Canto 7: The Science of GodChapter 4: Hiraṇyakaśipu Terrorizes the Universe

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.4.13

tam ańga mattaḿ madhunoru-gandhinā

vivṛtta-tāmrākṣam aśeṣa-dhiṣṇya-pāḥ

upāsatopāyana-pāṇibhir vinā

tribhis tapo-yoga-balaujasāḿ padam

SYNONYMS

tam — him (Hiraṇyakaśipu); ańgaO dear King; mattam — intoxicated; madhunā — by wine; uru-gandhinā — strong-smelling; vivṛtta — rolling; tāmra-akṣam — having eyes like copper; aśeṣa-dhiṣṇya-pāḥ — the principal men of all the planets; upāsata — worshiped; upāyana — full with paraphernalia; pāṇibhiḥ — by their own hands; vinā — without; tribhiḥ — the three principal deities (Lord Viṣṇu, Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva); tapaḥ — of austerity; yoga — mystic power; bala — bodily strength; ojasām — and power of the senses; padam — the abode.

TRANSLATION

O my dear King, Hiraṇyakaśipu was always drunk on strong-smelling wines and liquors, and therefore his coppery eyes were always rolling. Nonetheless, because he had powerfully executed great austerities in mystic yoga, although he was abominable, all but the three principal demigods — Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and Lord Viṣṇu — personally worshiped him to please him by bringing him various presentations with their own hands.

PURPORT

In the Skanda Purāṇa there is this description: upāyanaḿ daduḥ sarve vinā devān hiraṇyakaḥ. Hiraṇyakaśipu was so powerful that everyone but the three principal demigods — namely Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and Lord Viṣṇu — engaged in his service. Madhvācārya says, ādityā vasavo rudrās tri-vidhā hi surā yataḥ. There are three kinds of demigods — the Ādityas, the Vasus and the Rudras — beneath whom are the other demigods, like the Maruts and Sādhyas (marutaś caiva viśve ca sādhyāś caiva ca tad-gatāḥ). Therefore all the demigods are called tri-piṣṭapa, and the same word tri applies to Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and Lord Viṣṇu.

<<< >>>

Buy Online Copyright © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness