Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.8.3-4

kopāveśa-calad-gātrah

putram hantum mano dadhe

kshiptvā parushayā vācā

prahrādam atad-arhanam

āhekshamānah pāpena

tiraścīnena cakshushā

praśrayāvanatam dāntam

baddhāñjalim avasthitam

sarpah padāhata iva

śvasan prakriti-dārunah

SYNONYMS

kopa-āveśa — by a very angry mood; calat — trembling; gātrah — the whole body; putram — his son; hantum — to kill; manah — mind; dadhe — fixed; kshiptvā — rebuking; parushayā — with very harsh; vācā — words; prahrādam — Prahlāda Mahārāja; a-tat-arhanam — not fit to be chastised (due to his noble character and tender age); āha — said; īkshamānah — looking at him in anger; pāpena — because of his sinful activities; tiraścīnena — crooked; cakshushā — with eyes; praśraya-avanatam — very gentle and mild; dāntam — very restrained; baddha-añjalim — having folded hands; avasthitam — situated; sarpah — a snake; pada-āhatah — being trampled by the foot; iva — like; śvasan — hissing; prakriti — by nature; dārunah — very evil.

TRANSLATION

When Hiranyakaśipu understood the entire situation, he was extremely angry, so much so that his body trembled. Thus he finally decided to kill his son Prahlāda. Hiranyakaśipu was by nature very cruel, and feeling insulted, he began hissing like a snake trampled upon by someone's foot. His son Prahlāda was peaceful, mild and gentle, his senses were under control, and he stood before Hiranyakaśipu with folded hands. According to Prahlāda's age and behavior, he was not to be chastised. Yet with staring, crooked eyes, Hiranyakaśipu rebuked him with the following harsh words.

PURPORT

When one is impudent toward a highly authorized devotee, one is punished by the laws of nature. The duration of his life is diminished, and he loses the blessings of superior persons and the results of pious activities. Hiranyakaśipu, for example, had achieved such great power in the material world that he could subdue practically all the planetary systems in the universe, including the heavenly planets (Svargaloka). Yet now, because of his mistreatment of such a Vaishnava as Prahlāda Mahārāja, all the results of his tapasya diminished. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.4.46):

āyuh śriyam yaśo dharmam

lokān āśisha eva ca

hanti śreyāmsi sarvāni

pumso mahad-atikramah

"When one mistreats great souls, his life span, opulence, reputation, religion, possessions and good fortune are all destroyed."

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