The story of Prahlad Maharaja and Lord Nrsimhadeva from Srimad Bhagavatam
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Nrsimha Caturdasi is coming soon, so let us meditate on this lila...
Srimad Bhagavatam 7.2 Summary
As described in this chapter, after the annihilation of Hiranyaksa,
Hiranyaksa's sons and his brother Hiranyakasipu were very much
aggrieved. Hiranyakasipu reacted very sinfully by trying to diminish
the religious activities of people in general. However, he instructed
his nephews about a history just to diminish their aggrievement.
When the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared as the boar and
killed Hiranyakasipu's brother Hiranyaksa, Hiranyakasipu was very much
aggrieved. In anger, he accused the Supreme Personality of Godhead of
being partial to His devotees and derided the Lord's appearance as
Varaha to kill his brother. He began to agitate all the demons and
Raksasas and disturb the ritualistic ceremonies of the peaceful sages
and other inhabitants of earth. For want of the performance of yajna,
sacrifice, the demigods began wandering unseen on earth.
After finishing the ritualistic funeral ceremonies of his brother,
Hiranyakasipu began speaking to his nephews, quoting from the sastras
about the truth of life. To pacify them, he spoke as follows: "My dear
nephews, for heroes to die before the enemy is glorious. According to
their different fruitive activities, living entities come together
within this material world and are again separated by the laws of
nature. We should always know, however, that the spirit soul, which is
different from the body, is eternal, unadjustable, pure, all-pervading
and aware of everything. When bound by the material energy, the soul
takes birth in higher or lower species of life according to varying
association and in this way receives various types of bodies in which
to suffer or enjoy. One's affliction by the conditions of material
existence is the cause of happiness and distress; there are no other
causes, and one should not be aggrieved upon seeing the superficial
actions of karma."
Hiranyakasipu then related a historical incident concerning a King
Suyajna who resided in the country named Usinara. When the King was
killed, his queens, overwhelmed with grief, received instructions,
which Hiranyakasipu quoted to his nephews. Hiranyakasipu related an
account of a kulinga bird pierced by the arrow of a hunter while
lamenting for his wife, who had also been shot by the same hunter. By
narrating these stories, Hiranyakasipu pacified his nephews and other
relatives and relieved them of lamentation. Thus having been pacified,
Diti and Rusabhanu, Hiranyakasipu's mother and sister-in-law, engaged
their minds in spiritual understanding.
Srimad Bhagavatam 7.3 Summary
This chapter describes how Hiranyakasipu performed a severe type of
austerity for material benefit, thus causing great distress throughout
the universe. Even Lord Brahma, the chief personality within this
universe, became somewhat disturbed and personally went to see why
Hiranyakasipu was engaged in such a severe austerity.
Hiranyakasipu wanted to become immortal. He wanted not to be conquered
by anyone, not to be attacked by old age and disease, and not to be
harassed by any opponent. Thus he wanted to become the absolute ruler
of the entire universe. With this desire, he entered the valley of
Mandara Mountain and began practicing a severe type of austerity and
meditation. Seeing Hiranyakasipu engaged in this austerity, the
demigods returned to their respective homes, but while Hiranyakasipu
was thus engaged, a kind of fire began blazing from his head,
disturbing the entire universe and its inhabitants, including the
birds, beasts and demigods. When all the higher and lower planets
became too hot to live on, the demigods, being disturbed, left their
abodes in the higher planets and went to see Lord Brahma, praying to
him that he curtail this unnecessary heat. The demigods disclosed to
Lord Brahma Hiranyakasipu's ambition to become immortal, overcoming
his short duration of life, and to be the master of all the planetary
systems, even Dhruvaloka.
Upon hearing about the purpose of Hiranyakasipu's austere meditation,
Lord Brahma, accompanied by the great sage Bhrgu and great
personalities like Daksa, went to see Hiranyakasipu. He then sprinkled
water from his kamandalu, a type of waterpot, upon Hiranyakasipu's
head.
Hiranyakasipu, the King of the Daityas, bowed down before Lord Brahma,
the creator of this universe, offering respectful obeisances again and
again and offering prayers. When Lord Brahma agreed to give him
benedictions, he prayed not be killed by any living entity, not to be
killed in any place, covered or uncovered, not to die in the daytime
or at night, not to be killed by any weapon, on land or in the air,
and not to be killed by any human being, animal, demigod or any other
entity, living or nonliving. He further prayed for supremacy over the
entire universe and requested the eight yogic perfections, such as
anima and laghima.
Srimad Bhagavatam 7.4 Summary
This chapter fully describes how Hiranyakasipu obtained power from
Lord Brahma and misused it by harassing all the living entities within
this universe.
By severe austerities, Hiranyakasipu satisfied Lord Brahma and
obtained the benedictions he desired. After he received these
benedictions, his body, which had been almost entirely consumed, was
revived with full beauty and a luster like gold. Nonetheless, he
continued to be envious of Lord Visnu, unable to forget Lord Visnu's
having killed his brother. Hiranyakasipu conquered everyone in the ten
directions and the three worlds and brought all living entities, both
demigods and asuras, under his control. Becoming the master of all
places, including the residence of Indra, whom he had driven out, he
began enjoying life in great luxury and thus became mad. All the
demigods but Lord Visnu, Lord Brahma and Lord Siva came under his
control and began serving him, but despite all his material power he
was dissatisfied because he was always puffed up, proud of
transgressing the Vedic regulations. All the brahmanas were
dissatisfied with him, and they cursed him with determination.
Eventually, all the living entities within the universe, represented
by the demigods and sages, prayed to the Supreme Lord for relief from
Hiranyakasipu's rule.
Lord Visnu informed the demigods that they and the other living
entities would be saved from the fearful conditions created by
Hiranyakasipu. Since Hiranyakasipu was the oppressor of all the
demigods, the followers of the Vedas, the cows, the brahmanas and the
religious, saintly persons, and since he was envious of the Supreme
Lord, he would naturally be killed very soon. Hiranyakasipu's last
exploit would be to torment his own son Prahlada, who was a maha-
bhagavata, an exalted Vaisnava. Then his life would end. When the
demigods were thus reassured by the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
everyone was satisfied, knowing that the miseries inflicted upon them
by Hiranyakasipu would come to an end.
Finally, Narada Muni describes the characteristics of Prahlada
Maharaja, the son of Hiranyakasipu, and describes how his father
envied his own qualified son. In this way the chapter ends.
Srimad Bhagavatam 7.5 Summary
Prahlada Maharaja did not carry out the orders of his teachers, for he
was always engaged in worshiping Lord Visnu. As described in this
chapter, Hiranyakasipu tried to kill Prahlada Maharaja, even by having
a snake bite him and by putting him under the feet of elephants, yet
he was unsuccessful.
Hiranyakasipu's spiritual master, Sukracarya, had two sons named Sanda
and Amarka, to whom Prahlada Maharaja was entrusted for education.
Although the teachers tried to educate the boy Prahlada in politics,
economics and other material activities, he did not care for their
instructions. Instead, he continued to be a pure devotee. Prahlada
Maharaja never liked the idea of discriminating between one's friends
and enemies. Because he was spiritually inclined, he was equal toward
everyone.
Once upon a time, Hiranyakasipu inquired from his son what the best
thing was that he had learned from his teachers. Prahlada Maharaja
replied that a man engrossed in the material consciousness of duality,
thinking, "This is mine, and that belongs to my enemy," should give up
his householder life and go to the forest to worship the Supreme Lord.
When Hiranyakasipu heard from his son about devotional service, he
decided that this small boy had been polluted by some friend in
school. Thus he advised the teachers to take care of the boy so that
he would not become a Krsna conscious devotee. However, when the
teachers inquired from Prahlada Maharaja why he was going against
their teachings, Prahlada Maharaja taught the teachers that the
mentality of ownership is false and that he was therefore trying to
become an unalloyed devotee of Lord Visnu. The teachers, being very
angry at this answer, chastised and threatened the boy with many
fearful conditions. They taught him to the best of their ability and
then brought him before his father.
Hiranyakasipu affectionately took his son Prahlada on his lap and then
inquired from him what the best thing was that he had learned from his
teachers. As usual, Prahlada Maharaja began praising the nine
processes of devotional service, such as sravanam and kirtanam. Thus
the King of the demons, Hiranyakasipu, being extremely angry,
chastised the teachers, Sanda and Amarka, for having wrongly trained
Prahlada Maharaja. The so-called teachers informed the King that
Prahlada Maharaja was automatically a devotee and did not listen to
their instructions. When they proved themselves innocent,
Hiranyakasipu inquired from Prahlada where he had learned visnu-
bhakti. Prahlada Maharaja replied that those who are attached to
family life do not develop Krsna consciousness, either personally or
collectively. Instead, they suffer repeated birth and death in this
material world and continue simply chewing the chewed. Prahlada
explained that the duty of every man is to take shelter of a pure
devotee and thus become eligible to understand Krsna consciousness.
Enraged at this answer, Hiranyakasipu threw Prahlada Maharaja from his
lap. Since Prahlada was so treacherous that he had become a devotee of
Visnu, who had killed his uncle Hiranyaksa, Hiranyakasipu asked his
assistants to kill him. The assistants of Hiranyakasipu struck
Prahlada with sharp weapons, threw him under the feet of elephants,
subjected him to hellish conditions, threw him from the peak of a
mountain and tried to kill him in thousands of other ways, but they
were unsuccessful. Hiranyakasipu therefore became increasingly afraid
of his son Prahlada Maharaja and arrested him. The sons of
Hiranyakasipu's spiritual master, Sukracarya, began teaching Prahlada
in their own way, but Prahlada Maharaja did not accept their
instructions. While the teachers were absent from the classroom,
Prahlada Maharaja began to preach Krsna consciousness in the school,
and by his instructions all his class friends, the sons of the demons,
became devotees like him.
Srimad Bhagavatam 7.6 Summary
This chapter describes Prahlada Maharaja's instructions to his class
friends. In speaking to his friends, who were all sons of demons,
Prahlada Maharaja stressed that every living entity, especially in
human society, must be interested in spiritual realization from the
very beginning of life. When human beings are children, they should be
taught that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the worshipable
Deity for everyone. One should not be very much interested in material
enjoyment; instead, one should be satisfied with whatever material
profits are easily obtainable, and because the duration of one's life
is very short, one should utilize every moment for spiritual
advancement. One may wrongly think, "In the beginning of our lives let
us enjoy material facilities, and in old age we may become Krsna
conscious." Such materialistic thoughts are always useless because in
old age one cannot be trained in the spiritual way of life. Therefore,
from the very beginning of life, one should engage in devotional
service (sravanam kirtanam visnoh [SB 7.5.23]). This is the duty of
all living entities. Material education is infected by the three modes
of nature, but spiritual education, for which there is a great need in
human society, is transcendental. Prahlada Maharaja disclosed the
secret of how he had received instructions from Narada Muni. By
accepting the lotus feet of Prahlada Maharaja, who is in the parampara
succession, one will be able to understand the mode of spiritual life.
In accepting this mode of activity, there is no need for material
qualifications.
After Prahlada Maharaja's class friends had listened to Prahlada
Maharaja, they inquired how he had become so learned and advanced. In
this way the chapter ends.
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In this chapter, to dissipate the doubts of his class friends, the
sons of the demons, Prahlāda Mahārāja states how, within the womb of
his mother, he had heard from the mouth of Nārada Muni, who had
instructed him in bhāgavata-dharma.
When Hiraṇyakaśipu left his kingdom and went to the mountain known as
Mandarācala to execute severe austerities, all the demons scattered.
Hiraṇyakaśipu's wife, Kayādhu, was pregnant at that time, and the
demigods, mistakenly thinking that she carried another demon in her
womb, arrested her. Their plan was that as soon as the child took
birth they would kill him. While they were taking Kayādhu to the
heavenly planets, they met Nārada Muni, who stopped them from taking
her away and took her to his āśrama until Hiraṇyakaśipu's return. In
Nārada Muni's āśrama, Kayādhu prayed for the protection of the baby in
her womb, and Nārada Muni reassured her and gave her instructions on
spiritual knowledge. Taking advantage of those instructions, Prahlāda
Mahārāja, although a small baby within the womb, listened very
carefully. The spirit soul is always apart from the material body.
There is no change in the spiritual form of the living entity. Any
person above the bodily conception of life is pure and can receive
transcendental knowledge. This transcendental knowledge is devotional
service, and Prahlāda Mahārāja, while living in the womb of his
mother, received instructions in devotional service from Nārada Muni.
Any person engaged in the service of the Lord through the instructions
of a bona fide spiritual master is immediately liberated, and being
free from the clutches of māyā, he is relieved of all ignorance and
material desires. The duty of everyone is to take shelter of the
Supreme Lord and thus become free from all material desires.
Regardless of the material condition in which one is situated, one can
achieve this perfection. Devotional service is not dependent on the
material activities of austerity, penance, mystic yoga or piety. Even
without such assets, one can achieve devotional service through the
mercy of a pure devotee.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.8 Summary
As described in this chapter, Hiraṇyakaśipu was ready to kill his own
son Prahlāda Mahārāja, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared
in front of the demon as Śrī Nṛkeśarī, half lion and half man, and
killed him.
Following the instructions of Prahlāda Mahārāja, all the sons of the
demons became attached to Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. When this attachment became pronounced, their teachers,
Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, were very much afraid that the boys would become
more and more devoted to the Lord. In a helpless condition, they
approached Hiraṇyakaśipu and described in detail the effect of
Prahlāda's preaching. After hearing of this, Hiraṇyakaśipu decided to
kill his son Prahlāda. Hiraṇyakaśipu was so angry that Prahlāda
Mahārāja fell down at his feet and said many things just to pacify
him, but he was unsuccessful in satisfying his demoniac father.
Hiraṇyakaśipu, as a typical demon, began to advertise himself as
being greater than the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but Prahlāda
Mahārāja challenged him, saying that Hiraṇyakaśipu was not God, and
began to glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead, declaring that
the Lord is all-pervading, that everything is under Him, and that no
one is equal to or greater than Him. Thus he requested his father to
be submissive to the omnipotent Supreme Lord.
The more Prahlāda Mahārāja glorified the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, the more angry and agitated the demon became. Hiraṇyakaśipu
asked his Vaiṣṇava son whether his God existed within the columns of
the palace, and Prahlāda Mahārāja immediately accepted that since the
Lord is present everywhere, He was also present within the columns.
When Hiraṇyakaśipu heard this philosophy from his young son, he
derided the boy's statement as just the talk of a child and forcefully
struck the pillar with his fist.
As soon as Hiraṇyakaśipu struck the column, there issued forth a
tumultuous sound. At first Hiraṇyakaśipu, the King of the demons,
could not see anything but the pillar, but to substantiate Prahlāda's
statements, the Lord came out of the pillar in His wonderful
incarnation as Narasiḿha, half lion and half man. Hiraṇyakaśipu
could immediately understand that the extraordinarily wonderful form
of the Lord was surely meant for his death, and thus he prepared to
fight with the form of half lion and half man. The Lord performed His
pastimes by fighting with the demon for some time, and in the evening,
on the border between day and night, the Lord captured the demon,
threw him on His lap, and killed him by piercing his abdomen with His
nails. The Lord not only killed Hiraṇyakaśipu, the King of the
demons, but also killed many of his followers. When there was no one
else to fight, the Lord, roaring with anger, sat down on
Hiraṇyakaśipu's throne.
The entire universe was thus relieved of the rule of Hiraṇyakaśipu,
and everyone was jubilant in transcendental bliss. Then all the
demigods, headed by Lord Brahmā, approached the Lord. These included
the great saintly persons, the Pitās, the Siddhas, the Vidyādharas,
the Nāgas, the Manus, the prajāpatis, the Gandharvas, the Cāraṇas,
the Yakṣas, the Kimpuruṣas, the Vaitālikas, the Kinnaras and also
many other varieties of beings in human form. All of them stood not
far from the Supreme Personality of Godhead and began offering their
prayers unto the Lord, whose spiritual effulgence was brilliant as He
sat on the throne.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.9 Summary
As related in this chapter, Prahlāda Mahārāja, following the order of
Lord Brahmā, pacified the Lord when the Lord was extremely angry after
having killed Hiraṇyakaśipu.
After Hiraṇyakaśipu was killed, the Lord continued to be very angry,
and the demigods, headed by Lord Brahmā, could not pacify Him. Even
mother Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune, the constant companion of
Nārāyaṇa, could not dare come before Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva. Then Lord
Brahmā asked Prahlāda Mahārāja to go forward and pacify the Lord's
anger. Prahlāda Mahārāja, being confident of the affection of his
master, Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva, was not afraid at all. He very gravely
appeared before the Lord's lotus feet and offered Him respectful
obeisances. Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva, being very much affectionate toward
Prahlāda Mahārāja, put His hand on Prahlāda's head, and because of
being personally touched by the Lord, Prahlāda Mahārāja immediately
achieved brahma-jñāna, spiritual knowledge. Thus he offered his
prayers to the Lord in full spiritual knowledge and full devotional
ecstasy. The instructions given by Prahlāda Mahārāja in the form of
his prayers are as follows.
