Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.8.44

śrī-pitara ūcuḥ

śrāddhāni no 'dhibubhuje prasabhaḿ tanūjair

dattāni tīrtha-samaye 'py apibat tilāmbu

tasyodarān nakha-vidīrṇa-vapād ya ārcchat

tasmai namo nṛharaye 'khila-dharma-goptre

SYNONYMS

śrī-pitaraḥ ūcuḥ — the inhabitants of Pitṛloka said; śrāddhāni — the performances of the śrāddha ceremony (offering of food grains to dead forefathers by a particular process); naḥ — our; adhibubhuje — enjoyed; prasabham — by force; tanūjaiḥ — by our sons and grandsons; dattāni — offered; tīrtha-samaye — at the time of bathing in the holy places; api — even; apibat — drank; tila-ambu — offerings of water with sesame seeds; tasya — of the demon; udarāt — from the abdomen; nakha-vidīrṇa — pierced by the nails of the hand; vapāt — the skin of the intestines of which; yaḥ — He who (the Personality of Godhead); ārcchat — obtained; tasmai — unto Him (the Supreme Personality of Godhead); namaḥ — respectful obeisances; nṛ-haraye — who has appeared as half lion and half man (Nṛhari); akhila — universal; dharma — religious principles; goptre — who maintains.

TRANSLATION

The inhabitants of Pitṛloka prayed: Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva, the maintainer of the religious principles of the universe. He has killed Hiraṇyakaśipu, the demon who by force enjoyed all the offerings of the śrāddha ceremonies performed by our sons and grandsons on the anniversaries of our death and who drank the water with sesame seeds offered in holy places of pilgrimage. By killing this demon, O Lord, You have taken back all this stolen property from his abdomen by piercing it with Your nails. We therefore wish to offer our respectful obeisances unto You.

PURPORT

It is the duty of all householders to offer food grains to all their departed forefathers, but during the time of Hiraṇyakaśipu this process was stopped; no one would offer śrāddha oblations of food grains to the forefathers with great respect. Thus when there is a demoniac rule, everything concerning the Vedic principles is turned upside down, all the religious ceremonies of yajña are stopped, the resources meant to be spent for yajña are taken away by the demoniac government, everything becomes chaotic, and consequently the entire world becomes hell itself. When the demons are killed by the presence of Nṛsiḿhadeva, everyone feels comfortable, irrespective of the planet upon which he lives.

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