Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 7: “The Science of God”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Five
SB7.5.42
TEXT 42
prayase ’pahate tasmin
daityendrah parisankitah
cakara tad-vadhopayan
nirbandhena yudhisthira
SYNONYMS
prayase—when the endeavor; apahate—futile; tasmin—that; daitya-indrah—the King of the demons, Hiranyakasipu; parisankitah—very much afraid (considering how the boy was protected); cakara—executed; tat-vadha-upayan—various means for killing him; nirbandhena—with determination; yudhisthira—O King Yudhisthira.
TRANSLATION
My dear King Yudhisthira, when all the attempts of the demons to kill Prahlada Maharaja were futile, the King of the demons, Hiranyakasipu, being most fearful, began contriving other means to kill him.
SB7.5.43-44
TEXTS 43–44
dig-gajair dandasukendrair
abhicaravapatanaih
mayabhih sannirodhais ca
gara-danair abhojanaih
hima-vayv-agni-salilaih
parvatakramanair api
na sasaka yada hantum
apapam asurah sutam
cintam dirghatamam praptas
tat-kartum nabhyapadyata
SYNONYMS
dik-gajaih—by big elephants trained to smash anything under their feet; danda-suka-indraih—by the biting of the King’s poisonous snakes; abhicara—by destructive spells; avapatanaih—by causing to fall from the top of a mountain; mayabhih—by conjuring tricks; sannirodhaih—by imprisonment; ca—as well as; gara-danaih—by administering poison; abhojanaih—by starving; hima—by cold; vayu—wind; agni—fire; salilaih—and water; parvata-akramanaih—by crushing with big stones and hills; api—and also; na sasaka—was not able; yada—when; hantum—to kill; apapam—who was not at all sinful; asurah—the demon (Hiranyakasipu); sutam—his son; cintam—anxiety; dirgha-tamam—long-standing; praptah—obtained; tat-kartum—to do that; na—not; abhyapadyata—achieved.
TRANSLATION
Hiranyakasipu could not kill his son by throwing him beneath the feet of big elephants, throwing him among huge, fearful snakes, employing destructive spells, hurling him from the top of a hill, conjuring up illusory tricks, administering poison, starving him, exposing him to severe cold, winds, fire and water, or throwing heavy stones to crush him. When Hiranyakasipu found that he could not in any way harm Prahlada, who was completely sinless, he was in great anxiety about what to do next.
SB7.5.45
TEXT 45
esa me bahv-asadhukto
vadhopayas ca nirmitah
tais tair drohair asad-dharmair
muktah svenaiva tejasa
SYNONYMS
esah—this; me—of me; bahu—many; asadhu-uktah—ill names; vadha-upayah—many varieties of means to kill him; ca—and; nirmitah—devised; taih—by those; taih—by those; drohaih—treacherous; asat-dharmaih—abominable actions; muktah—released; svena—his own; eva—indeed; tejasa—by prowess.
TRANSLATION
Hiranyakasipu thought: I have used many ill names in chastising this boy Prahlada and have devised many means of killing him, but despite all my endeavors, he could not be killed. Indeed, he saved himself by his own powers, without being affected in the least by these treacherous and abominable actions.
SB7.5.46
TEXT 46
vartamano ’vidure vai
balo ’py ajada-dhir ayam
na vismarati me ’naryam
sunah sepa iva prabhuh
SYNONYMS
vartamanah—being situated; avidure—not very far away; vai—indeed; balah—a mere child; api—although; ajada-dhih—complete fearlessness; ayam—this; na—not; vismarati—forgets; me—my; anaryam—misbehavior; sunah sepah—the curved tail of a dog; iva—exactly like; prabhuh—being able or potent.
TRANSLATION
Although he is very near to me and is merely a child, he is situated in complete fearlessness. He resembles a dog’s curved tail, which can never be straightened, because he never forgets my misbehavior and his connection with his master, Lord Visnu.
