Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.8.17

satyam vidhātum nija-bhritya-bhāshitam

vyāptim ca bhūteshv akhileshu cātmanah

adriśyatātyadbhuta-rūpam udvahan

stambhe sabhāyām na mrigam na mānusham

SYNONYMS

satyam — true; vidhātum — to prove; nija-bhritya-bhāshitam — the words of His own servant (Prahlāda Mahārāja, who had said that his Lord is present everywhere); vyāptim — the pervasion; ca — and; bhūteshu — among the living entities and elements; akhileshu — all; ca — also; ātmanah — of Himself; adriśyata — was seen; ati — very; adbhuta — wonderful; rūpam — form; udvahan — taking; stambhe — in the pillar; sabhāyām — within the assembly; na — not; mrigam — an animal; na — nor; mānusham — a human being.

TRANSLATION

To prove that the statement of His servant Prahlāda Mahārāja was substantial — in other words, to prove that the Supreme Lord is present everywhere, even within the pillar of an assembly hall — the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, exhibited a wonderful form never before seen. The form was neither that of a man nor that of a lion. Thus the Lord appeared in His wonderful form in the assembly hall.

PURPORT

When Hiranyakaśipu asked Prahlāda Mahārāja, "Where is your Lord? Is He present in this pillar?" Prahlāda Mahārāja fearlessly replied, "Yes, my Lord is present everywhere." Therefore, to convince Hiranyakaśipu that the statement of Prahlāda Mahārāja was unmistakably true, the Lord appeared from the pillar. The Lord appeared as half lion and half man so that Hiranyakaśipu could not understand whether the great giant was a lion or a human being. To substantiate Prahlāda's statement, the Lord proved that His devotee, as declared in Bhagavad-gītā, is never vanquished (kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktah pranaśyati). Prahlāda Mahārāja's demoniac father had repeatedly threatened to kill Prahlāda, but Prahlāda was confident that he could not be killed, since he was protected by the Supreme Lord. By appearing from the pillar, the Lord encouraged His devotee, saying in effect, "Don't worry. I am present here." By manifesting His form as Nrisimhadeva, the Lord also preserved the truth of Lord Brahmā's promise that Hiranyakaśipu was not to be killed by any animal or any man. The Lord appeared in a form that could not be said to be fully a man or a lion.

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