“Shri Hari, who is the Lord of the demigods, who is worshiped by the people of the world, for benefiting the moving and nonmoving beings of the world took that dreadful form through His own energy and tore apart Hiranyakashipu, who caused suffering to so many, with His nails.” (Narasimha Purana, 44.43)

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हरिः सुरेशो नरलोकपूजितो हिताय लोकस्य चराचरस्य
कृत्वा विरूपं च पुरात्ममायया हिरण्यकं दुःखकरं नखैश् छिनत्

hariḥ sureśo naralokapūjito hitāya lokasya carācarasya
kṛtvā virūpaṃ ca purātmamāyayā hiraṇyakaṃ duḥkhakaraṃ nakhaiś chinat

He was helpless to the matter. The man who was supposedly the law and order of the community, the final word in issues of dispute, the highest court of appeals and lawmaker combined into a single force, could not stop an offender from roaming the streets. It happened to be a repeat offender. It happened to be his own son, of only five years of age. Since that offender happened to be a devotee of Vishnu, the so-called offenses were protected. When it was time for peak-level protection, the force that was responsible for the parole the entire time, the entity which was supposedly invisible but described in detail by the offender, decided to show itself.

As this is the age of Kali, marked by the increase in quarrel and hypocrisy, anything and everything is up for debate. If you are feeling bored on a given day, if there is not much going on, start a debate. You can argue the merits or demerits of drinking water. Overconsumption is not good. Too many trips to the restroom. Under-consumption is also deleterious. Dehydration. The lack of proper elimination of toxins from within the body.

In the arena of public policy, one recent controversy is the manner in which the courts deal with offenders. There was the longstanding system of bail. If a person gets charged with a crime, they are free to leave the jail and go home, waiting for their upcoming trial. Depending on the severity of the crime being charged, there is an increasing amount for the bail. This is like a promise. Put some money down today, to show that you are acting in good faith, that you will return to the courtroom later on, when the trial commences.

For severe crimes, the bail is set so high that it is almost impossible to meet. This keeps the accused in jail until the time of their trial. Recent developments have lowered the standard for bail such that repeat offenders come and go from the legal system, like a revolving door. They commit a crime today, get arrested, and are then subsequently released. This is because of the reform to the rules involving bail. This is controversial because opponents say that the leniency encourages crime. The supporters say that certain races and economic classes get unfairly punished through the old system of bail.

Imagine if you had the strictest bail requirements in the world, along with the harshest punishment doled out by the state, and the offender still managed to escape. Imagine if the accused were sentenced to death, but they managed to walk free, time and time again. This is one way to understand the predicament of Hiranyakashipu, who was the powerful leader of the Daitya kingdom. This was in ancient times. The accused in one particular case did not have to meet bail. There was no trial. Prahlada was guilty by accusation. The sentencing was swift. Prahlada had to be killed. That was the appropriate punishment, as determined by the father.

Amazingly, the punishment did not work. It was like Prahlada kept giving himself parole. Without ever begging before a board, without ever stepping foot in jail, without ever praying for release, Prahlada just kept surviving. One punishment after another. Prahlada survived an encounter with deadly snakes. He could not be harmed by weapons pointed by the palace guards. Prahlada accurately noted that since the Supreme Lord as Vishnu was inside of him, so the same Vishnu would be in the weapons of attack. Thus Prahlada was protected.

विष्णुः शस्त्रेषु युष्मासु मयि चासौ यथा स्थितः
दैतेयास् तेन सत्येन मा क्रामन्त्व् आयुधानि वः

viṣṇuḥ śastreṣu yuṣmāsu mayi cāsau yathā sthitaḥ
daiteyās tena satyena mā krāmantv āyudhāni vaḥ

“O Daityas, just as Vishnu is in those weapons and also situated in me, so by that truth your weapons will not be able to overcome me.”  (Prahlada Maharaja, Vishnu Purana, 1.17.33)

The repeated escapes only made the father angrier. He could not believe what was happening. Perhaps Prahlada was working some magic, in the way that Hiranyakashipu originally rose to power. Perhaps Prahlada knew some secret formula, which he was keeping for himself. Hiranyakashipu refused to believe the truth, that there was the source of everything and everyone operating in the background.

In a single collection of Sanskrit words, Narasimha Purana describes the ultimate conclusion to the affair. Vishnu decided to appear. This was the same Vishnu that was described by Prahlada. The child’s crime was talking about Vishnu, glorifying Vishnu, and trying to explain that Vishnu is the source of all strength. The father could not tolerate this. The father refused to believe, until he had to finally see for himself. By then, it was too late to turn back. Vishnu appeared for the pleasure of the suras, who are the devotees, and tore apart Hiranyakashipu. The crooked cop that was the king of the Daityas was torn asunder, through the nails-turned-into-weapons of the glorious Narasimha.

In Closing:

Advantage of his post took,
As cop but actually a crook.

Repeatedly sentence to give,
That Prahlada no longer to live.

But child parole to make,
HIs faith impossible to shake.

Such that Vishnu eventually to appear,
And crimes of perpetrator to clear.

Categories: bhagavan

Tags: dailyprompt, hare krishna, narasimha, poem, poems, poetry, prahlada