PURPORT
The word sunah means “of a dog,” and sepa means “tail.” The example is ordinary. However one may try to straighten a dog’s tail, it is never straight but always curved. Sunah sepa is also the name of the second son of Ajigarta. He was sold to Hariscandra, but he later took shelter of Visvamitra, Hariscandra’s enemy, and never left his side. SB7.5.47 TEXT 47 aprameyanubhavo ’yam akutascid-bhayo ’marah nunam etad-virodhena mrtyur me bhavita na va SYNONYMS aprameya—unlimited; anubhavah—glory; ayam—this; akutascit-bhayah—having no fear from any quarter; amarah—immortal; nunam—definitely; etat-virodhena—because of going against him; mrtyuh—death; me—my; bhavita—may be; na—not; va—or. TRANSLATION I can see that this boy’s strength is unlimited, for he has not feared any of my punishments. He appears immortal. Therefore, because of my enmity toward him, I shall die. Or maybe this will not take place. SB7.5.48 TEXT 48 iti tac-cintaya kincin mlana-sriyam adho-mukham sandamarkav ausanasau vivikta iti hocatuh SYNONYMS iti—thus; tat-cintaya—with full anxiety because of Prahlada Maharaja’s position; kincit—somewhat; mlana—lost; sriyam—bodily luster; adhah-mukham—his face downward; sanda-amarkau—Sanda and Amarka; ausanasau—sons of Sukracarya; vivikte—in a secret place; iti—thus; ha—indeed; ucatuh—spoke. TRANSLATION Thinking in this way, the King of the Daityas, morose and bereft of bodily luster, remained silent with his face downward. Then Sanda and Amarka, the two sons of Sukracarya, spoke to him in secret. SB7.5.49 TEXT 49 jitam tvayaikena jagat-trayam bhruvor vijrmbhana-trasta-samasta-dhisnyapam na tasya cintyam tava natha caksvahe na vai sisunam guna-dosayoh padam SYNONYMS jitam—conquered; tvaya—by you; ekena—alone; jagat-trayam—the three worlds; bhruvoh—of the eyebrows; vijrmbhana—by the expanding; trasta—become afraid; samasta—all; dhisnyapam—the chief persons in every planet; na—not; tasya—from him; cintyam—to be anxious; tava—of you; natha—O master; caksvahe—we find; na—nor; vai—indeed; sisunam—of children; guna-dosayoh—of a good quality or fault; padam—the subject matter. TRANSLATION O lord, we know that when you simply move your eyebrows, all the commanders of the various planets are most afraid. Without the help of any assistant, you have conquered all the three worlds. Therefore, we do not find any reason for you to be morose and full of anxiety. As for Prahlada, he is nothing but a child and cannot be a cause of anxiety. After all, his bad or good qualities have no value. SB7.5.50 TEXT 50 imam tu pasair varunasya baddhva nidhehi bhito na palayate yatha buddhis ca pumso vayasarya-sevaya yavad gurur bhargava agamisyati SYNONYMS imam—this; tu—but; pasaih—by the ropes; varunasya—of the demigod known as Varuna; baddhva—binding; nidhehi—keep (him); bhitah—being afraid; na—not; palayate—runs away; yatha—so that; buddhih—the intelligence; ca—also; pumsah—of a man; vayasa—by increase of age; arya—of experienced, advanced persons; sevaya—by the service; yavat—until; guruh—our spiritual master; bhargavah—Sukracarya; agamisyati—will come. TRANSLATION Until the return of our spiritual master, Sukracarya, arrest this child with the ropes of Varuna so that he will not flee in fear. In any case, by the time he is somewhat grown up and has assimilated our instructions or served our spiritual master, he will change in his intelligence. Thus there need be no cause for anxiety. SB7.5.51 TEXT 51 tatheti guru-putroktam anujnayedam abravit dharmo hy asyopadestavyo rajnam yo grha-medhinam SYNONYMS tatha—in this way; iti—thus; guru-putra-uktam—advised by Sanda and Amarka, the sons of Sukracarya; anujnaya—accepting; idam—this; abravit—said; dharmah—the duty; hi—indeed; asya—unto Prahlada; upadestavyah—to be instructed; rajnam—of the kings; yah—which; grha-medhinam—who are interested in householder life. TRANSLATION After hearing these instructions of Sanda and Amarka, the sons of his spiritual master, Hiranyakasipu agreed and requested them to instruct Prahlada in that system of occupational duty which is followed by royal householder families. PURPORT Hiranyakasipu wanted Prahlada Maharaja to be trained as a diplomatic king in ruling the kingdom, the country or the world, but not to be advised about renunciation or the renounced order of life. The word dharma here does not refer to some religious faith. As clearly stated, dharmo hy asyopadestavyo rajnam yo grha-medhinam. There are two kinds of royal families—one whose members are simply attached to household life and the other consisting of rajarsis, kings who govern with ruling power but are as good as great saints. Prahlada Maharaja wanted to become a rajarsi, whereas Hiranyakasipu wanted him to become a king attached to sense enjoyment (grha-medhinam). Therefore in the Aryan system there is varnasrama-dharma, by which everyone should be educated according to his position in society’s division of varna (brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya and sudra) and asrama (brahmacarya, grhastha, vanaprastha and sannyasa). A devotee purified by devotional service is always in the transcendental position above the mundane qualities. Thus the difference between Prahlada Maharaja and Hiranyakasipu was that Hiranyakasipu wanted to keep Prahlada in mundane attachment whereas Prahlada was above the modes of material nature. As long as one is under the control of material nature, his occupational duty is different from that of a person not under such control. One’s real dharma, or occupational duty, is described in Srimad-Bhagavatam (dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam [SB 6.3.19]). As described to his order carriers by Dharmaraja, or Yamaraja, a living being is a spiritual identity, and therefore his occupational duty is also spiritual. The real dharma is that which is advised in Bhagavad-gita: sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. One must give up one’s material occupational duties, just as one must give up his material body. Whatever one’s occupational duty, even according to the varnasrama system, one must give it up and engage in one’s spiritual function. One’s real dharma, or occupational duty, is explained by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Jivera ‘svarupa’ haya—krsnera ‘nitya-dasa’: [Cc. Madhya 20.108] every living being is an eternal servant of Krsna. That is one’s real occupational duty. SB7.5.52 TEXT 52 dharmam artham ca kamam ca nitaram canupurvasah prahradayocatu rajan prasritavanataya ca SYNONYMS dharmam—mundane occupational duty; artham—economic development; ca—and; kamam—sense gratification; ca—and; nitaram—always; ca—and; anupurvasah—according to order, or from the beginning to the end; prahradaya—unto Prahlada Maharaja; ucatuh—they spoke; rajan—O King; prasrita—who was humble; avanataya—and submissive; ca—also. TRANSLATION Thereafter, Sanda and Amarka systematically and unceasingly taught Prahlada Maharaja, who was very submissive and humble, about mundane religion, economic development and sense gratification. PURPORT There are four processes for human society—dharma, artha, kama and moksa—and they culminate in liberation. Human society must follow a process of religion to advance, and on the basis of religion one should try to develop his economic condition so that he can fulfill his needs for sense gratification according to the religious rules and regulations. Then liberation from material bondage will be easier to attain. That is the Vedic process. When one is above the stages of dharma, artha, kama and moksa, one becomes a devotee. He is then on the platform from which he is guaranteed not to fall again to material existence (yad gatva na nivartante [Bg. 15.6]). As advised in Bhagavad-gita if one transcends these four processes and is actually liberated, one engages in devotional service. Then he is guaranteed not to fall to material existence again. SB7.5.53 TEXT 53 yatha tri-vargam gurubhir atmane upasiksitam na sadhu mene tac-chiksam dvandvaramopavarnitam SYNONYMS yatha—as; tri-vargam—the three processes (religion, economic development and sense gratification); gurubhih—by the teachers; atmane—unto himself (Prahlada Maharaja); upasiksitam—instructed; na—not; sadhu—really good; mene—he considered; tat-siksam—the education in that; dvandva-arama—by persons taking pleasure in duality (in material enmity and friendship); upavarnitam—which is prescribed. TRANSLATION The teachers Sanda and Amarka instructed Prahlada Maharaja in the three kinds of material advancement called religion, economic development and sense gratification. Prahlada, however, being situated above such instructions, did not like them, for such instructions are based on the duality of worldly affairs, which involve one in a materialistic way of life marked by birth, death, old age and disease. PURPORT The entire world is interested in the materialistic way of life. Indeed, practically 99.9 percent of the people in the three worlds are uninterested in liberation or spiritual education. Only the devotees of the Lord, headed by such great personalities as Prahlada Maharaja and Narada Muni, are interested in the real education of spiritual life. One cannot understand the principles of religion while staying on the material platform. Therefore one must follow these great personalities. As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (6.3.20): svayambhur naradah sambhuh One must follow in the footsteps of such great personalities as Lord Brahma, Narada, Lord Siva, Kapila, Manu, the Kumaras, Prahlada Maharaja, Bhisma, Janaka, Bali Maharaja, Sukadeva Gosvami and Yamaraja. Those interested in spiritual life should follow Prahlada Maharaja in rejecting the education of religion, economic development and sense gratification. One should be interested in spiritual education. Therefore the Krsna consciousness movement is spreading all over the world, following in the footsteps of Prahlada Maharaja, who did not like any of the materialistic education he received from his teachers. SB7.5.54 TEXT 54 yadacaryah paravrtto grhamedhiya-karmasu vayasyair balakais tatra sopahutah krta-ksanaih SYNONYMS yada—when; acaryah—the teachers; paravrttah—became engaged; grha-medhiya—of household life; karmasu—in duties; vayasyaih—by his friends of the same age; balakaih—boys; tatra—there; sah—he (Prahlada Maharaja); apahutah—called; krta-ksanaih—obtaining an opportune moment. TRANSLATION When the teachers went home to attend to their household affairs, the students of the same age as Prahlada Maharaja would call him to take the opportunity of leisure hours for play. PURPORT In tiffin hours, the hours when the teachers were absent from the classroom, the students called Prahlada Maharaja, wanting to play with him. As will be seen from the following verses, however, Prahlada Maharaja was not very much interested