brihad bhagavatamrita 4

8/14/2019 Brihad Bhagavatamrita 4

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IV

Bhakta:

TheDevotee


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TEXT 1

[qParqi+aduvac[uTva MahaYaRiMaveXa>aaizTa&

Pa[adSaNdXaRNaJaaTak-aETauk-" )aNaTa" [qSauTale/ GaTaae_icrad(

DaavNa( Pa[iv" PaurMaaSaur& MauiNa" ))

r-parkid uvcarutv mahcaryam ivea-bhita

prahlda-sandarana-jta-kautukahd-ynata r-sutale gato cird

dhvan pravia puram sura muni

r-parkit uvca r Parkit said; rutv having heard;

mah-caryam most amazing; iva indeed; a of Lordiva; bhitam the words;prahlda-sandarana for see-ing Prahlda; jta born; kautuka his eagerness; ht ofthe heart;ynata by the path; r-sutale to r Sutala; ga-ta he traveled; acirt quickly; dhvan running; pra-via he entered;puram the city; suram belonging tothe demons; muni the sage.

r Parkit said: After the sage Nrada heard Lord ivas words, which impressed him as most amazing, he waseager to see Prahlda in person. He at once, therefore,traveled to r Sutala by the path of the heart and enteredrunning into the city of the demons.


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COMMENTARY: In this chapter, despite Lord ivas warning,Nrada glorifies Prahlda. After refuting Nradas glorification,

Prahlda in turn glorifies Hanumn. Nrada then visits Hanumn,who also denies Nradas praise and recommends instead thePavas.

The path of the heart Nrada traveled is the mind itself; inother words, as soon as he desired I want to go to Sutala, he atonce arrived.

TEXT 2

Taaviive- >aGavTPadaMbuJa=Pa[eMaaeSayaNaivz-ceTaSaa )

[qvEZ


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BHAKTA: The DEVOTEE/ 265

COMMENTARY:Without receiving information from his externalsenses, Prahlda, though deep in meditation, became aware that

Nrada was approaching. Prahldas meditation was exception-ally wonderful because he was meditating on the Personality ofGodheads lotus feet, not on some impersonal conception of theSupreme. His concentration was so fixed that when he becameaware that Nrada was approaching he could not respond atonce. By the time Prahlda stood up, Nrada was already nearby.

TEXT 3

Paq#e= Pa[YaaduPaveiXaTaae_Ya&PaUJaa& PauraviiDaNaaPYaRMaaa]aNTaceTaa" PairTYa vzRNa(hzaRMaaezParae_vdtaMa( ))

phe prayatnd upaveito yapj pur-vad vidhinrpyamm

sambhrnta-cet parihtya varanharsram lea-paro vadat tam

phe on a seat;prayatnt with effort; upaveita made

to sit; ayam he (Nrada);pjm the worship;pur-vatas previously; vidhin according to standard procedures;arpyamm being offered; sambhrnta filled with rever-ence; cet his heart; parihtya refusing; varan rainingdown; hara of joy; asram tears; lea-para trying toembrace; avadat he (Nrada) told; tam him (Prahlda).

With some effort, Prahlda induced Nrada to accept a seatand then began, like others before, to worship him in ac-cordance with standard rules. But Nrada, feeling greatreverence for Prahlda, refused the worship. He shed tearsof joy and tried to embrace Prahlda. Then he spoke asfollows.


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COMMENTARY:Because Nrada was reluctant to accept the seatPrahlda offered, Prahlda had to force him to take it. Prahlda

brought water to wash Nradas feet, and brought arghyaand allthe other paraphernalia for full worship, but Nrada stoppedhim, being interested only in embracing Prahlda.

TEXT 4

[qNaard ovac

d*iraTk*==ZarSYaPaa}a& >avaNa( Mae Saf-l/" [Maae_>aUTa( )

AabaLYaTaae YaSYa ih k*-Zai-r(JaaTaa ivXaua Na ku==Taae_iPa YaaSaqTa( ))

r-nrada uvcada cirt ka-kp-bharasya

ptra bhavn me sa-phala ramo bht-blyato yasya hi ka-bhaktir

jt viuddh na kuto pi yst

r-nrada uvca r Nrada said; da seen; cirt af-ter a long time; ka of Ka; kp of the mercy; bharasya of the greatest amount;ptram the recipient; bhavn

your good self; me my; sa-phala fruitful; rama la-bor; abht has become; -blyata beginning from child-hood;yasya whose; hi certainly; ka for Ka; bhakti devotion; jt endowed; viuddh perfectly pure; nanever; kuta api anywhere at all;y which; stexisted.

r Nrada said: Now, after so long, I have finally seen you the true recipient of Kas full mercy! Nowmy efforts have borne fruit! From your very childhood

you have been endowed with pure devotion for Ka.Such spontaneous love has never been seen anywhere

before.


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COMMENTARY:Nrada had diligently studied the revealed scrip-tures to learn about the Lords most intimate devotees, and re-

cently he had taken the trouble to visit Prayga, the southerncountry, and ivaloka. Now he felt so satisfied meeting Prahldathat all his efforts seemed worthwhile.

TEXT 5

YaYaa SviPa}aa ivihTaa" SahMa(oPad]va da


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/CHAPTER FOUR268

many attempts. This is related in the Seventh Canto ofrmad-Bhgavatam(..):

prayse pahate tasmindaityendra pariakita

cakra tad-vadhopynnirbandhena yudhihira

dig-gajair dandakendrairabhicrvaptanai

mybhi sannirodhai cagara-dnair abhojanai

hima-vyv-agni-salilaiparvatkramaair api

My dear King Yudhihira, when all the attempts of the demonsto kill Prahlda Mahrja proved futile, the king of the demons,Hirayakaipu, being most fearful, began contriving other meansto kill him. Hirayakaipu could not kill his son by throwing himbeneath the feet of big elephants, throwing him among huge,fearful snakes, employing destructive spells, hurling him fromthe top of a hill, conjuring up illusory tricks, administering poi-son, starving him, exposing him to severe cold, winds, fire, andwater, or throwing heavy stones to crush him.

Lesser Vaiavas would not be able to endure as staunchlyas Prahlda the severe kinds of distress imposed by Hiraya-kaipu. In the face of such torments, anyone not as fully sur-rendered and absorbed in remembrance of the Personality ofGodhead would lose the courage and determination to continueserving the Lord. But none of these tests distracted Prahlda fromhis devotional service. Being solidly fixed in bhakti-yoga, Prahlda

was empowered to preach effectively; the sons of the demonenemies of Viu became Vaiavas by hearing Prahldas instruc-tions and even just by touching or seeing him. Therefore in theHari-bhakti-sudhodaya(.),which is part of the Nrada Pura,the goddess of the earth, Dhara-dev, thus glorifies Prahldasspecial potency:


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aho ktrtha sutar n-lokoyasmin sthito bhgavatottamo si

spanti payanti ca ye bhavantabhv ca ys te hari-loka-bhja

Ah, this human world is now especially fortunate since you, thebest of Vaiavas,are present. Everyone who touches you orsees you and the symptoms of your ecstatic emotions will be-come entitled to take up residence in Hariloka.

TEXT 6

k*-ZYaaeivZaRi&- hzRYaaMaaSa TaNvNa( ))

kvio yo smttmeva mattontyan gyan kampamno ruda ca

lokn sarvn uddharan sastibhyovior bhakti haraym sa tanvan

ka in thought of Ka; via absorbed; ya who;asmta having forgotten; tm himself; iva as if; matta

maddened; ntyan dancing; gyan singing; kampam-na trembling; rudan calling out loudly; ca and; lokn the worlds; sarvn all; uddharan delivering; sasti-bhya from the cycle of material life; vio to Viu;bhaktim pure devotional service; haraym sa you madejoyful; tanvan spreading.

While immersed in meditation on Ka, you seemed toforget your own existence. Like a madman you danced andsang and called out loudly, your body trembling. In this

way you spread devotional service unto Lord Viu, deliv-ering all the worlds from the cycle of material life andfilling them with joy.


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COMMENTARY:When a pure devotee is inspired by rememberingKa, he sometimes behaves in such unusual ways that ordinary

people may think him either intoxicated or insane. The wordmatta in this verse can be understood in either of these twosenses. But behaving outside socially acceptable norms does notin itself make one a saint. Prahlda Mahrja was not simply actingin strange ways; he was able to free anyone who saw him from thesufferings of material life. The logician Bhsarvaja in his Nysa-sra (.) enumerates twenty-one sources of material misery

the body, the six senses, the objects of each sense, judgmentbased on these six kinds of sensation, and pleasure and painthemselves.

Describing Prahldas influence on persons who witnessedhis ecstatic symptoms, r Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya(.) states:

rutvty-adbhuta-vairgyjjans tasyojjval gira

ari mumucu kecidvkya ke py anama ca tam

llaynye pare hsydbhakty kecana vismayt

jans ta saghao payansarvathpi hatainasa

Upon hearing his brilliant words, some people felt an extra-ordinary sense of detachment from material life and began toshed tears. Others who saw him responded by bowing down tohim. Others were amazed to see him playfully laugh and simplystood in groups watching him. All these persons were relieved ofworldly contamination. Prahlda delivered ordinary people notonly by freeing them from unhappiness but also by giving them

the highest happiness of pure devotional service to Viu.

TEXT 7

k*-ZaURYa Taqre MahaBDae"Svae k*-Tva l/ail/Taae MaaTa*v" )


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b]eXaadqNa( ku-vRTaae_iPa STavaEga&

Paa& caNaad*TYa SaMMaaiNaTaae Ya" ))kenvirbhya tre mahbdhe

svke ktv llito mt-vad yabrahmedn kurvato pi stavaugha

padm cndtya sammnito ya

kena by Ka; virbhya appearing; tre on the

shore; mah-abdhe of the ocean; sva-ake on His lap;ktv being placed; llita caressed; mt-vat like amother;ya who; brahma-a-dn Brahm, iva, and otherdemigods; kurvata doing; api even though; stava-ogham recitation of many prayers;padmm the goddess Padm(Lakm); ca and; andtya ignoring; sammnita hon-ored;ya who.

When Lord Ka appeared on the shore of the ocean, Heplaced you on His lap and caressed you like a mother. ThusHe honored you, ignoring Brahm, iva, and the otherdemigods offering prayers, and even ignoring the goddessPadm.

COMMENTARY: After killing Hirayakaipu, Lord Nsiha wasstill furious. No one could pacify Him. The Lords personal ser-vants, headed by His wife Lakm, by Garua, and by Brahmand other demigods, were standing at a distance awestruck, tooafraid to come near Him. Brahm then requested Prahlda to tryto appease the Lord. r Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya(.) describesthe Lords reaction:

tata kitv eva niviya ntha

ktv tam ake sva-janaika-bandhuanair vidhunvan kara-pallavena

span muhur mt-vad liliga

The Lord, who is friendly only to His devotees, then sat downon the ground and put Prahlda on His lap. Gently rocking back


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and forth, He patted Prahlda with His lotus hand and embracedhim repeatedly as a mother embraces her child. Thus the Su-

preme Lord attended to Prahlda, disregarding the many otherexalted persons present.

TEXT 8

iv}aSTaeNa b]


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tta praamayopehisva-pitre kupita prabhum

My dear son, Lord Nsihadeva is extremely angry at yourdemonic father. Please go forward and appease the Lord.(Bhgavatam7.9.3)

Prahlda threw himself at the Lords feet in full surrender,but the Lord picked him up and showered him with affection:

sva-pda-mle patita tam arbhaka

vilokya deva kpay pariplutautthpya tac-chry adadht karmbuja

klhi-vitrasta-dhiy ktbhayam

When Lord Nsihadeva saw the small boy Prahlda Mahrjaprostrated at the soles of His lotus feet, He became most ecstatic inaffection toward His devotee. Raising Prahlda, the Lord placed His

lotus hand upon the boys head because His hand is always readyto create fearlessness in all of His devotees. (Bhgavatam7.9.5)Similarly, the Bhan-narasiha Purastates, lilihe tasya

gtri/ sva-potasyeva kear: Lord Nsiha licked Prahldaslimbs as an ordinary lioness grooms her cub.

TEXT 9

Yai}aic}aaGa]hcaTaurqcYaEr(oTSa*JYaMaaNa& hirai&- iNaJaJaNMaJaNMaSau ))

ya citra-citrgraha-ctur-cayair

utsjyamna hari para padambrahmdi-samprrthyam upekya kevalavavre sya bhakti nija-janma-janmasu

ya who; citra-citra most attractive; graha of entice-ments; ctur-cayai with several clever attempts; utsjyam-


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nam being offered; hari by Lord Hari;param padamthe supreme destination; brahma-di by Brahm and every-

one else; samprrthyam prayed for; upekya ignoring; keva-lam only; vavre you chose; asya His; bhaktim devo-tional service; nija your;janma-janmasu in repeated births.

When Lord Hari, with most attractive and clever entice-ments, tried to offer you the supreme abode, you showedno interest in liberation, which is prayed for by Brahm

and by everyone else. Rather, you asked only devotion tothe Lord, birth after birth.

COMMENTARY:Lord Nsiha offered Prahlda para padam,the most exalted position of an eternal associate in Vaikuha,but Prahlda was not inclined to accept even this. He simplywanted to continue practicing devotional service, no matter howmany lifetimes his service would take to perfect.

The Lord tried to entice Prahlda with kind words, as rmad-Bhgavatam(..) describes:

prahlda bhadra bhadra teprto ha te surottama

vara vvbhimatakma-pro smy aha nm

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Prahlda,most gentle one, best of the family of the asuras, all good for-tune unto you. I am very much pleased with you. It is My pas-time to fulfill the desires of all living beings, and therefore youmay ask from Me any benediction you desire.

Similarly Lord Nsiha tells Prahlda in the Viu Pura(..):

kurvatas te prasanno habhaktim avyabhicrim

yathbhilaito mattaprahlda vriyat vara


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Prahlda, because you have been offering Me devotional ser-vice without deviation, I am very much pleased with you. Please

choose any benediction you would like from Me.The Lord also tells Prahlda in the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya

(.):

sa-bhaya sambhrama vatsamad-gaurava-kta tyaja

naia priyo me bhakteu

svdhna-praay bhava

api me pra-kmasyanava navam ida priya

niaka praayd bhaktoyan m payati bhate

sad mukto pi baddho smi

bhaktena sneha-rajjubhiajito pi jito ha tair

avayo pi va-kta

tyakta-bandhu-dhana-snehomayi ya kurute ratim

ekas tasysmi sa ca me

na hy anyo sty vayo suht

nitya ca pra-kmasyajanmni vividhni me

bhakta-sarvea-dnyatasmt ki te priya vada

My dear child, please give up this attitude of fearful respect thatyour reverence toward Me has produced in you. I do not so muchlike this sentiment in My devotees. Instead, just feel free to ex-press your love for Me. When a devotee looks at Me withouthesitation and speaks to Me affectionately, My pleasure growswith every new moment. Although I am eternally free from all


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limitations, such behavior binds Me with ropes of love. AlthoughI am unconquerable, My devotees can conquer Me. And al-

though I am subject to no ones control, I become their subordi-nate subject. I belong only to him who has shown his love forMe by giving up all affection for family and possessions, andsuch a devotee also belongs to Me. Neither he nor I has anyother true friend. My desires are always automatically fulfilled,but I take various births in this world just to bestow on My devo-tees the satisfaction of all their desires. So please tell Me what

you would like from Me.After Prahlda answered, refusing all material benedictions,Lord Nsiha continued:

satya mad-darand anyadvatsa naivsti te priyam

ata eva hi samprtistvayi me tva vardhate

api te kta-ktyasyamat-priya ktyam asti hi

kicic ca dtum ia memat-priyrtha vuva tat

Yes, of course, My dear child, nothing is dear to you but the

opportunity to see Me. And so I feel more and more affectionfor you. But still I would like to do some favor for you, eventhough you are already successful in all respects. I want to give you something. So kindly choose some benediction, just toplease Me.

TEXT 10

Ya" SvPa[>auPa[qiTaMaPae+Ya PaETa*k&-raJYa& SvYa& [qNariSa&hSa&STauTaaE )

SaMPa[aiQaRTaaXaezJaNaae*TaqC^YaaSvqk*-TYa TayaNaParae_}a vTaRTae ))


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ya sva-prabhu-prtim apekya paitkarjya svaya r-narasiha-sastutau

samprrthitea-janoddhtcchaysv-ktya tad-dhyna-paro tra vartate

ya who; sva-prabhu of your Lord;prtim the love; apek-ya considering;paitkam belonging to your father; rjyam the kingdom; svayam your; r-narasiha r Nsiha;sastutau in prayers; samprrthita requested; aea of

all; jana people; uddhti for the deliverance; icchaywith the desire; sv-ktya accepting; tat upon Him; dhyna-para fixed in meditation; atra here; vartate are present.

Responding to your Lords love, you agreed to assume yourfathers throne. And as you told Lord Nsiha in yourprayers, by doing this you wished to help deliver allpeople. You are still on that royal seat, fixed in meditation

on Lord Nsiha.

COMMENTARY:Considering the Lords unconditional affectiontoward him, Prahlda finally agreed to sit on the throne of hisfather. He intended to use the vast wealth of Hirayakaipuskingdom for preaching. If he could arrange for the deliveranceof everyone in the universe, Prahlda calculated, that might satisfy

the Lord.It certainly seems curious that Prahlda at first refused eleva-

tion to the spiritual kingdom but later accepted a limited king-dom in the material world. But Prahlda did this because of aspecial hankering in his heart his desire to free the people ofthe world from their distress. He did not worry that by involve-ment in politics his own spiritual interests would be endangered,since he was confident that his unbroken meditation on the Per-sonality of Godhead would always protect him. Thus Prahldaprayed to Lord Nsiha:

eva sva-karma-patita bhava-vaitaraymanyonya-janma-maraana-bhta-bhtam


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paya jana sva-para-vigraha-vaira-maitrahanteti pra-cara pphi mham adya

My dear Lord, You are always transcendentally situated on theother side of the river of death, but because of the reactions ofour own activities, we are suffering on this side. Indeed, we havefallen into this river and are repeatedly suffering the pains ofbirth and death and eating horrible things. Now kindly lookupon us not only upon me but also upon all others who are

suffering and by Your causeless mercy and compassion, deliverus and maintain us. (Bhgavatam..)Material existence is like the river Vaitara, the gateway to

the court of Death. In general, material life on earth is full ofsuffering, no less so than life in the subterranean realms of hell.Therefore, although immune to these dangers, for our benefitPrahlda speaks as if fearing the troubles he can expect in vari-ous births and deaths, and he presents himself as befooled likemost people, who deal with one another either as enemies or asfriends and who are thereby bewildered in all circumstances.

Prahlda addresses Lord Nsiha as pra-cara, He who issituated on the other side of the Vaitara River, or in otherwords, in the eternally free realm of Vaikuha. Expressing hisown pain at seeing the suffering of other souls in the materialworld, Prahlda requests the Lord to please carry them across the

Vaitara to safety. He then further prays:

ko nv atra te khila-guro bhagavan praysauttrae sya bhava-sambhava-lopa-heto

mheu vai mahad-anugraha rta-bandhoki tena te priya-jann anusevat na

O my Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, original spiri-tual master of the entire world, what is the difficulty for You,who manage the affairs of the universe, in delivering the fallensouls engaged in Your devotional service? You are the friend ofall suffering humanity, and for great personalities it is necessaryto show mercy to the foolish. Therefore I think that You will


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show Your causeless mercy to persons like us, who engage inYour service. (Bhgavatam..)

Here Prahlda addresses Lord Nsiha as the spiritual mas-ter of all souls, implying that it is quite fitting for Him to showmercy to everyone without exception. For the Lord to deliverevery soul in existence should not be a great endeavor, becauseHe creates, maintains, and destroys universes as a mere sport.And even less difficult should it be for the Lord to deliver Hisown devotees and their servants, like Prahlda, who considers

himself a fallen demon with the one good qualification of beingNrada Munis faithful disciple.

TEXT 11

Ya" PaqTavaSaae_ix(ga]]SaraeJad*yEGaC^Na( vNa& NaEiMazk&- k-daicTa( )

NaaraYa


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COMMENTARY:This incident is recounted in a number of scrip-tures, including the Vmana Pura(). Once Prahlda took a

trip to Naimiraya to see Lord Ptavs, the beautiful form ofthe Supreme Lord. While traveling on the road he met a strangeperson, who was dressed like an austere renunciant but wascarrying a warriors bow and arrows. Prahlda assumed from thispersons contradictory attire that he must be some hypocriteabusing the true principles of religion. Therefore Prahldastarted a fight with the sannys,vowing I swear I shall defeat

you! But even after several days of dueling, Prahlda could notsubdue this adversary.Early one morning before resuming the battle, Prahlda wor-

shiped his personal Deity. He then saw his opponent standingnearby, wearing the same garland he had just offered the Deity.Prahlda suddenly recognized that the stranger was Lord Ptavs,Nryaa Himself. Thereupon, offering prayers to that opponentwith all the competence at his command, Prahlda tried to satisfy

Him. In response, the Lord touched him with His lotus hand,which relieved Prahlda from the fatigue of fighting and from allanxiety. Prahlda asked Lord Ptavs what to do about havingtransgressed the duty of a katriyaby having made a promise namely to defeat his opponent and not having fulfilled it. TheLord, fully satisfied by the sport of fighting with Prahlda, toldhim, But I am always defeated by you!

TEXT 12

[qParqi+aduvacWv& vdNa( Naardae_SaaE hir>ai-rSaa


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r-parkit uvca r Parkit said; evam thus; vadanspeaking; nrada Nrada; asau he; hari-bhakti in the

devotional service of Lord Hari; rasa of the ecstasies; ara-va the ocean; tat His; narma-sevaka intimate servant;ntyan dancing; jitam conquered; asmbhi by us; iti thus; araut he shouted.

r Parkit continued: Having said this, Nrada, the oceanof ecstasies in devotion to Lord Hari, began to dance. That

intimate servant of the Lord shouted, Conquered by us!

COMMENTARY:The wordsjitamasmbhi(conquered by us)imply that Nrada claimed victory not just for himself andPrahlda but for all the devotees of Lord Nryaa.

TEXT 13

[qNaard ovac>aae vEZ


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r Nrada then said: O best of Vaiavas, why should I saythat Lord Mukunda has been conquered only by you? Your

grandson Bali, chief of the Daityas, has also conqueredHim. By your grace, Bali keeps the Lord as his doorman.

COMMENTARY:Bali conquered the Lord in the sense of gain-ing control over Him, by which Lord Vmanadeva now servesalways as Balis doorkeeper. Since Bali was a leader of theDaityas, the enemies of Lord Vius devotees, he could have

obtained this influence only by the Lords special favor. rPrahlda himself explained this while offering prayers to LordVmana:

nema virico labhate prasdana rr na arva kim utpare ye

yan no surm asi durga-plovivbhivandyair abhivanditghri

O Supreme Personality of Godhead, You are universally wor-shiped; even Lord Brahm and Lord iva worship Your lotus feet.Yet although You are such a great personality, You have kindlypromised to protect us, the demons. I think that such kindnesshas never been achieved even by Lord Brahm, Lord iva, or thegoddess of fortune, Lakm, what to speak of other demigods or

common people. (Bhgavatam..)The Prahlda-sahitof the Skanda Pura, in the chap-ters describing the glories of Dvrak-dhma, also relates thefollowing history. When Dvrak City was once attacked by tenpowerful Daityas, a committee of residents, headed by Durvsi, went in great distress to the abode of Bali Daityarja. Therethe sage Durvs beseeched Lord Vmanadeva to come toDvrak to defend them, but the Lord replied:

pardhno smi viprendrabhakti-krto smi nnyath

baler dea-kr cadaityendra-vaa-go hy aham


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tasmt prrthaya viprendradaitya vairocana balim

asydet kariymiyad abha tavdhun

O best of brhmaas, I am not independent. Because I ampurchased by pure devotion and by that alone, I am now theorder carrier of Bali. I am completely controlled by that kingof the Daityas. So, my dear excellent brhmaa, please go ask

the demon Bali, son of Virocana, and if he orders I shall at oncedo whatever you want. (Skanda Pura, Prabhsa-khaa..) But when Durvs submitted his request to Bali Mah-rja, Bali refused to give permission for Lord Vmana to leaveSutala-loka. Even after Durvs expressed the intention to fastuntil death, Bali told him:

yad bhvya tad bhavatu teyaj jnsi tath kurubrahma-rudrdi-namita

nha tyakye pada-dvayam

Let whatever you intend come about. Whatever you have inmind, please do that. But I shall never give up the two feetat which Brahm, Rudra, and all other demigods bow down.(Skanda Pura...)

TEXT 14

wTa" Pa[>a*iTa k-TaRVYaae iNavaSaae iNaYaTaae_}a ih )MaYaai>a>aUYa d+aaidXaaPa& YauZMaTPa[>aavTa" ))

ita prabhti kartavyonivso niyato tra hi

maybhibhya dakdi-pa yumat-prabhvata


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ita prabhti from now on; kartavya should be done;nivsa residence; niyata fixed; atra here; hi cer-

tainly; may by me; abhibhya being overcome; daka-di of Daka and others; pam the curses;yumat your;

prabhvata by the influence.

From now on I intend to stay here permanently with you.By your power I shall certainly be able to overcome thecurses I received from Daka and others.

COMMENTARY: Not only Daka but others also have cursedNrada to be unable to stay in one place for more than a shorttime. Daka cursed him as follows:

tantu-kntana yan nas tvamabhadram acara puna

tasml lokeu te mha

na bhaved bhramata padam

You have made me lose my sons once, and now you have againdone the same inauspicious thing. Therefore you are a rascalwho does not know how to behave toward others. You maytravel all over the universe, but I curse you to have no residenceanywhere. (Bhgavatam..) In the allegorical story of KingPurajana, Old Age, the daughter of Time, also curses Nrada:

sthtum arhasi naikatramad-yc-vimukho mune

Because you refused my request [to marry me], you will not beable to stay in one place for a long time. (Bhgavatam..)

TEXT 15

[qParqi+aduvacSvagaaSahNaaXa==ae l/avNaiMaTaaNaNa" )Pa[adae Naard& NaTva GaaErvadvdC^NaE" ))


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r-parkid uvcasva-lgh-sahanakto

lajjvanamitnanaprahldo nrada natv

gauravd avadac chanai

r-parkit uvca r Parkit said; sva his own; lghpraise; sahana to tolerate; aakta unable; lajj fromembarrassment; avanamita turned downward; nana his

face; prahlda Prahlda; nradam to Nrada; natvbowing down; gauravt with great respect; avadat ad-dressed; anai softly.

r Parkit said: Unable to tolerate hearing his own praise,Prahlda lowered his face in embarrassment, bowed down

before Nrada, and respectfully addressed him in a quietvoice.

COMMENTARY: Prahlda was ashamed to hear himself praised.He began to think that by speaking such impossible thingsNrada must be teasing him. Still, he spoke gently because hehad great respect for Nrada, his dk-guru. Had Prahlda notbeen addressing such a revered person, Prahlda might haveexpressed anger by replying in a louder voice.

TEXT 16

[qPa[ad ovac>aGavNa( [qGaurae Sav| SvYaMaev ivcaYaRTaaMa( )baLYae Na SaM>aveTk*-Zae==jaRNaMaiPa Sfu==$=Ma( ))

r-prahlda uvcabhagavan r-guro sarva

svayam eva vicryatmblye na sambhavet ka-

bhakter jnam api sphuam


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r-prahlda uvca r Prahlda said; bhagavan my lord;r-guro O worshipable spiritual master; sarvam everything;

svayam yourself; eva indeed; vicryatm please con-sider; blye in childhood; na sambhavet cannot be pos-sible; ka-bhakte of devotional service to Ka;jnam knowledge; api simply; sphuam clear.

r Prahlda said: My lord and spiritual master, please re-consider everything you have said. A young boy simplycannot understand correctly the science of devotionalservice to Ka.

COMMENTARY:Proper execution of devotional service requiresmature understanding, since bhakti-yogais not only an externalpractice but the natural employment of all the faculties of theself. As a general rule, young children before the awakeningof intelligent discrimination cannot have the understanding re-

quired to engage in devotional service. There may be individualexceptions in the highly cultured families of sages and saintlydevotees, but Prahlda, considering himself an uncivilized de-mon, would hardly claim to be such an exception.

TEXTS 1718

MahTaaMauPadeXaSYa bl/aaedaetaMae SaiTa )hre>aR==aE Pa[v*taaNaa& MaihMaaPaadk-aiNa Na ))

ivganaNai>a>avae bale/zUPadeXa" SadqihTaMa( )AaTaRPa[ai


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rta-pri-day moka-synag-karadi ca

mahatm by great souls; upadeasya of the instructions;balt by the power; bodha-uttame higher understanding;sati when there is; hare of Lord Hari; bhaktau in devo-tional service; pravttnm for those engaged; mahima-pdakni symptoms of greatness; na not; vighna ofobstacles; anabhibhava perseverance; bleu of children;

upadea spiritual instruction; sat saintly; hitam be-havior; rta distressed;pri upon living beings; daycompassion; mokasya of liberation; anag-karaa thenonacceptance; di and so on; ca also.

Still, when one receives instructions from great souls, thoseinstructions have the power to awaken ones higher under-standing. And then one can engage in devotional service toLord Hari. Therefore, it is not a sign of greatness that ordi-nary persons like me can persevere despite terrible distur-

bances, give spiritual enlightenment to children, behavelike saintly persons, show compassion to suffering souls,or refuse the boon of liberation.

COMMENTARY: Prahlda has personal experience of the incalcu-

lable benefits of associating even briefly with a pure devotee ofthe Lord. Thus he ascribes all his spiritual assets to the mercy ofNrada, who blessed him with transcendental knowledge andguided him on the proper path of devotional service.

A person has matured in his understanding when he realizesthat the four basic goals of life mundane religiosity, economicdevelopment, sense enjoyment, and impersonal liberation are

ultimately inadequate. As a natural consequence of this reali-zation, one begins to recognize the great value of devotionalservice to the Supreme Lord and the Supreme Lords devotees.

Prahlda was not crushed by his fathers persecution. Hepreached vigorously to the sons of the Daityas. He behaved likea self-realized saint, dancing and singing in ecstasy. He was mer-


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ciful to the suffering conditioned souls. And he refused liberationwhen Lord Nsiha offered it. rla Santana Gosvm comments,

also, that the final word ca(and) implies that Prahlda pleasedall kinds of people. Prahlda argues here, however, that theseare not always signs of a person engaged in devotional service,what to speak of someone advanced in devotion. Thus Prahldameans to refute Nradas statement (in Text ) about Prahldashaving been a great devotee of the Lord since early childhood.

In analyzing Prahldas words, we have to consider that he

denies only some of Nradas claims about his greatness; othershe simply shows in a different light. Prahlda argues that as achild he could not have possessed pure devotion, because achild does not have the strength to understand things or actproperly. Prahlda admits he was able to withstand the tormentsimposed by Hirayakaipu, but he could withstand them onlybecause of the protection afforded to all devotees by the internalpotency of the Lord. Yes, some Daityas became Vaiavas due to

Prahldas preaching, but he was deputized to preach to themonly because truly great souls are not supposed to instruct imma-ture children; and in any case, talk is cheap, or, as the tradi-tional saying goes, paropadee pitya/ sarve su-karanm: It is easy enough for anyone to make himself soundlike an expert when advising others.

In this verse Prahlda does not even mention Nradas de-

picting him as fully absorbed in meditation on Ka (Text ); thecomment would be too embarrassing to acknowledge openly.He does, however, admit to dancing and singing in ecstasy, buteven practicing neophytes often show these outward symptoms.Beginners in sdhana-bhaktishould dance and sing as a matterof duty. In other words, each item Nrada offers as a sign of Pra-hldas greatness is simply a natural effect of pure devotionalservice. Pure devotional service becomes manifest only whenones intelligence has become mature, and that occurs only whenone has received instructions from great saints, who causelesslybestow their mercy. So Prahlda argues that the way he behavedis no reason to credit him with laudable spiritual qualities. LordNsiha and r Nrada deserve all the credit.


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TEXT 19

k*-ZYaae NaaNauMaqYaeTa SataMaE" )Sa caiv>aRviTa [qMaiDak*==TYaEv Saevk-Ma( ))

kasynugraho py ebhyonnumyeta sattamai

sa cvirbhavati rmannadhiktyaiva sevakam

kasya Kas; anugraha mercy; api also; ebhya from these; na anumyeta is not likely to be deduced;sat-tamai by the best of saints; sa he; ca and; vir-bhavati appears; rman O blessed Nrada; adhiktyadeserving; eva only; sevakam in a servant.

Merely from these symptoms, the best of saints do not con-

clude that Ka has given a person His mercy. Kasmercy, blessed Nrada, appears only in a truly worthyservant.

COMMENTARY:The most advanced saints are pure Vaiavas,who understand the power of devotional service to r Kaslotus feet. I could not have received Kas special mercy,

Prahlda says, because He gives that only to a devotee whodeserves it. You, Nrada, are blessed by the Lords internal po-tency. You have received His mercy. So you know very well thatonly a proper candidate can obtain it. The Lords mercy is infi-nite, beyond the limits of time and space, but in the materialworld it becomes visible only at certain times in certain suitabledevotees.

TEXT 20

hNaUMadaidvtaSYa k-aiPa Saeva k*-TaaiSTa Na )Par& ivganaku-le/ ictae SMar


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hanmad-di-vat tasyakpi sev ktsti na

para vighnkule cittesmaraa kriyate may

hanmat-di by Hanumn and others; vat as; tasya His;k api any at all; sev service; kt done; asti na is not;

param rather only; vighna by obstacles; kuletroubled;citte in my mind; smaraam remembrance; kriyate has

been done; may by me.

I have never performed any real service for the Lord likeHanumn and others. I have only remembered the Lordsometimes, when my mind was troubled.

COMMENTARY:But you area devotee of Lord Viu, Nrada

might interject, and so you do deserve His mercy. Prahldareplies by contrasting himself with others, like Hanumn,who serve the Lord actively. Even now, Prahlda says, I amonly practicing meditation. I have not yet become proficienteven as a passive meditator. Nrada might argue in returnthat fixing ones mind on the Lord is one of the nine methodsof pure devotional service. Remembering the Lords names,

forms, and pastimes is on the highest level of self-realization inbhakti-yoga. Because sevmeans devotional service, Prahldashould not use this word to deny that he has ever served theLord.

Prahlda answers this by characterizing himself as dis-turbed by material anxieties, a condition that automaticallydisqualifies him from nma-smaraa, rpa-smaraa, and ll-smaraa. A further argument is also implicit here, that remem-brance is not the best form of devotional service, since itdepends on the functions of the mind, which are subjectto distraction by anxiety and other emotions. This argument will be elaborated more fully later on, in The Glories ofGoloka.


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TEXT 21

YaNMaizYak&== TaSYa l/al/Naaid Pa[XaSYaTae )MaNYaTae MaaiYak&- Tatau k-i/Il/aiYaTa& Par" ))

yan mad-viayaka tasyallandi praasyate

manyate myika tat tukacil llyita para

yat which; mat-viayakam having me as its object; tasya by Him; llana-di caressing and so on;praasyate hasbeen praised; manyate considers; myikam an exhibitionof illusion; tat that; tu but; kacit someone; llyitaman exhibition of pastimes;para else.

You praise me because He caressed me and showed other

signs of affection. But some consider such affectionatebehavior merely a false show of My, and others just adisplay of His pastimes.

COMMENTARY:The Advaita-vds of the akarcrya schooljudge the loving dealings of the Supreme Person with His devo-tees to be illusory. The Advaita-vds hold that the Supreme

Absolute Truth cannot become involved in such duality. Butothers, the Vaiavas of the devotional schools, affirm thatthese are the Lords pastimes; far from being illusory, they con-stitute the highest spiritual reality. The Personality of Godheadis full in all transcendental qualities ofsac-cid-nanda eter-nity, knowledge, and bliss and with the help of His sac-cid-nanda potencies He can easily engage in sac-cid-nandapastimes.

Here r Prahldas idea is that even though the Lordsdisplays of affection may be considered real, He has acted inthese ways only to fulfill the purposes of His own enjoyment.Prahlda thinks that Lord Nsiha only pretended to care abouthim.


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TEXT 22

Sva>aaivk&- >avad*k( ===c MaNYae SvPanaidvtvhMa( )SaTYa& >avTau vaQaaiPa Na TaTk-a


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nessed, and which he himself vividly experienced. Taking intoaccount that Prahldas spiritual understanding was already fully

awakened in his boyhood years, his saintly behavior and otherexalted qualities are obvious symptoms of the Lords great favoron him. Why should he try to hide this fact? Prahlda can onlyanswer that, yes, the Lords show of affection was real, but stillit was not evidence of the Lords mercy particularly on him.Prahlda completes this argument in the next verse.

TEXT 23

ivic}aSaevadaNa& ih hNaUMaTPa[>a*iTaiZvv )Pa[>aae" Pa[Saadae >ae==zu MaTa" SaiNaR ceTarTa( ))

vicitra-sev-dna hihanmat-prabhtiv iva

prabho prasdo bhakteumata sadbhir na cetarat

vicitra various kinds; sev of service; dnam the grant-ing; hi certainly; hanmat-prabhtiu to Hanumn and oth-ers; iva as; prabho of the Lord;prasda the mercy;bhakteu on His devotees; mata is considered; sadbhi by saintly persons; na not; ca and; itarat anything

else.

The Lord truly gives His mercy, saintly authorities believe,when He grants the right to render various kinds of service, a blessing He gives to such devotees as Hanumn.Nothing else counts as His mercy.

COMMENTARY:Small displays of affection are not proof of thePersonality of Godheads favor, Prahlda says. But when a devo-tee becomes mature and has realized his eternal relationshipwith the Supreme Lord, the Lord gives opportunities to serveHim. There are numerous examples of favored devotees, amongthem Lord Rmacandras monkey devotees like Hanumn and


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Sugrva, and Lord Kas Yadu associates like the Pavas.Thus Prahlda tries to deny the validity of Nradas glorifying

him as the recipient of the Supreme Lords special mercy. Heespecially tries to deny the relevance of what Nrada has de-scribed in Text 7, Lord Nsihas having placed Prahlda on Hislap and coddled Him as a mother coddles her child.

TEXT 24

[qMa*iSa&hl/Il/a c MadNauGa]hTaae Na Saa )Sv>a-devTaar+aa& PaazRdYaMaaecNaMa( ))

rman-nsiha-ll camad-anugrahato na s

sva-bhakta-devat-rakprada-dvaya-mocanam

rmat-nsiha of rmn Nsiha; ll the pastimes; caand; mat toward me; anugrahata because of His favor;na not; s these; sva-bhakta who are His devotees;devat of the demigods; rakm the protection;prada of His eternal servants; dvaya of a pair; mocanam thedeliverance.

Furthermore, rmn Nsiha performed His pastimesnot to favor me but to protect the demigods, His devotees,and deliver two of His eternal servants.

TEXT 25

b]TataNaYaadqNaa& k-Tau| vaKSaTYaTaaMaiPa )

iNaJa>ai-Mahtv& c SaMYaGdXaRiYaTau& ParMa( ))brahma-tat-tanaydn

kartu vk-satyatm apinija-bhakti-mahattva ca

samyag darayitu param


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brahma of Brahm; tat and his; tanaya-dnm sonsand others; kartum to effect; vk of the words; satyatm

truthfulness; api also; nija His; bhakti of devotionalservice; mahattvam the greatness; ca and; samyak fully;darayitum to show;param only.

He also wished to uphold the truth of the words of Brahmand of others, such as Brahms sons, and fully displaythe greatness of devotional service. These were the only

reasons for His pastimes.

COMMENTARY:The Personality of Godhead assumed His amaz-ing half-lion, half-man form to save Prahlda from Hiraya-kaipu, the most terrible opponent of Lord Vius devotionalservice. Isnt this evidence enough that He favors Prahlda? No,Prahlda replies, the Supreme Lords appearance as Nsiha andHis disposing of Hirayakaipu served other purposes. The Lord

enacted this pastime to protect Indra and the other demigods,who are His faithful devotees. He also descended in this form tofree His two Vaikuha associates Jaya and Vijaya from the curseof Sanaka and his brothers. In addition, the Lord felt obliged tofulfill the words of several of His devotees: Brahm had pre-dicted the Supreme Lords appearance as Nsiha; Brahmssons, the four Kumras, had predicted the Lords killing of

Hirayakaipu; Hirayakaipu himself, who is an incarnation ofLord Nryaas doorkeeper Jaya, had also made statementsthat the Lord had to make true; and Nradas and Prahldaspredictions also needed to be realized.

A detailed description of how Lord Nsiha had to fulfill thewords of His various devotees is found in rla rdhara Svmscommentary on rmad-Bhgavatam.., a verse beginningsatya vidhtu nija-bhtya-bhitam, To make true what wasspoken by His servants... When Hirayakaipu asked Prahldawhether his Lord Viu was also present in a pillar of the palace,Prahlda answered, Yes, of course. He is present everywhere.Lord Nsiha emerged from the pillar to fulfill this statementof Prahldas, and Prahldas previous statement (Bhgavatam


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..) that the Lord is also present in the varieties of materialcreations and in the material elements (bhtev atha mahatsu

ca). The Personality of Godhead burst forth from the pillar in theterrifying form of Nsiha to dispatch Hirayakaipu quicklyand thus fulfill the request of the four Kumras that Jaya andVijaya be reinstated in their positions in Vaikuha after onlythree births in the material world.

Lord Nsihas form, neither human nor animal, was likenothing ever seen before in Brahms creation, and He appeared

at the doorway of Hirayakaipus court. This unprecedentedappearance fulfilled Hirayakaipus choice of benedictions fromBrahm (Bhgavatam ..): bhtebhyas tvad-visebhyo/mtyur m bhn mama prabho(O my lord, please let me notmeet death from any of the living entities created by you),nntar bahi(either indoors or outdoors), and na narair namgair api(from either men or beasts). Brahm had answeredthis request, So be it. Hirayakaipu later said:

aprameynubhvo yamakutacid-bhayo mara

nnam etad-virodhenamtyur me bhavit na v

I can see that this boys 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 willnot take place. (Bhgavatam..) And when Indra had wantedto kill the unborn Prahlda in the womb of Hirayakaipus wife,Nrada had warned him:

aya nikilbia sknmah-bhgavato mahn

tvay na prpsyate sasthmanantnucaro bal

The child within this womans womb is faultless and sinless.Indeed, he is a great devotee, a powerful servant of the Supreme


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Personality of Godhead. Therefore you will not be able to killhim. (Bhgavatam..)

All these words had to be fulfilled by the Lord. And as im-plied by the word ca(and) in this verse spoken by Prahlda(Text ), the Personality of Godhead also had to fulfill His ownwords from Bhagavad-gt (.) kaunteya pratijnhi/ na mebhakta praayati(O son of Kunt, declare it boldly that Mydevotee never perishes) and (.) tem aha samuddhart/mtyu-sasra-sgart(I quickly deliver My devotees from the

ocean of birth and death).Therefore, Prahlda concludes, what Lord Nsiha did duringHis short appearance does not prove that Prahlda is the Lordsfavored devotee. Even though the Lord made a show of neglect-ing Brahm and the other demigods by showering affection onPrahlda alone, that display should not be taken to indicate theLords true feelings. Otherwise, as Prahldas logic goes, onecould infer that the Supreme Lord has no affection either for His

Vaikuha associates like Garua or for the goddess of fortune,whom He also neglected on that occasion. Lord Nsiha onlywanted to draw attention to the greatness of pure devotionalservice by showing that even a demon like Prahlda can earn theLords reciprocation by steadfastly meditating on His mercy inthe face of all dangers.

This argument is Prahldas answer to Nradas statements in

texts and that Lord Nsiha had showered special affectionon Prahlda while ignoring Brahm, iva, and the other demi-gods offering prayers, and even ignoring the goddess Padm.

TEXT 26

ParMaaik-Na[e YadEv >aGavaNa( ddaE )

raJYa& Ma& Tada jaTa& TaTk*==Paa


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/CHAPTER FOUR298

parama totally; akicana of those detached from materialpossessions; reha O greatest one;yad eva when; bhaga-

vn the Personality of Godhead; dadau gave; rjyama kingdom; mahyam to me; tad then; jtam it wasunderstood; tat His; kp of the mercy; au even anatom; ca and; na not; u indeed; mayi on me.

O greatest of devotees who have nothing material to pos-sess, when the Personality of Godhead gave me a kingdom,I understood that I had not received even one atom of Hismercy.

COMMENTARY: Self-realized sages are called paramahasaswhen they have given up all material ambitions. But the great-est paramahasas are those who have also abandoned thedesire for liberation and the sense of being self-satisfied inimpersonal realization. Nrada is the best of such Vaiava

paramahasas. Prahlda addresses him like this to imply thatNrada should certainly understand the fallen condition of onewho becomes entangled in political responsibilities. Thus Pra-hlda asserts, Lord Nsiha hardly blessed me with His favor.By giving me my fathers kingdom He actually punished meseverely.

TEXT 27

Ta& >a]&XaYaaiMa SaMPayae YaSYa vaH^aMYaNauGa]hMa( )wTYaaa" Saai+a


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dence; tasya His; vyhr statements; mahatm of ex-alted devotees; api also.

As the Lord says, When I wish to favor someone I make himlose his opulence. Such statements as this are evidence,and so also are the statements of His exalted devotees.

COMMENTARY:In the first half of this verse, Prahlda cites rmad-Bhgavatam(..), where r Ka advises the repentantIndra. r Ka has made the same point in other contexts, as

in His comment to Yudhihira Mahrja (Bhgavatam..)yasyham anughmi/ hariye tad-dhana anai: If I actu-ally favor someone, I gradually make him lose all his wealth.The same point is also made by devotees like Sudm Brhmaaand Vtrsura. In the words of Sudm:

bhaktya citr bhagavn hi sampado

rjya vibhtr na samarthayaty ajaadrgha-bodhya vicakaa svayapayan nipta dhanin madodbhavam

To a devotee who lacks spiritual insight, the Supreme Lord willnot grant the wonderful opulences of this world kingly powerand material assets. Indeed, in His infinite wisdom the unbornLord well knows how the intoxication of pride can cause the

downfall of the wealthy. (Bhgavatam..) And as statedby Vtra:

pus kilaiknta-dhiy svakny sampado divi bhmau rasym

na rti yad dvea udvega dhirmada kalir vyasana sampraysa

Persons who fully surrender at the lotus feet of the SupremePersonality of Godhead and always think of His lotus feet areaccepted and recognized by the Lord as His own personal assis-tants or servants. The Lord never bestows upon such servantsthe brilliant opulences of the upper, lower, or middle planetary


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systems of this material world. When one possesses materialopulence in any of these three divisions of the universe, his pos-

sessions naturally increase his enmity, anxiety, mental agitation,pride, and belligerence. Thus one goes through much endeavorto increase and maintain his possessions, and he suffers greatunhappiness when he loses them. (Bhgavatam..)

TEXT 28

PaXYa Mae raJYaSaMbNDaad( bNDau>a*TYaaidSaTa" )Sav| TaJaNa& l/INa& iDaiGDax( Maa& Ya raeidiMa ))

paya me rjya-sambandhdbandhu-bhtydi-sagata

sarva tad-bhajana lnadhig dhi m yan na rodimi

paya see; me my; rjya to ruling my kingdom; samban-dht because of the attachment; bandhu of family mem-bers; bhtya-di servants and others; sagata because ofassociation; sarvam all; tat of the Lord; bhajanam wor-ship; lnam eclipsed; dhik dhik repeated condemnation;mm on me;yat because; na rodimi I am not crying.

Just see how my worship of the Lord has been eclipsed bymy attachment to ruling my kingdom and by my ties tofamily members, servants, and others! For not crying overthis in remorse, I should be condemned again and again!

COMMENTARY:Nrada might suggest that material facilities aredangerous for immature devotees whereas those who are fully

self-realized need not fear becoming distracted from their wor-ship of the Lord. Sudm Brhmaa had talked about neophytedevotees who lack spiritual insight (Bhgavatam..) andwhom the Personality of Godhead has to protect from the dan-ger of too much material opulence. But Prahlda is a fully self-realized devotee with mature insight into the true value of the


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Supreme Lords devotional service; mere sense gratification andpolitical power are not going to distract him. As Lord Ka told

King Mucukunda, na dhr eknta-bhaktnm/ rbhir bhidyatekvacit: The intelligence of My unalloyed devotees is never di-verted by material blessings. (Bhgavatam..) He similarlysaid to Uddhava, prya pragalbhay bhakty/ viayair nbhi-bhyate: One who has unflinching devotion for Me will neverbe defeated by sense gratification. (Bhgavatam..)

Prahlda replies here that he hasbeen distracted and devi-

ated from pure devotion, a fact that proves that he never actuallyreceived the full mercy of the Supreme Lord. According to Pra-hldas lament, his concentrated meditation on being protectedby the Lord has now become completely eclipsed. He carefullysays eclipsed rather than destroyed because he knows verywell that bhagavad-bhakti is purely spiritual; it is eternal andcan never be destroyed, only temporarily covered by materialcontamination of the souls consciousness.

TEXT 29

ANYaQaa ik&- ivXaal/aYaa& Pa[>auaav& Ta& Pa[aSYaev raveTa( ))

anyath ki vily

prabhu virutena mepunar jti-svabhva ta

prptasyeva rao bhavet

anyath otherwise; kim why; vilym at Vil;pra-bhu with the Lord; virutena renowned; me by me;

puna again;jti of my birth; svabhvam conditioning;

tam that; prptasya who obtained; iva as if; raabattle; bhavet would occur.

Why else would I have fought against the renowned Lordat Vil, as if I had reverted to the low conditioning ofmy birth?


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COMMENTARY:In this verse Prahlda resorts to the kind of logictechnically known as anyath-anupapatti, or negative hypoth-

esis. This form of logic works as follows: Devadatta is fat, butwe do not see him eating during the day. Therefore he mustbe eating at night while everyone else is asleep. We cannot ex-plain his fatness without presuming his eating at night. Similarly,Prahlda argues here that there is no way to explain his fightingagainst Lord Nara-Nryaa but to accept that his devotion to theLord has become eclipsed.

The dual incarnation of the Personality of Godhead in theforms known as Nara-Nryaa appeared in order to teach howto perform devotional austerity. They reside in the Himlayas,at the place variously called Vil and Badarik. The first andfourth cantos ofrmad-Bhgavatamdiscuss this incarnation:

turye dharma-kal-sargenara-nryav

bhtvtmopaamopetamakarod ducara tapa

In the fourth incarnation, the Lord became Nara and Nryaa,the twin sons of the wife of King Dharma. Thus He undertooksevere and exemplary penances to control the senses. (Bhga-vatam..)

eva sura-gaais ttabhagavantv abhiutau

labdhvalokair yayaturarcitau gandhamdanam

Thus the demigods worshiped with prayers the Supreme Per-sonality of Godhead appearing as the sage Nara-Nryaa. TheLord glanced upon them with mercy and then departed forGandhamdana Hill. (Bhgavatam..)

Prahlda refers to the conditioning of my birth; his being adescendant of demons, the natural enemies of Lord Viu andthe Vaiavas, was too distasteful for him to mention directly.


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Even more unmentionable was his being the son of one of thestaunchest haters of Viu.

TEXT 30

AaTMaTatvaePadeXaezu duZPaai


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TEXT 31

ku-Taae_Ta" Xau>ai-MaeR YaYaa SYaaTk-aae" )DYaaYaNa( ba


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TEXT 32

bd(a Sa&ri+aTaSYaa}a raeDaNaaYaaSTYaSaaE ble/" )arqiTa [UYaTae KvaiPa Na JaaNae ku-}a Saae_DauNaa ))

baddhv sarakitasytrarodhanysty asau bale

dvrti ryate kvpina jne kutra so dhun

baddhv being arrested; sarakitasya who was impris-oned; atra here; rodhanya for keeping; asti is present;asau He; bale of Bali; dvri the doorman; iti thus;ryate is heard; kva api somewhere; najne I do notknow; kutra where; sa He; adhun now.

I have heard some say that now, after arresting and impris-

oning Bali, the Lord stays here in Sutala as the doormanjust to keep him captive. In any case, I cannot say wherethe Lord is now.

COMMENTARY:Nrada met Prahlda on the planet Sutala, thedomain of Bali Mahrja. As mentioned before, Prahlda wasstaying there for some time on the invitation of Lord Vmana.

Prahlda has heard from reputable sages that r Vmanadevastays at Balis gate just to keep Bali from escaping Sutala-loka.This opinion is expressed to Bsura by his friend Kumain r Hari-vaa (..). ThereKuma depicts Bali as aprisoner in Sutala:

balir viu-balkrntobaddhas tava pit npa

salilaughd vinistyakvacid rjyam avpsyati

My dear king, your father Bali has been defeated by the strengthof Viu and is now in captivity. But in the future he will be


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able to escape through the vast ocean and somewhere obtain akingdom. Balis residence in Sutala is further described as im-

prisonment in the section of the Uttara-ka() of VlmkisRmyaa that narrates Rvaas conquests in the region ofPtla. By this argument, Prahlda counters Nradas words(in Text ) O best of Vaiavas, why should I say that LordMukunda has been conquered only by you? Your grandson Bali,chief of the Daityas, has also conquered Him.

Nrada might respond by pointing out that Prahlda has the

opportunity to see Lord Viu in Sutala-loka whenever he wants,whereas even iva, Brahm, and the other great demigods canrarely see Him. Prahlda here anticipates and defeats this idea bysaying It would be evidence of the Lords mercy on me if I couldsee Him always, but at the moment I do not even know whereHe is. And if I do not know, how can I freely have His audience?Sometimes He shows Himself here, but not continuously.

TEXT 33

k-daicTk-aYaRGaTYaEv d*XYaTae rav


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Durvs because Durvs had strong faith in being able tosee the Lord.

COMMENTARY: While invading the region of Ptla, Rvaacame to the entrance of Bali Mahrjas capital, but LordVmana, standing at the gate with club in hand, refused to letRvaa enter and neglectfully kicked him far away. Prahldaargues that this is not proof of r Vmanas constant presenceat Balis door. The Lord appeared there on this one occasion for

the special purpose of protecting Bali from being conquered byRvaa.On another occasion Durvs, who was living at Kuasthal,

the site of the future city of Dvrak, was troubled by the demonKua and his cohorts, Kuasthals ancient guardians. Durvswent to Sutala to ask Lord Vmana for help. As related in theDvrak-mhtmyaof the SkandaPura(Prabhsa-khaa.), it was Nrada who had advised Durvs to go to Lord

Vmana in Sutala and had assured Durvs he would indeed findLord Vmana there. Because Durvs had trusted Nradas words,Lord Vmana upheld their truth by allowing Durvs His darana.

TEXT 34

YaSYa [q>aGavTPa[aavuTk-$e=C^a YaTaae >aveTa( )

Sa Ta}aEv l/>aeTaaMau& Na Tau vaSaae_SYa l/a>ak*-Ta( ))yasya r-bhagavat-prptv

utkaecch yato bhavetsa tatraiva labhetmu

na tu vso sya lbha-kt

yasya whose; r-bhagavat of the Personality of Godhead;prptau for achieving; utkaa intense; icch desire;yata wherever; bhavet there might be; sa that person; tatraeva at that particular place; labheta can obtain; amumHim; na not; tu but; vsa residence; asya of Him;lbha-kt reason for achieving.


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Wherever one develops an intense desire to achieve theSupreme Lord, there one can obtain Him. But the Lords

merely residing in a certain place does not grant one Hisassociation.

COMMENTARY:The Personality of Godhead does not give Him-self away to those whose desires are not absolutely pure. Onlyperfect love can induce Him to reveal Himself. If the Lords pres-ence in a place were a sufficient cause for realizing Him, then

every living being throughout the universe should already haveattained Him, since in His form of r Vsudeva, the Supersoul,He is all-pervading.

Pure devotees are convinced that the Lord is permanentlypresent in His eternal abodes that have appeared on earth. Thatconviction, however, is born of the devotees fervent eagernessto realize their personal relationship with the Lord. Without thatstrong desire, one will not have much faith in His presence. It is

true that in r Vndvana and some other abodes of the SupremeLord even devotees with immature faith are sometimes granted avision of the Lord and His pastimes. But we should understandthat this occurs only by the special potency of these places, whichare exceptionally dear to the Personality of Godhead. Nowadaysthe Lord does not reveal Himself as easily in every holy placewhere He appeared in the past.

TEXT 35

Pa[ak-$yeNa Sada}aaSaaE are vTaeRTa ceTPa[>au" )ik&- YaaYaa& NaEiMaz& dUr& d]u& Ta& PaqTavaSaSaMa( ))

prkayena sadtrsau

dvre varteta cet prabhuki yy naimia dradrau ta pta-vsasam

prkayena in a directly visible form; sad always; atrahere; asau He; dvre at the door; varteta were present;


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cet if; prabhu the Lord; kim why; yym would Igo; naimiam to Naimiraya; dram a long distance;

draum to see; tam Him;pta-vsasam wearing yellowgarments.

If my Lord were always present here in person, why wouldI have traveled all the way to Naimiraya to see Him asLord Ptavs, the yellow-garbed form of Nryaa?

TEXT 36

>avTaavTa" Pa[SaadTaae>aGavTehivJa*iM>aTa" ik-l/ )

MaMa TaNMaihMaa TaQaaPYaae==zu k*-Paa>are+aYaa ))

bhavatd bhavata prasdatobhagavat-sneha-vijmbhita kila

mama tan-mahim tathpy aurnava-bhakteu kp-bharekay

bhavatt it must be; bhavata of your good self;pras-data because of the mercy; bhagavat of the Supreme

Lord; sneha due to the affection; vijmbhita developed;kila indeed; mama my; tat that; mahim greatness;tath api nonetheless; au a tiny speck; nava newer;bhakteu on His devotees; kp of mercy; bhara theheaps; kay by seeing.

We can say that by your mercy the Supreme Lord devel-oped some love for me and so I appear glorious. But mygreatness is just like a tiny speck before the heaps of mercythe Lord bestows on His newer devotees.

COMMENTARY: Out of humility and respect for his guru, Nrada,Prahlda now realizes that he should not have contradicted


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Nradas statements. Therefore he now approaches the questionfrom another angle, acknowledging Nradas words but reinter-

preting them. Newer devotees like Hanumn, Prahlda says,were favored by the Supreme Lord much more. After a personhas seen the great ocean, the sight of a small lake will no longerimpress him.

TEXT 37

iNaPaaiDak*-Paad]Ricta hebhudaE>aaRGYaiNaPa


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tress Nrada, his spiritual master, thus resulting in guru-apardha.Nrada cannot tolerate unhappiness in anyone, especially his

own disciple.Since Nrada is intent on finding the true recipient of the

Supreme Lords mercy, Prahlda tries to divert Nradas attentionby proposing Hanumn as an alternative. He tells Nrada,paya:Dont just accept my word on this. Please go witness his gloriesfor yourself.

TEXT 38>aGavvDaeih MaiTPaTaur(

hNaNaaQa| NariSa&hPa>a*Ta( )SahSaaivr>aUNa( MahaPa[>aur(

ivihTaaQaaeR_NTarDaatadEv Sa" ))

bhagavann avadhehi mat-piturhananrtha narasiha-rpa-bhtsahasvirabhn mah-prabhur

vihitrtho ntaradht tadaiva sa

bhagavan my lord; avadhehi please note; mat-pitu ofmy father; hanana of killing; artham for the purpose; nara-siha-rpa the form of Narasiha; bht assuming; sahas

suddenly; virabht appeared; mah-prabhu the Su-preme Lord; vihita having fulfilled; artha His purpose;antaradht disappeared; tad eva just then; sa He.

Please note, my lord, that the Supreme Personality of God-head appeared suddenly in His form of Narasiha just tokill my father. And as soon as the Lord fulfilled His purposeHe at once disappeared.

TEXT 39

YaQaak-aMaMah& NaaQa& SaMYaGd]u& c NaaXak-Ma( )MahaediDaTa$e=_PaXYa& TaQaEv SvPanvTPa[>auMa( ))


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yath-kmam aha nthasamyag drau ca nakam

mahodadhi-tae payatathaiva svapna-vat prabhum

yath-kmam however desired; aham I; ntham myLord; samyak directly; draum to see; ca and; na aa-kam have not been able; mah-udadhi of the ocean; tae on the shore; apayam I saw; tath eva exactly in that

way; svapna-vat like a dream;prabhum the Lord.

I havent been able to see my Lord directly whenever I wanted. So when I saw Him once on the shore of theocean, it was just like seeing a dream.

COMMENTARY:Prahlda claims that since the time he saw Lord

Nsiha, when the Lord appeared from a pillar to kill Hiraya-kaipu, Prahlda has not had much opportunity to see Himagain, what to speak of serve Him and develop a personal rela-tionship. When Nsihadeva first appeared, Prahldas sponta-neous devotion was hampered by the novelty and shock of themoment, and by his own fear and reverence. The dramatic set-ting in the palace on the shore of the ocean and the presence ofmany demigods and sages made it difficult for Prahlda to freely

express his love. This is described in some detail in the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya().

TEXT 40

hNaUMaa&STau Maha>aaGYaSTaTSaevaSau%MaNv>aUTa( )

SaubhUiNa Sahai


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hanmn Hanumn; tu however; mah-bhgyagreatlyfortunate; tat-sev of serving Him; sukham the happiness;

anvabht experienced; su-bahni very many; sahasrifor thousands; vatsarm of years; avighnakam withoutobstruction.

But Hanumn is much more fortunate. For many thou-sands of years he has enjoyed serving the Lord constantly,

without obstruction.

