Narada Muni continued: Lord Brahma was very much satisfied by Hiranyakasipu’s austerities,
which were difficult to perform.
Therefore, when solicited for benedictions, he indeed granted them, although they were
rarely to be achieved.
Lord Brahma said: O Hiranyakasipu, these benedictions for which you have asked are difficult to
obtain for most men.
Nonetheless, O my son, I shall grant you them although they are generally not available.
Then Lord Brahma, who awards infallible benedictions, departed, being worshiped by the best of the
demons, Hiranyakasipu, and being praised by great sages and saintly persons.
The demon Hiranyakasipu, having thus been blessed by Lord Brahma and having acquired
a lustrous golden body, continued to remember the death of his brother and therefore be
envious of Lord Visnu.
Hiranyakasipu became the conqueror of the entire universe.
Indeed, that great demon conquered all the planets in the three worlds—upper, middle
and lower—including the planets of the human beings, the Gandharvas, the Garudas, the great
serpents, the Siddhas, Caranas and Vidyadharas, the great saints, Yamaraja, the Manus, the
Yaksas, the Raksasas, the Pisacas and their masters, and the masters of the ghosts and
Bhutas.
He defeated the rulers of all the other planets where there are living entities and brought
them under his control.
Conquering the abodes of all, he seized their power and influence.
Hiranyakasipu, who possessed all opulence, began residing in heaven, with its famous
Nandana garden, which is enjoyed by the demigods.
In fact, he resided in the most opulent palace of Indra, the King of heaven.
The palace had been directly constructed by the demigod architect Visvakarma and was as
beautifully made as if the goddess of fortune of the entire universe resided there.
The steps of King Indra’s residence were made of coral, the floor was bedecked with
invaluable emeralds, the walls were of crystal, and the columns of vaidurya stone.
The wonderful canopies were beautifully decorated, the seats were bedecked with rubies, and the
silk bedding, as white as foam, was decorated with pearls.
The ladies of the palace, who were blessed with beautiful teeth and the most wonderfully
beautiful faces, walked here and there in the palace, their ankle bells tinkling melodiously,
and saw their own beautiful reflections in the gems.
The demigods, however, being very much oppressed, had to bow down and offer obeisances at the
feet of Hiranyakasipu, who chastised the demigods very severely and for no reason.
Thus Hiranyakasipu lived in the palace and severely ruled everyone.
O my dear King, Hiranyakasipu was always drunk on strong-smelling wines and liquors, and
therefore his coppery eyes were always rolling.
Nonetheless, because he had powerfully executed great austerities in mystic yoga, although
he was abominable, all but the three principal demigods—Lord Brahma, Lord Siva and Lord
Visnu—personally worshiped him to please him by bringing him various presentations
with their own hands.
O Maharaja Yudhisthira, descendant of Pandu, by dint of his personal power, Hiranyakasipu,
being situated on the throne of King Indra, controlled the inhabitants of all the other
planets.
The two Gandharvas Visvavasu and Tumburu, I myself and the Vidyadharas, Apsaras and
sages all offered prayers to him again and again just to glorify him.
Being worshiped by sacrifices offered with great gifts by those who strictly followed
the principles of varna and asrama, Hiranyakasipu, instead of offering shares of the oblations
to the demigods, accepted them himself.
As if in fear of Hiranyakasipu, the planet earth, which consists of seven islands, delivered
food grains without being plowed.
Thus it resembled cows like the surabhi of the spiritual world or the kama-dugha of heaven.
The earth yielded sufficient food grains, the cows supplied abundant milk, and outer
space was beautifully decorated with wonderful phenomena.
By the flowing of their waves, the various oceans of the universe, along with their tributaries,
the rivers, which are compared to their wives, supplied various kinds of gems and jewels
for Hiranyakasipu’s use.
These oceans were the oceans of salt water, sugarcane juice, wine, clarified butter, milk,
yogurt, and sweet water.
The valleys between the mountains became fields of pleasure for Hiranyakasipu, by whose influence
all the trees and plants produced fruits and flowers profusely in all seasons.
The qualities of pouring water, drying and burning, which are all qualities of the three
departmental heads of the universe—namely Indra, Vayu and Agni—were all directed by
Hiranyakasipu alone, without assistance from the demigods.
In spite of achieving the power to control in all directions and in spite of enjoying
all types of dear sense gratification as much as possible, Hiranyakasipu was dissatisfied
because instead of controlling his senses he remained their servant.
Hiranyakasipu thus passed a long time being very much proud of his opulences and transgressing
the laws and regulations mentioned in the authoritative sastras.
He was therefore subjected to a curse by the four Kumaras, who were great brahmanas.
Everyone, including the rulers of the various planets, was extremely distressed because
of the severe punishment inflicted upon them by Hiranyakasipu.
Fearful and disturbed, unable to find any other shelter, they at last surrendered to
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu.
“Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto that direction where the Supreme Personality
of Godhead is situated, where those purified souls in the renounced order of life, the
great saintly persons, go, and from which, having gone, they never return.”
Without sleep, fully controlling their minds, and living on only their breath, the predominating
deities of the various planets began worshiping Hrsikesa with this meditation.
Then there appeared before them a transcendental sound vibration, emanating from a personality
not visible to material eyes.
The voice was as grave as the sound of a cloud, and it was very encouraging, driving away
all fear.
The voice of the Lord vibrated as follows: O best of learned persons, do not fear!
I wish all good fortune to you.
Become My devotees by hearing and chanting about Me and offering Me prayers, for these
are certainly meant to award benedictions to all living entities.
I know all about the activities of Hiranyakasipu and shall surely stop them very soon.
Please wait patiently until that time.
When one is envious of the demigods, who represent the Supreme Personality of Godhead, of the
Vedas, which give all knowledge, of the cows, brahmanas, Vaisnavas and religious principles,
and ultimately of Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he and his civilization will be
vanquished without delay.
When Hiranyakasipu teases the great devotee Prahlada, his own son, who is peaceful and
sober and who has no enemy, I shall kill Hiranyakasipu immediately, despite the benedictions of Brahma.
The great saint Narada Muni continued: When the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the spiritual
master of everyone, thus reassured all the demigods living in the heavenly planets, they
offered their respectful obeisances unto Him and returned, confident that the demon Hiranyakasipu
was now practically dead.
Hiranyakasipu had four wonderful, well-qualified sons, of whom the one named Prahlada was the
best.
Indeed, Prahlada was a reservoir of all transcendental qualities because he was an unalloyed devotee
of the Personality of Godhead.
[The qualities of Maharaja Prahlada, the son of Hiranyakasipu, are described herewith.]
He was completely cultured as a qualified brahmana, having very good character and being
determined to understand the Absolute Truth.
He had full control of his senses and mind.
Like the Supersoul, he was kind to every living entity and was the best friend of everyone.
To respectable persons he acted exactly like a menial servant, to the poor he was like
a father, to his equals he was attached like a sympathetic brother, and he considered his
teachers, spiritual masters and older Godbrothers to be as good as the Supreme Personality of
Godhead.
He was completely free from unnatural pride that might have arisen from his good education,
riches, beauty, aristocracy and so on.
Although Prahlada Maharaja was born in a family of asuras, he himself was not an asura but
a great devotee of Lord Visnu.
Unlike the other asuras, he was never envious of Vaisnavas.
He was not agitated when put into danger, and he was neither directly nor indirectly
interested in the fruitive activities described in the Vedas.
Indeed, he considered everything material to be useless, and therefore he was completely
devoid of material desires.
He always controlled his senses and life air, and being of steady intelligence and determination,
he subdued all lusty desires.
O King, Prahlada Maharaja’s good qualities are still glorified by learned saints and
Vaisnavas.
As all good qualities are always found existing in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they
also exist forever in His devotee Prahlada Maharaja.
In any assembly where there are discourses about saints and devotees, O King Yudhisthira,
even the enemies of the demons, namely the demigods, what to speak of you, would cite
Prahlada Maharaja as an example of a great devotee.
Who could list the innumerable transcendental qualities of Prahlada Maharaja?
He had unflinching faith in Vasudeva, Lord Krsna [the son of Vasudeva], and unalloyed
devotion to Him.
His attachment to Lord Krsna was natural because of his previous devotional service.
Although his good qualities cannot be enumerated, they prove that he was a great soul [mahatma].
From the very beginning of his childhood, Prahlada Maharaja was uninterested in childish
playthings.
Indeed, he gave them up altogether and remained silent and dull, being fully absorbed in Krsna
consciousness.
Since his mind was always affected by Krsna consciousness, he could not understand how
the world goes on being fully absorbed in the activities of sense gratification.
Prahlada Maharaja was always absorbed in thought of Krsna.
Thus, being always embraced by the Lord, he did not know how his bodily necessities, such
as sitting, walking, eating, lying down, drinking and talking, were being automatically performed.
Because of advancement in Krsna consciousness, he sometimes cried, sometimes laughed, sometimes
expressed jubilation and sometimes sang loudly.
Sometimes, upon seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Prahlada Maharaja would loudly
call in full anxiety.
He sometimes lost his shyness in jubilation and began dancing in ecstasy, and sometimes,
being fully absorbed in thoughts of Krsna, he felt oneness and imitated the pastimes
of the Lord.
Sometimes, feeling the touch of the Lord’s lotus hands, he became spiritually jubilant
and remained silent, his hairs standing on end and tears gliding down from his half-closed
eyes because of his love for the Lord.
Because of his association with perfect, unalloyed devotees who had nothing to do with anything
material, Prahlada Maharaja constantly engaged in the service of the Lord’s lotus feet.
By seeing his bodily features when he was in perfect ecstasy, persons very poor in spiritual
understanding became purified.
In other words, Prahlada Maharaja bestowed upon them transcendental bliss.
My dear King Yudhisthira, the demon Hiranyakasipu tormented this exalted, fortunate devotee,
although Prahlada was his own son.
Maharaja Yudhisthira said: O best of the saints among the demigods, O best of spiritual leaders,
how did Hiranyakasipu give so much trouble to Prahlada Maharaja, the pure and exalted
saint, although Prahlada was his own son?
I wish to know about this subject from you.
A father and mother are always affectionate to their children.
When the children are disobedient the parents chastise them, not due to enmity but only
for the child’s instruction and welfare.
How did Hiranyakasipu, the father of Prahlada Maharaja, chastise such a noble son?
This is what I am eager to know.
Maharaja Yudhisthira further inquired: How was it possible for a father to be so violent
toward an exalted son who was obedient, well-behaved and respectful to his father?
O brahmana, O master, I have never heard of such a contradiction as an affectionate father’s
punishing his noble son with the intention of killing him.
Kindly dissipate our doubts in this regard.