Prahlāda said, "I am not proud of being able to offer prayers to the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. I simply take shelter of the mercy of
the Lord, for without devotion one cannot appease Him. One cannot
please the Supreme Personality of Godhead simply by dint of high
parentage or great opulence, learning, austerity, penance or mystic
power. Indeed, these are never pleasing to the Supreme Lord, for
nothing can please Him but pure devotional service. Even if a
nondevotee is a brāhmaṇa qualified with the twelve brahminical
symptoms, he cannot be very dear to the Lord, whereas if a person born
in a family of dog-eaters is a devotee, the Lord can accept his
prayers. The Lord does not need anyone's prayers, but if a devotee
offers his prayers to the Lord, the devotee benefits greatly. Ignorant
persons born in low families, therefore, can sincerely offer heartfelt
prayers to the Lord, and the Lord will accept them. As soon as one
offers his prayers to the Lord, he is immediately situated on the
Brahman platform.
Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva appeared for the benefit of all human society, not
only for Prahlāda's personal benefit. The fierce form of Lord
Nṛsiḿhadeva may appear most awful to a nondevotee, but to the
devotee the Lord is always affectionate as He is in other forms.
Conditioned life in the material world is actually extremely fearful;
indeed, a devotee is not afraid of anything else. Fear of material
existence is due to false ego. Therefore the ultimate goal of life for
every living entity is to attain the position of being servant of the
servant of the Lord. The miserable condition of the living entities in
the material world can be remedied only by the mercy of the Lord.
Although there are so-called material protectors like Lord Brahmā and
the other demigods, or even one's own father, they are unable to do
anything if one is neglected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
However, one who has fully taken shelter of the Lord's lotus feet can
be saved from the onslaught of material nature. Therefore every living
entity should be unattracted by material so-called happiness and
should take shelter of the Lord by all means. That is the mission of
human life. To be attracted by sense gratification is simply foolish.
Whether one is a devotee of the Lord or is a nondevotee does not
depend upon one's birth in a high or low family. Even Lord Brahmā and
the goddess of fortune cannot achieve the full favor of the Lord,
whereas a devotee can very easily attain such devotional service. The
Lord's mercy is bestowed equally upon everyone, regardless of whether
one is high or low. Because Prahlāda Mahārāja was blessed by Nārada
Muni, Prahlāda became a great devotee. The Lord always saves the
devotee from impersonalists and voidists. The Lord is present in
everyone's heart as the Supersoul to give the living being protection
and all benefits. Thus the Lord acts sometimes as the killer and
sometimes as the protector. One should not accuse the Lord for any
discrepancies. It is His plan that we see varieties of life within
this material world. All of them are ultimately His mercy.
Although the entire cosmic manifestation is nondifferent, the material
world is nonetheless different from the spiritual world. Only by the
mercy of the Supreme Lord can one understand how the wonderful
material nature acts. For example, although Lord Brahmā appeared from
the lotus seat that had grown from the abdomen of Garbhodakaśāyī
Viṣṇu, he could not understand what to do after his appearance. He
was attacked by two demons, Madhu and Kaiṭabha, who took away Vedic
knowledge, but the Lord killed them and entrusted to Lord Brahmā the
Vedic knowledge. Thus the Lord appears in every millennium in the
societies of demigods, human beings, animals, saints and aquatics. All
such incarnations are meant to protect the devotees and kill the
demons, but this killing and protecting does not reflect any sense of
partiality on the part of the Supreme Lord. The conditioned soul is
always attracted by the external energy. Therefore he is subjected to
lust and greed, and he suffers under the conditions of material
nature. The Lord's causeless mercy toward His devotee is the only
means by which to get out of material existence. Anyone engaged in
glorifying the Lord's activities is always unafraid of this material
world, whereas one who cannot glorify the Lord in that way is
subjected to all lamentation.
Those interested in silently worshiping the Lord in solitary places
may be eligible for liberation themselves, but a pure devotee is
always aggrieved to see others suffering. Therefore, not caring for
his own liberation, he always engages in preaching by glorifying the
Lord. Prahlāda Mahārāja, therefore, had tried to deliver his class
friends by preaching and had never remained silent. Although being
silent, observing austerities and penances, learning the Vedic
literature, undergoing ritualistic ceremonies, living in a solitary
place and performing japa and transcendental meditation are approved
means of liberation, they are meant for nondevotees or for cheaters
who want to live at the expense of others. A pure devotee, however,
being freed from all such deceptive activities, is able to see the
Lord face to face.
The atomic theory of the composition of the cosmic manifestation is
not factual. The Lord is the cause of everything, and therefore He is
the cause of this creation. One should therefore always engage in
devotional service by offering respectful obeisances to the Lord,
offering prayers, working for the Lord, worshiping the Lord in the
temple, always remembering the Lord and always hearing about His
transcendental activities. Without these six kinds of activity, one
cannot attain to devotional service.
Prahlāda Mahārāja thus offered his prayers to the Supreme Lord,
begging His mercy at every step. Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva was pacified by
Prahlāda Mahārāja's prayers and wanted to give him benedictions by
which Prahlāda could procure all kinds of material facilities.
Prahlāda Mahārāja, however, was not misled by material facilities.
Rather, he wanted to remain always a servant of the servant of the
Lord.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.10 Summary
This chapter describes how the Supreme Personality of Godhead
Nṛsiḿhadeva disappeared, after pleasing Prahlāda Mahārāja. It also
describes a benediction given by Lord Śiva.
Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva wanted to bestow benedictions upon Prahlāda
Mahārāja, one after another, but Prahlāda Mahārāja, thinking them
impediments on the path of spiritual progress, did not accept any of
them. Instead, he fully surrendered at the Lord's lotus feet. He said:
"If anyone engaged in the devotional service of the Lord prays for
personal sense gratification, he cannot be called a pure devotee or
even a devotee. He may be called only a merchant engaged in the
business of give and take. Similarly, a master who wants to please his
servant after taking service from him is also not a real master."
Prahlāda Mahārāja, therefore, did not ask anything from the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. Rather, he said that if the Lord wanted to
give him a benediction, he wanted the Lord to assure him that he would
never be induced to take any benedictions for the sake of material
desires. Exchanges of devotional service for lusty desires are always
very prominent. As soon as lusty desires awaken, one's senses, mind,
life, soul, religious principles, patience, intelligence, shyness,
beauty, strength, memory and truthfulness are all vanquished. One can
render unalloyed devotional service only when there are no material
desires in one's mind.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead was greatly pleased with Prahlāda
Mahārāja for his unalloyed devotion, yet the Lord provided him one
material benediction — that he would be perfectly happy in this world
and live his next life in Vaikuṇṭha. The Lord gave him the
benediction that he would be the king of this material world until the
end of the manvantara millennium and that although in this material
world, he would have the facility to hear the glories of the Lord and
depend fully on the Lord, performing service to Him in uncontaminated
bhakti-yoga. The Lord advised Prahlāda to perform sacrifices through
bhakti-yoga, for this is the duty of a king.
Prahlāda Mahārāja accepted whatever the Lord had offered him, and he
prayed for the Lord to deliver his father. In response to this prayer,
the Lord assured him that in the family of such a pure devotee as he,
not only the devotee's father but his forefathers for twenty-one
generations are liberated. The Lord also asked Prahlāda to perform the
ritualistic ceremonies appropriate after his father's death.
Then Lord Brahmā, who was also present, offered many prayers to the
Lord, expressing his obligation to the Lord for having offered
benedictions to Prahlāda Mahārāja. The Lord advised Lord Brahmā not to
offer benedictions to asuras as he had to Hiraṇyakaśipu, for such
benedictions indulge them. Then Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva disappeared. On
that day, Prahlāda Mahārāja was installed on the throne of the world
by Lord Brahmā and Śukrācārya.
Thus Nārada Muni described the character of Prahlāda Mahārāja for
Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja, and he further described the killing of
Rāvaṇa by Lord Rāmacandra and the killing of Śiśupāla and Dantavakra
in Dvāpara-yuga. Śiśupāla, of course, had merged into the existence of
the Lord and thus achieved sāyujya-mukti. Nārada Muni praised
Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja because the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, was the
greatest well-wisher and friend of the Pāṇḍavas and almost always
stayed in their house. Thus the fortune of the Pāṇḍavas was greater
than that of Prahlāda Mahārāja.
Later, Nārada Muni described how the demon Maya Dānava constructed
Tripura for the demons, who became very powerful and defeated the
demigods. Because of this defeat, Lord Rudra, Śiva, dismantled
Tripura; thus he became famous as Tripurāri. For this, Rudra is very
much appreciated and worshiped by the demigods. This narration occurs
at the end of the chapter.