COMMENTARY: According to r Rmyaa, Hanumn stayedwith Lord Rmacandra on this earth for more than eleven thou-sand years. rmad-Bhgavatam, however,says that he servedhis Lord directly for more than thirteen thousand years. In theNinth Canto (.., ) the Bhgavatamstates:

ata rdhva brahma-caryadhrayann ajuhot prabhu

trayodabda-shasramagnihotram akhaitam

After Mother St entered the earth, Lord Rmacandra observedcomplete celibacy and performed an uninterrupted Agnihotra-

yaja for thirteen thousand years.

bubhuje ca yath-klakmam anyn apayan

vara-pgn bahn nmabhidhytghri-pallava

Without transgressing the religious principles, Lord Rmacandra,whose lotus feet are worshiped by devotees in meditation, en-joyed with all the paraphernalia of transcendental pleasure for aslong as needed. Hanumn remained with Lord Rmacandra allthis time.


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TEXT 41

Yaae bil/TaMaae baLYae devv*NdPa[SaadTa" )SaMPa[aSarv]aTaae JaraMar


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TEXT 42

AXaez}aaSarihTaae Mahav]TaDar" k*-Taq )Mahavqrae rgauPaTaerSaaDaar


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hel-vilaghitgdha-ata-yojana-sgara

rako-rja-pura-sthrta-stvsana-kovida

hel with disrespect; vilaghita who jumped; agdhafathomless; ata-yojana hundreds ofyojanasin extent; sga-ra the ocean; raka of the Rkasas; rja-pura in thecapital; stha located; rta distressed; st Mother St;vsana

in consoling;kovida

expert. With playful disregard he jumped across thousands ofmiles of fathomless ocean. Expertly, in the capital of theRkasa king, he comforted Mother St in her distress.

TEXT 44

vEirSaNTaJaRk-ae l/adahk-ae= duGaR>ak-" )SaqTaavaTaaRhr" SvaiMaGaa!ail/NaGaaecr" ))

vairi-santarjako lak-dhako durga-bhajaka

st-vrt-hara svmi-ghligana-gocara

vairi of the enemies; santarjaka the threatener; lakof the city Lak; dhaka the burner; durga of the cita-del; bhajaka the destroyer; st-vrt news of St;hara who brought back; svmi of his master; ghadeep; ligana the embrace; gocara who experienced.

He boldly threatened his enemies, burned Lak, and de-stroyed its citadel. When he brought back news of St, hereceived his masters deep embrace.

COMMENTARY:Hanumn audaciously challenged Rvaa andthe other Rkasas by killing everyone Rvaa sent to stop him


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from destroying the aokagrove first eighty thousand Rkasasoldiers, then the great demon Jambuml, then the seven sons

of Rvaas ministers, the five commanders of Rvaas armies,and Rvaas own son Akaya-kumra. When Hanumn deliv-ered to Lord Rmacandra the news that St was safe, the Lordwas extremely pleased with him. In texts and Prahldahas listed Hanumns accomplishments in order of increasingimportance; each additional deed was a more significant rea-son for Lord Rmacandras accepting Hanumn as His personal

associate.

TEXT 45

SvPa[>aaevaRhk-[e" eTaC^i}ak-PauC^k-" )Sau%aSaNaMahaPa*" SaeTaubNDai-YaaGa]


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In modern times people take the liberty to carry umbrellasof any color they like, but traditionally only kings were allowed

to use white umbrellas. To equip Lord Rmacandra with thissymbol of royalty while in the forest, where manufactured um-brellas were not available, Hanumn provided his own whitetail. Hanumn took a major part in building the bridge to Lak,and he inspired the monkey labor force by hurling the largestboulders into place.

TEXT 46

iv>aqz


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bala-vina-kt (destroyer of the Rkasas military force)through the phrase in Text st-pramodana(encourager of

St), the accomplishments of Hanumn in the Yuddha-kaare briefly described. rla Santana Gosvm assumed that hisreaders were familiar with Vlmkis Rmyaa and thereforeleft out further details of these stories, to avoid needlessly in-creasing the size of his book.

During the battle between Lord Rmacandras armies andthose of Rvaa, Rvaas son Indrajit attacked in the middle of

the night, resorted to magic, and made all the monkey soldiersunconscious. At that time r Lakmaa also played the pastimeof becoming unconscious in order to fulfill a prediction byBrahm. On the advice of the physician Suea, Hanumn setout to find the herb vialya-kara, which alone could save thelives of Lakmaa and the vnarasoldiers. He was able to bringthe herb from Gandhamdana Mountain not only once but twice.In the course of this he had to defeat an army of Gandharvas,

uproot the entire mountain because he couldnt distinguishwhich plant was the correct one, and swiftly return before it wastoo late.

TEXT 47

SvSaENYaPa[aaTauR>aR-ya [ql/+Ma


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He was the very life of his soldiers. Always giving greatpleasure to his divine Lord and the Lords younger brother

Lakmaa, he devotedly served as carrier for Them both.

TEXT 48

JaYaSaMPaadk-STaSYa MahabuiPara-Ma" )SaTk==IiTaRvDaRNaae r+aaeraJahNTauiNaRJaPa[>aae" ))

jaya-sampdakas tasyamah-buddhi-parkrama

sat-krti-vardhano rako-rja-hantur nija-prabho

jaya of victory; sampdaka the producer; tasya His;mah-buddhi supremely intelligent;parkrama and val-

orous; sat spotless; krti of fame; vardhana the in-creaser; raka-rja of the king of the Rkasas; hantu ofthe killer; nija-prabho his own Lord.

Supremely intelligent and valorous, he brought victory forLord Rmacandra. He added to the spotless fame of hisLord, who killed the king of the Rkasas.

COMMENTARY:Hanumn showed his intelligence in giving stra-tegic advice, and his prowess in opposing the enemy on thebattlefield, especially during the confrontations with Indrajit andRvaa. During those battles both Rmacandra and Lakmaarode on his back. Hanumn increased Lord Rmacandras famein various ways by jumping over the ocean, helping set thestage for the killing of Rvaa, and so on.

TEXT 49

SaqTaaPa[MaaedNa" SvaiMaSaTPa[SaadEk->aaJaNaMa( )AajYaaTMaerSYaa}a iSQaTaae_iPa ivrhaSah" ))


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st-pramodana svmi-sat-prasdaika-bhjanam

jaytmevarasytrasthito pi virahsaha

st-pramodana the encourager of St; svmi of his mas-ter; sat true; prasda of the favor; eka the only; bhja-nam recipient; jay by the order; tma-varasya ofthe Lord of his life; atra here; sthita remaining; api

even; viraha separation; asaha not easily tolerating.

It was Hanumn who encouraged Mother St. And by theLords order, this Hanumn, the one true recipient of hismasters favor, still lives in this world, though unable to

bear separation from the Lord.

COMMENTARY:After Lord Rmacandra killed Rvaa in battle,

Hanumn brought this news to Mother St in the aokagarden.This brought St back to life, and her life became full in happi-ness when Hanumn took her to meet her husband. Thus Hanu-mn rendered many kinds of welcome service to Lord Rma andHis dear devotees. After describing this, Prahlda next mentionsthe rewards Hanumn enjoyed for his service. When LordRmacandra was anointed King of Ayodhy, He particularly fa-

vored Hanumn by presenting him Mother Sts gold necklace.More than this, He granted Hanumn unflinching pure devotionto Him.

Since Hanumns life with Lord Rmacandra after the victorywas so fortunate, one might ask how Hanumn could ever haveleft the Lords association. Why did he not return with Lord Rmato the eternal Ayodhy in Vaikuha along with the other resi-dents of the kingdom? The answer is that his Lord specificallyasked him to stay behind on earth. tmevarameans his ownLord, and it also means the Lord of all tms. In other words,by staying in this world Hanumn gave all its inhabitants a muchbetter chance to take to the path of pure devotional service. LordRmacandra ordered Hanumn to make this severe sacrifice


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because the Lord wanted to bestow such mercy on the condi-tioned souls. Living in separation from the Lord is Hanumns

most difficult and glorious service.

TEXT 50

AaTMaaNa& iNaTYaTaTk==IiTaR[v


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karbhirata parama-bhgavato hanumn saha kim-puruair avirata-bhaktir upste. rieena saha gan-

dharvair anugyamn parama-kaly bhart-bhagavat-kath samupaoti svaya ceda gyati.

My dear king, in Kimpurua-vara the great devotee Hanumnis always engaged with the inhabitants of that land in devo-tional service to Lord Rmacandra, the elder brother of Lak-maa and dear husband of Stdev. A host of Gandharvas is

always engaged in chanting the glories of Lord Rmacandra.That chanting is always extremely auspicious. Hanumnj andriea, the chief person in Kimpurua-vara, constantly hearthose glories with complete attention. Hanumn chants variousmantras.

TEXT 51

SvaiMaNa( k-iPaPaiTadaRSYae wTYaaidvcNaE" %lu/ )Pa[iSaae MaihMaa TaSYa daSYaMaev Pa[>aae" k*-Paa ))

svmin kapi-patir dsyeity-di-vacanai khalu

prasiddho mahim tasya

dsyam eva prabho kp

svmin my dear spiritual master; kapi-pati the chief ofmonkeys; dsye in servitude; iti thus; di and so on;vacanai by statements; khalu indeed; prasiddha wellknown; mahim the greatness; tasya his; dsyam servi-tude; eva indeed;prabho of the Lord; kp the mercy.

My dear spiritual master, Hanumns greatness is wellknown from scriptural statements like The chief of themonkeys became perfect by acting as the Lords servant.His servitude is proof of the Lords mercy.


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COMMENTARY: Prahlda quotes the phrase kapi-patir dsyefrom a famous verse:

ragi-ravae parkid abhavad vaiysaki krtaneprahlda smarae tad-aghri-bhajane lakm pthu pjane

akrras tv abhivandane kapi-patir dsye tha sakhye rjunasarva-svtma-nivedane balir abhd bhakta katha varyate

Parkit became perfect simply by hearing, the son of Vysa by

chanting, Prahlda by remembering, and Lakm by serving theLords feet. Pthu became perfect by Deity worship, Akrra byoffering prayers, and the chief of the monkeys by acting as aservant. Arjuna attained perfection by friendship, and Bali bysurrendering everything he owned. How then can there be onedescription for what it means to be a devotee of the Lord?

In rla Santana Gosvms opinion, rdhara Svms inter-

pretation of the word dsyamas offering the Lord the fruits ofones work only partially describes Hanumns relationship withLord Rma. rla Santana Gosvm says that dsyam, rather,should be understood to indicate the perpetual relationship ofloving service, an exalted variety of transcendental rasa.Dsyais complete service; it involves all the senses even on the physi-cal level. Just as all the senses of the physical body are purifiedby a bath, they are all naturally engaged by a devotees absorp-

tion in dsya-rasa. Therefore a relationship of servitude likeHanumns can be said to be superior to mere remembrance ofthe Lord. Prahlda considers his own service ofsmaraainferiorbecause it is only an inner activity of the mind.

TEXT 52

Yad*C^Yaa l/BDaMaiPa ivZ


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naicchan moka vin dsyatasmai hanmate nama

yadcchay without effort; labdham obtained; api al-though; vio from Lord Viu; drathe the son ofDaaratha (Rmacandra); tu but; ya who; na icchannot wanting; mokam liberation; vin without; dsyamservitude; tasmai to him; hanmate Hanumn; namaI offer obeisances.

Although Hanumn obtained from the son of Daarathathe boon of liberation without striving for it, he never

wanted to accept liberation without the opportunity toserve. To that Hanumn I offer my obeisances.

COMMENTARY:This is another verse Prahlda quotes from scrip-

ture, from r Nryaa-vyha-stava, as proof of Hanumnsgreatness. Liberation became available to Hanumn without hiseven trying for it, but still he did not want to accept it. He wantedonly service to Lord Rma, and nothing else. He thought, Evenif the cycle of birth and death is broken for me, I must continueserving my Lord!

TEXT 53

MadNau&- c MaahaTMYa& TaSYa veita Par& >avaNa( )GaTva ik-MPauze vzeR d*a Ta& MaaedMaaPanuih ))

mad-anukta ca mhtmyatasya vetti para bhavn

gatv kimpurue varedv ta modam pnuhi

mat by me; anuktam unspoken; ca and; mhtmyam glories; tasya his; vetti you know;param other; bha-vn you; gatv going; kimpurue vare to Kimpurua-


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vara; dv seeing; tam him; modam joy; pnuhiplease obtain.

You certainly know glories of his that I havent mentioned.Why not go to Kimpurua-vara, see him yourself, and beenlivened?

COMMENTARY:Prahlda did not have to give Nrada a long theo-retical account of Hanumns exclusive devotion to r Raghu-

nthas lotus feet, because Nrada already knew of Hanumnsdevotion very well. For complete appreciation of Hanumn,Nrada must now only meet him in person.

TEXT 54

[qParqi+aduvacAYae MaaTarhae >ad]Mahae >ad]iMaiTa b]uvNa( )oTPaTYaaSaNaTa" %eNa MauiNa" ik-MPauz& GaTa" ))

r-parkid uvcaaye mtar aho bhadram

aho bhadram iti bruvanutpatysanata khena

muni kimpurua gata

r-parkit uvca r Parkit said; aye O; mtamother;aho bhadram how wonderful; aho bhadram how wonder-ful; iti thus; bruvan saying; utpatya jumping up; sa-nata from his seat; khena through the sky; muni thesage; kimpuruam to Kimpurua-vara; gata went.

r Parkit said: O dear mother, the sage Nrada then jumped up from his seat and flew through the sky toKimpurua-vara, all the while repeating, How wonder-ful! How wonderful!


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TEXT 55

Ta}aaPaXYaNaUMaNTa& raMacNd]PadaBJaYaae" )Saa+aaidvacRNarTa& ivic}aEvRNYavSTaui>a" ))

tatrpayad dhanmantarmacandra-padbjayo

skd ivrcana-ratavicitrair vanya-vastubhi

tatra there; apayat he saw; hanmantam Hanumn;rmacandra of Lord Rmacandra;pada-abjayo of the lo-tus feet; skt in person; iva as if; arcana in worship-ing; ratam absorbed; vicitrai with various; vanya fromthe forest; vastubhi with objects.

There in Kimpurua-vara, Nrada saw Hanumn absorbedin worshiping Lord Rmacandras lotus feet with varieditems from the forest, as if serving the Lord personally as

before.

COMMENTARY:Hanumns mode of worship was so personal hecould hardly remember he was standing in front of his Lords

installed Deity. He felt as if living with the Lord in the forest justas before.

TEXT 56

GaNDavaRidi>araNaNdad( GaqYaMaaNa& rSaaYaNaMa( )

raMaaYa


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gandharva-dibhi by Gandharvas and others; nandtinecstasy; gyamnam being recited; rasa-yanam nectarean;

rmyaam to the Rmyaa;ca and; vantam lis-tening; kampa with trembling; aru tears; pulaka anderect bodily hairs; citam marked.

Listening to the nectarean Rmyaa recited by Gandhar-vas and other celestial singers, Hanumn was in ecstasy.His limbs trembled, tears poured from his eyes, and the

hair on his body stood on end.

COMMENTARY:These bodily symptoms of ecstasy are naturaleffects of maturely hearing the Lords glories in the perfect con-sciousness ofprema. The Gandharvas living on Kimpurua-lokaregularly sang from r Rmyaa the glories of Lord Rma-candra, which Hanumn and his rasikaassociates experiencedas rasyana, a storehouse full of the blissful tastes of the ninekinds of loving relationships with the Supreme Lord. Or, takinganother sense ofrasyana, these recitations were like a sweet-tasting medicine, most effective for curing the disease of materialexistence and strengthening the natural life function ofprema-bhakti.

TEXT 57

ivic}aEidRVYaidVYaE GaPaE" SviNaiMaRTaE" )STauiTaMaNYaE ku-vaR


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by others; ca and; kurvam doing; daa-vat pros-trate;praat obeisances; api also.

He glorified the Lord with various prayers, in prose and verse, most excellent compositions of his own. He alsorecited prayers composed by others. And he repeatedlyoffered prostrate obeisances.

COMMENTARY:Some of Hanumns prayers were his own com-

positions, and others he borrowed from the Purasand otherscriptures.

TEXT 58

cu-aeXa Naardae MaaedaYa [qrgauNaaQa he )

JaYa [qJaaNak==Ik-aNTa JaYa [ql/+Ma


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TEXT 59

iNaJaeSvaiMaNaae NaaMa k==ITaRNa[uiTahizRTa" )oTuTYa hNaUMaaNa( dUraTk-


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rm the downpour; ca and; kapi-varasya of the lordof monkeys; prpta having obtained; dam the mood;

kicit something; avocat he said; uccai in a loudvoice.

Standing in the sky, Nrada was overjoyed. With his feet hedanced, and with his hands he wiped away the flood ofloving tears from the eyes of the lord of the monkeys.Sharing Hanumns unique mood of loving ecstasy, Nradaspoke in a loud voice.

COMMENTARY:Nrada could use only his feet for dancing be-cause Hanumn held him by the neck and because Nradashands were busy wiping away Hanumns tears.

TEXT 61

[qNaard ovac[qMaNa( >aGavTa" SaTYa& TvMaev ParMaiPa[Ya" )Ah& c TaiTPa[Yaae_>aUvMa Yatva& VYal/aek-YaMa( ))

r-nrada uvcarman bhagavata satya

tvam eva parama-priya

aha ca tat-priyo bhvamadya yat tv vyalokayam

r-nrada uvca r Nrada said; rman O blessed one;bhagavata of the Personality of Godhead; satyam in truth;tvam you; eva only; parama-priya the dearest devo-tee; aham I; ca and; tat to Him;priya dear; abh-vam have become; adya today; yat because; tvmyou; vyalokayam I have seen.

r Nrada said: O blessed one, truly you are the dearestdevotee of the Supreme Lord! Today just by seeing you Itoo have become dear to the Lord.


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/CHAPTER FOUR332

COMMENTARY:r is the goddess of fortune, Lord Vius con-sort. Her blessings have descended on Hanumn in the form of

the treasure of pure devotional service. A devotee who has gainedthe favor of the goddess r is sure to please the Personality ofGodhead. And anyone who obtains the grace of such a rmndevotee will also reach the same perfection.

TEXT 62

[qParqi+aduvac+a


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ktbhivandanas tatraprayatnd upaveita

sampatti prema-j citrprpto vrito bravt

kta-abhivandana having paid respects; tatra there;pra-yatnt carefully; upaveita seated; sampattim the goodfortune; prema-jm born from pure love of God; citrmamazing; prpta having obtained; v his v; ri-ta taking; abravt he said.

Nrada paid respects to the Lord in Hanumns temple,and Hanumn carefully arranged for Nrada to be seated.Nrada felt he had now obtained an amazing treasure bornfrom pure love for the Lord. He picked up his v andspoke.

COMMENTARY:After offering prostrate obeisances to the Deityof Lord Rmacandra, Nrada felt multiple ecstasies, which invol-

untarily appeared in his body as trembling, perspiration, horripi-lation, and choking of his voice. In such a condition he started toplay his vbut could not produce even a note. Instead, hebegan leaning on the v, fearing he would fall to the ground.

TEXT 64[qNaard ovac

SaTYaMaev >aGavTk*-Paa>ar=SYaaSPad& iNaPaMa& >avaNa( ParMa( )

Yaae ih iNaTYaMahhae MahaPa[>aaeXa( ic}aic}a>aJaNaaMa*Taa


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/CHAPTER FOUR334

r-nrada uvca r Nrada said; satyam yes; eva in-deed; bhagavat-kp of the Personality of Godheads mercy;

bharasya of the abundance; spadam a recipient; nirupa-mam incomparable; bhavn your good self;param top-most;ya who; hi certainly; nityam perpetually; ahaho ah; mah-prabho of the Supreme Lord; citra-citranewer and newer; bhajana-amta of the ecstatic worship;arava an ocean.

r Nrada said: Yes, you are the greatest recipient of themercy of the Supreme Lord. No one can compare to you.

Ah! You are always immersed in an ocean of ecstatic wor-ship of the Lord, enjoying it as newer and newer at everymoment.

COMMENTARY: Prema-bhakti-rasa is called amta because itdestroys the disease of material existence and is unimaginably

sweet. Hanumn always swims in an ocean of such nectar.

TEXT 65

daSa" Sa%a vahNaMaaSaNa& Ja=C^}a& ivTaaNa& VYaJaNa& c vNdq )

MaN}aq i>azGYaaeDaPaiTa" SahaYa=[eae Mahak==IiTaRivvDaRNa ))

dsa sakh vhanam sana dhvaja-cchatra vitna vyajana ca vand

mantr bhiag yodha-pati sahya-reho mah-krti-vivardhana ca

dsa servant; sakh friend; vhanam carrier; sanam seat; dh

brihad bhagavatamrita 4

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