“The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Prahlada, O most pure, O great saintly person, your father has been purified, along with twenty-one forefathers in your family. Because you were born in this family, the entire dynasty has been purified.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.10.18)

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श्री-भगवान् उवाच
त्रिः-सप्तभिः पिता पूतः
पितृभिः सह ते ’नघ
यत् साधो ’स्य कुले जातो
भवान् वै कुल-पावनः

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
triḥ-saptabhiḥ pitā pūtaḥ
pitṛbhiḥ saha te ’nagha
yat sādho ’sya kule jāto
bhavān vai kula-pāvanaḥ

After the properly timed passing of his father, Prahlada Maharaja had the option to request something. This was from the highest benefactor imaginable. The one who can accurately be described as satya-sankalpa. That origin of all, the one who is like the original fire whose unimaginable potency diffuses throughout the entirety of space to give an understanding of omnipresence, was prepared to offer Prahlada whatever he wanted.

एक-देश-स्थितस्याग्नेर्
ज्योत्स्ना विस्तारिणी यथा
परस्य ब्रह्मणः शक्तिस्
तथेदम् अखिलं जगत्

eka-deśa-sthitasyāgner
jyotsnā vistāriṇī yathā
parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis
tathedam akhilaṁ jagat

“Everything that is manifested within this cosmic world is but the energy of the Supreme Lord. As fire emanating from one place diffuses its illumination and heat all around, so the Lord, although situated in one place in the spiritual world, manifests His different energies everywhere. Indeed, the whole cosmic creation is composed of different manifestations of His energy.” (Vishnu Purana, 1.22.52)

Prahlada had suffered enough. It was for Prahlada that Vishnu had appeared in the amazing avatara of Narasimha. The corresponding vision was both awesome [adbhuta] and ghastly [ghoram]. The ferocious roar and the sharp teeth presented a menacing visual to the miscreants, of which Hiranyakashipu was the head. The mixture of a human being and an animal was auspicious for the devotees, who understand that Vishnu is ultimately the source of strength in every person.

श्री-प्रह्राद उवाच
न केवलं मे भवतश् च राजन्
स वै बलं बलिनां चापरेषाम्
परे ’वरे ’मी स्थिर-जङ्गमा ये
ब्रह्मादयो येन वशं प्रणीताः

śrī-prahrāda uvāca
na kevalaṁ me bhavataś ca rājan
sa vai balaṁ balināṁ cāpareṣām
pare ’vare ’mī sthira-jaṅgamā ye
brahmādayo yena vaśaṁ praṇītāḥ

“Prahlada Maharaja said: My dear King, the source of my strength, of which you are asking, is also the source of yours. Indeed, the original source of all kinds of strength is one. He is not only your strength or mine, but the only strength for everyone. Without Him, no one can get any strength. Whether moving or not moving, superior or inferior, everyone, including Lord Brahma, is controlled by the strength of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.8.7)

Though he was a pure devotee and had not even specifically called Narasimha to the scene, Prahlada acquiesced and put forward a request. He wanted pardon for his father, the atheist Daitya demon. The child could have asked for revenge. He would have been justified in hoping that Hiranyakashipu, now departed due to the fingernails turned weapons of Narasimha, never return to an auspicious place. The departed father, who had tortured the son so much, could have been destined for repeated inauspicious births, as described for the asura class of men.

तान् अहं द्विषतः क्रूरान्
संसारेषु नराधमान्
क्षिपाम्य् अजस्रम् अशुभान्
आसुरीष्व् एव योनिषु

tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān
saṁsāreṣu narādhamān
kṣipāmy ajasram aśubhān
āsurīṣv eva yoniṣu

“Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, are cast by Me into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 16.19)

The child was saintly in nature. That was the entire reason for the ordeal. Prahlada stood out like gold amongst rubbish. And so it makes sense that his request of Narasimha would similarly stand out. The son wanted the father to be forgiven. Narasimha responded that not only was Hiranyakashipu saved, but the same applied for up to twenty-one previous generations within the family.

The justification was the very appearance of Prahlada. He was like a great purifier for a family line. If everything else went the wrong way. If no one lived up to the basic standards to be set by a human being. If everyone else went against Vishnu, it would not matter since at least Prahlada was there. That five-year old child set the best example for the world to follow.

A person may wonder why or how honor can travel so far and deep in the reverse direction. The science behind the reality resembles the degraded caste system, but in the opposite way. In the caste system, which in practice is not exclusive to any group or area of the world, applies to the future. Because of one great person, the descendants then accept honor and high repute. They live off of the work of the ancestor. The honor essentially descends and divides.

The practical implementation of this theory cannot stand because the descendants have not yet done anything to deserve honor. In the ascending model, the previous generations at least have some work to their name. If Hiranyakashipu did nothing else, he at least triggered the appearance of the great Prahlada in this world.

To assist in our understanding, we can compare to the music industry. If a recording artist publishes a song, there are credits applied to the author or authors of that song. This is known as a songwriting credit within the business. In the usual flow of future transactions, the credits continue to accumulate for as long as the music plays. This is how the licensing model works, for as long as the original author maintains their rights. Every time there is a sale of the song, whether in the physical sense or through a digital application, the original writers receive some credit.

The authors may otherwise be completely disassociated from the song. They may not even know any of the artists performing on the recording. Nevertheless, the credit still goes to them. It was their idea. They came up with the music, the melody, the lyrics, or the arrangement. They will always be credited, well into the future.

In the same way, if we follow devotional service, in allegiance to the same Narasimha, following in the footsteps of Prahlada, then anyone who helped us along the way will benefit. It is like they receive recurring royalties for every time we offer obeisances, take pleasure in reading a passage from sacred literature, or light a stick of incense and wave it in a reverential manner. If we are fortunate enough to reach the stage of liberation, of finally ending the cycle of birth and death, then that credit ascends up the chain, both within our family and to the line of teachers by whose mercy the potential became a reality.

In Closing:

Potential reality became,
Honor to ancestors the same.

Because a role in success playing,
Whenever true devotion displaying.

Like favorite passage to read,
In arati ceremony to proceed.

The example from Prahlada set,
That family royalties to get.

Categories: devotional service

Tags: dailyprompt, licensing, music, parenting, poem, poems, poetry