Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.8.12

yas tvayā manda-bhāgyokto

mad-anyo jagad-īśvarah

kvāsau yadi sa sarvatra

kasmāt stambhe na driśyate

SYNONYMS

yah — the one who; tvayā — by you; manda-bhāgya — O unfortunate one; uktah — described; mat-anyah — besides me; jagat-īśvarah — the supreme controller of the universe; kva — where; asau — that one; yadi — if; sah — He; sarvatra — everywhere (all-pervading); kasmāt — why; stambhe — in the pillar before me; na driśyate — not seen.

TRANSLATION

O most unfortunate Prahlāda, you have always described a supreme being other than me, a supreme being who is above everything, who is the controller of everyone, and who is all-pervading. But where is He? If He is everywhere, then why is He not present before me in this pillar?

PURPORT

Demons sometimes declare to a devotee that they cannot accept the existence of God because they cannot see Him. But what the demon does not know is stated by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (7.25): nāham prakāśah sarvasya yogamāyā-samāvritah. "I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by yogamāyā." The Lord is open to being seen by devotees, but nondevotees cannot see Him. The qualification for seeing God is stated in Brahma-samhitā (5.38): premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santah sadaiva hridayeshu vilokayanti. A devotee who has developed a genuine love for Krishna can always see Him everywhere, whereas a demon, not having a clear understanding of the Supreme Lord, cannot see Him. When Hiranyakaśipu was threatening to kill Prahlāda Mahārāja, Prahlāda certainly saw the column standing before him and his father, and he saw that the Lord was present in the pillar to encourage him not to fear his demoniac father's words. The Lord was present to protect him. Hiranyakaśipu marked Prahlāda's observation and asked him, "Where is your God?" Prahlāda Mahārāja replied, "He is everywhere." Then Hiranyakaśipu asked, "Why is He not in this pillar before me?" Thus in all circumstances the devotee can always see the Supreme Lord, whereas the nondevotee cannot.

Prahlāda Mahārāja has here been addressed by his father as "the most unfortunate." Hiranyakaśipu thought himself extremely fortunate because he possessed the property of the universe. Prahlāda Mahārāja, his legitimate son, was to have inherited this vast property, but because of his impudence, he was going to die at his father's hands. Therefore the demoniac father considered Prahlāda the most unfortunate because Prahlāda would not be able to inherit his property. Hiranyakaśipu did not know that Prahlāda Mahārāja was the most fortunate person within the three worlds because Prahlāda was protected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such are the misunderstandings of demons. They do not know that a devotee is protected by the Lord in all circumstances (kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktah pranaśyati).

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness