Canto 7: The Science of GodChapter 8: Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva Slays the King of the Demons

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.8.56

śrī-viṣṇu-pārṣadā ūcuḥ

adyaitad dhari-nara-rūpam adbhutaḿ te

dṛṣṭaḿ naḥ śaraṇada sarva-loka-śarma

so 'yaḿ te vidhikara īśa vipra-śaptas

tasyedaḿ nidhanam anugrahāya vidmaḥ

SYNONYMS

śrī-viṣṇu-pārṣadāḥ ūcuḥ — the associates of Lord Viṣṇu in Vaikuṇṭhaloka said; adya — today; etat — this; hari-nara — of half lion and half human being; rūpam — form; adbhutam — very wonderful; te — Your; dṛṣṭam — seen; naḥ — of us; śaraṇa-da — the everlasting bestower of shelter; sarva-loka-śarma — which brings good fortune to all the various planets; saḥhe; ayam — this; te — of Your Lordship; vidhikaraḥ — order carrier (servant); īśaO Lord; vipra-śaptaḥ — being cursed by the brāhmaṇas; tasya — of him; idam — this; nidhanam — killing; anugrahāya — for the special favor; vidmaḥ — we understand.

TRANSLATION

The associates of Lord Viṣṇu in Vaikuṇṭha offered this prayer: O Lord, our supreme giver of shelter, today we have seen Your wonderful form as Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva, meant for the good fortune of all the world. O Lord, we can understand that Hiraṇyakaśipu was the same Jaya who engaged in Your service but was cursed by brāhmaṇas and who thus received the body of a demon. We understand that his having now been killed is Your special mercy upon him.

PURPORT

Hiraṇyakaśipu's coming to this earth and acting as the Lord's enemy was prearranged. Jaya and Vijaya were cursed by the brāhmaṇas Sanaka, Sanat-kumāra, Sanandana and Sanātana because Jaya and Vijaya checked these four Kumāras. The Lord accepted this cursing of His servants and agreed that they would have to go to the material world and would then return to Vaikuṇṭha after serving the term of the curse. Jaya and Vijaya were very much perturbed, but the Lord advised them to act as enemies, for then they would return after three births; otherwise, ordinarily, they would have to take seven births. With this authority, Jaya and Vijaya acted as the Lord's enemies, and now that these two were dead, all the Viṣṇudūtas understood that the Lord's killing of Hiraṇyakaśipu was special mercy bestowed upon them.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Seventh Canto, Eighth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva Slays the King of the Demons."

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