, horses and elephants, a bow with shield and arrows and so on. Seated on his chariot he then fixed an arrow on his bow.
Nârada Muni continued: Thereafter, Lord Krishna, by His own personal potency, consisting of religion, knowledge, renunciation, opulence, austerity, education and activities, equipped Lord S'iva with all the necessary paraphernalia, such as a chariot, a charioteer, a flag, horses, elephants, a bow, a shield and arrows. When Lord S'iva was fully equipped in this way, he sat down on the chariot with his arrows and bow to fight with the demons. (Vedabase)
O ruler of man, with the arrows joined on his bow set Lord S'iva as the Master and Controller thus by means of them, at noon, the so difficult to pierce three cities afire.
My dear King Yudhishthhira, the most powerful Lord S'iva joined the arrows to his bow, and at noon he set fire to all three residences of the demons and thus destroyed them. (Vedabase)
From their celestial chariots in the sky vibrated, with the help of countless kettledrums, the gods and saints, the ancestors, the perfected and the great, 'Jaya, Jaya', as they showered a wealth of flowers over his head and chanted and danced in great ecstacy with the beauties of heaven.
Seated in their airplanes in the sky, the inhabitants of the higher planetary systems beat many kettledrums. The demigods, saints, Pitâs, Siddhas and various great personalities showered flowers on the head of Lord S'iva, wishing him all victory, and the Apsarâs began to chant and dance with great pleasure. (Vedabase)
O King, the mighty Lord S'iva who thus encouraged by Lord Brahmâ and the others had burnt Tripura to ashes, then returned to his own abode.
O King Yudhishthhira, thus Lord S'iva is known as Tripurâri, the annihilator of the three dwellings of the demons, because he burnt these dwellings to ashes. Being worshiped by the demigods, headed by Lord Brahmâ, Lord S'iva returned to his own abode. (Vedabase)
Thus it happens with all that the Lord is capable of: acting like an ordinary man within the human society are there of Him, the teacher of the universe, the narrations about His transcendental activities that, related by the saintly people, purify all the worlds; what more would you like me to talk about?'
The Lord, S'rî Krishna, appeared as a human being, yet He performed many uncommon and wonderful pastimes by His own potency. How can I say more about His activities than what has already been said by great saintly persons? Everyone can be purified by His activities, simply by hearing about them from the right source. (Vedabase)
For
this original translation a one-volume printed copy
has been used with an extensive commentary.
ISBN: o-91277-27-7
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