in playing. Instead, he wanted to utilize every moment for advancing in Krsna consciousness. Therefore, as indicated in this verse by the word krta-ksanaih, at the opportune moment when it was possible to preach about Krsna consciousness, Prahlada Maharaja used the time as follows. SB7.5.55 TEXT 55 atha tan slaksnaya vaca pratyahuya maha-budhah uvaca vidvams tan-nistham krpaya prahasann iva SYNONYMS atha—then; tan—the class friends; slaksnaya—with very pleasing; vaca—speech; pratyahuya—addressing; maha-budhah—Prahlada Maharaja, who was highly learned and advanced in spiritual consciousness (maha means “great,” and budha means “learned”); uvaca—said; vidvan—very learned; tat-nistham—the path of God realization; krpaya—being merciful; prahasan—smiling; iva—like. TRANSLATION Prahlada Maharaja, who was truly the supreme learned person, then addressed his class friends in very sweet language. Smiling, he began to teach them about the uselessness of the materialistic way of life. Being very kind to them, he instructed them as follows. PURPORT Prahlada Maharaja’s smiling is very significant. The other students were very much advanced in enjoying materialistic life through religion, economic development and sense gratification, but Prahlada Maharaja laughed at them, knowing that this was not actual happiness, for real happiness is advancement in Krsna consciousness. The duty of those who follow in the footsteps of Prahlada Maharaja is to teach the entire world how to be Krsna conscious and thus be really happy. Materialistic persons take to so-called religion to get some blessings so that they can improve their economic position and enjoy the material world through sense gratification. But devotees like Prahlada Maharaja laugh at how foolish they are to be busy in a temporary life without knowledge of the soul’s transmigration from one body to another. Materialistic persons are engaged in striving for temporary benefits, whereas persons advanced in spiritual knowledge, such as Prahlada Maharaja, are not interested in the materialistic way of life. Instead, they want to be elevated to an eternal life of knowledge and bliss. Therefore, as Krsna is always compassionate to the fallen souls, His servants, the devotees of Lord Krsna, are also interested in educating the entire populace in Krsna consciousness. The mistake of materialistic life is understood by devotees, and therefore they smile upon it, considering it insignificant. Out of compassion, however, such devotees preach the gospel of Bhagavad-gita all over the world. SB7.5.56-57 TEXTS 56–57 te tu tad-gauravat sarve tyakta-krida-paricchadah bala adusita-dhiyo dvandvarameritehitaih paryupasata rajendra tan-nyasta-hrdayeksanah tan aha karuno maitro maha-bhagavato ’surah SYNONYMS te—they; tu—indeed; tat-gauravat—from great respect for the words of Prahlada Maharaja (due to his being a devotee); sarve—all of them; tyakta—having given up; krida-paricchadah—toys for playing; balah—the boys; adusita-dhiyah—whose intelligence was not as polluted (as that of their fathers); dvandva—in duality; arama—of those taking pleasure (the instructors, namely Sanda and Amarka); irita—by the instructions; ihitaih—and actions; paryupasata—sat down around; raja-indra—O King Yudhisthira; tat—unto him; nyasta—having given up; hrdaya-iksanah—their hearts and eyes; tan—unto them; aha—spoke; karunah—very merciful; maitrah—a real friend; maha-bhagavatah—a most exalted devotee; asurah—Prahlada Maharaja, although born of an asura father. TRANSLATION My dear King Yudhisthira, all the children were very much affectionate and respectful to Prahlada Maharaja, and because of their tender age they were not so polluted by the instructions and actions of their teachers, who were attached to condemned duality and bodily comfort. Thus the boys surrounded Prahlada Maharaja, giving up their playthings, and sat down to hear him. Their hearts and eyes being fixed upon him, they looked at him with great earnestness. Prahlada Maharaja, although born in a demon family, was an exalted devotee, and he desired their welfare. Thus he began instructing them about the futility of materialistic life. PURPORT The words bala adusita-dhiyah indicate that the children, being of a tender age, were not as polluted by materialistic life as their fathers. Prahlada Maharaja, therefore, taking advantage of the innocence of his class friends, began teaching them about the importance of spiritual life and the insignificance of materialistic life. Although the teachers Sanda and Amarka were instructing all the boys in the materialistic life of religion, economic development and sense gratification, the boys were not much polluted. Therefore, with great attention they wanted to hear from Prahlada Maharaja about Krsna consciousness. In our Krsna consciousness movement, the guru-kula plays an extremely important part in our activities because right from childhood the boys at the guru-kula are instructed about Krsna consciousness. Thus they become steady within the cores of their hearts, and there is very little possibility that they will be conquered by the modes of material nature when they are older. Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Seventh Canto, Fifth Chapter, of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled “Prahlada Maharaja, the Saintly Son of Hiranyakasipu.”
kumarah kapilo manuh
prahlado janako bhismo
balir vaiyasakir vayam