Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
| Canto 7: The Science of God | Chapter 9: Prahlāda Pacifies Lord Nrisimhadeva with Prayers |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.9.29
mat-prāna-rakshanam ananta pitur vadhaś ca
manye sva-bhritya-rishi-vākyam ritam vidhātum
khadgam pragrihya yad avocad asad-vidhitsus
tvām īśvaro mad-aparo 'vatu kam harāmi
SYNONYMS
mat-prāna-rakshanam — saving my life; ananta — O unlimited one, reservoir of unlimited transcendental qualities; pituh — of my father; vadhah ca — and killing; manye — I consider; sva-bhritya — of Your unalloyed servants; rishi-vākyam — and the words of the great saint Nārada; ritam — true; vidhātum — to prove; khadgam — sword; pragrihya — taking in hand; yat — since; avocat — my father said; asat-vidhitsuh — desiring to act very impiously; tvām — You; īśvarah — any supreme controller; mat-aparah — other than me; avatu — let him save; kam — your head; harāmi — I shall now separate.
TRANSLATION
My Lord, O unlimited reservoir of transcendental qualities, You have killed my father, Hiranyakaśipu, and saved me from his sword. He had said very angrily, "If there is any supreme controller other than me, let Him save you. I shall now sever your head from your body." Therefore I think that both in saving me and in killing him, You have acted just to prove true the words of Your devotee. There is no other cause.
PURPORT
In Bhagavad-gītā (9.29) the Lord says:
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is undoubtedly equal to everyone. He has no friend and no enemy, but as one desires benefits from the Lord, the Lord is very pleased to award them. The lower and higher positions of different living entities are due to their desires, for the Lord, being equal to all, fulfills everyone's desires. The killing of Hiranyakaśipu and saving of Prahlāda Mahārāja also strictly followed this law of the supreme controller's activities. When Prahlāda's mother, this law of the supreme controller's activities. When Prahlāda's mother, Hiranyakaśipu's wife, Kayādhu, was under the protection of Nārada, she prayed for the protection of her son from the enemy, and Nārada Muni gave assurance that Prahlāda Mahārāja would always be saved from the enemy's hands. Thus when Hiranyakaśipu was going to kill Prahlāda Mahārāja, the Lord saved Prahlāda to fulfill His promise in Bhagavad-gītā (kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktah pranaśyati) and to prove true the words of Nārada. The Lord can fulfill many purposes through one action. Thus the killing of Hiranyakaśipu and the saving of Prahlāda were enacted simultaneously to prove the truthfulness of the Lord's devotee and the fidelity of the Lord Himself to His own purpose. The Lord acts only to satisfy the desires of His devotees; otherwise He has nothing to do. As confirmed in the Vedic language, na tasya kāryam karanam ca vidyate: the Lord has nothing to do personally, for everything is done through His different potencies (parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate). The Lord has multifarious energies, through which everything is done. Thus when He personally does something, it is only to satisfy His devotee. The Lord is known as bhakta-vatsala because He very much favors His devoted servant.
Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness