“’You said that He is indeed everywhere, so why can He not be seen in this pillar? If I do see that Vishnu right now in the middle of the pillar, then I will not kill you. Otherwise, you will be divided into two.’ Having seen (his father) in that way, Prahlada began to meditate on that Supreme Lord.” (Narasimha Purana, 44.10-11)

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त्वयोक्तं स हि सर्वत्र कस्मात् स्तम्भे न दृश्यते
यदि पश्यामि तं विष्णुम् अधुना स्तम्भमध्यगम्

तर्हि त्वां न वधिष्यामि भविष्यसि द्विधान्यथा
प्रह्लादो ऽपि तथा दृष्ट्वा दध्यौ तं परमेश्वरम्

tvayoktaṃ sa hi sarvatra kasmāt stambhe na dṛśyate
yadi paśyāmi taṃ viṣṇum adhunā stambhamadhyagam

tarhi tvāṃ na vadhiṣyāmi bhaviṣyasi dvidhānyathā
prahlādo ‘pi tathā dṛṣṭvā dadhyau taṃ parameśvaram

We know that the final moments came down to a single issue of contention. We know this because Hiranyakashipu used the very word: sarvatra. Never mind that the son had already shown a version of this property, in the amazing ability to survive the worst kinds of attacks. Someone was obviously protecting the son, who was only five years of age. Perhaps it was something instead of a person, some kind of ability that Prahlada managed to acquire. It would have had to come to him in the middle of the night, while no one was looking. Regardless, the boy was intent on teaching about the sarvatra property as it related to someone else. Hiranyakashipu was not buying the story. He thought Prahlada was lying. The world would soon know the answer.

Was Hiranyakashipu himself an honest person? Was he truthful? Could he be trusted? Did he give an honest account of his rise to power? He was the leader of the Daityas, after all. He wielded the greatest authority. Today, citizens might be upset at the brashness with which the elected leader speaks. That leader should be more modest, you see. He should act more like a dignitary than a street fighter. He should be cautious with his words. He should not be irresponsible with the criticism he heaps, which might target the very same people he was praising only a few days ago.

The reality is that the world runs on aggression. It has been this way since the beginning of time. I might be sitting comfortably in my office, working on my assignments, a few levels removed from the leadership of the company. While my work is peaceful, someone has to negotiate. Someone has to say “no” at some point. Someone has to go to court. Someone has to resist the overreach by the local politicians, by the customers, or by competitors in the field. For the company to turn a profit, someone has to get down into the figurative mud and fight.

Hiranyakashipu understood this and so in his rise to power he made sure to look for protections. The issue is that he was not self-made. Someone had to grant him protections. That someone was not necessarily visible. It is not like Hiranyakashipu could use a map to find the exact coordinates of the home of this benefactor. Rather, the leader of the Daityas voluntarily underwent severe austerities. What he did would be unimaginable in today’s world, with its indoor plumbing, climate-controlled apartments, and smart gadgets running everything. Hiranyakashipu could not see the benefactor, but the benefactor could see him.

Because of this sacrifice, Hiranyakashipu was able to ask for boons. He settled for protection, in all kinds of circumstances and conditions, against all kinds of potential aggressors. Hiranyakashipu thought he could reach immortality in this way. If we know the list of most frequent ailments that lead to mortality, we might decide to change our lifestyle in a way so as to avoid contracting those ailments. The reality is that time will eventually strike. Time in Sanskrit is also known as death. Kāla is undefeated. Hiranyakashipu failed to account for kāla.

नान्तर्बहिर्दिवा नक्तमन्यस्मादपि चायुधै:
न भूमौ नाम्बरे मृत्युर्न नरैर्न मृगैरपि

nāntar bahir divā naktam
anyasmād api cāyudhaiḥ
na bhūmau nāmbare mṛtyur
na narair na mṛgair api

“Grant me that I not die within any residence or outside any residence, during the daytime or at night, nor on the ground or in the sky. Grant me that my death not be brought by any being other than those created by you, nor by any weapon, nor by any human being or animal.” (Hiranyakashipu praying to Lord Brahma, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.3.36)

When he later rose to power, Hiranyakashipu had a son. This son happened to have a different outlook. The knowledge came to him prior to birth. Prahlada was essentially homeschooled, through hearing, while within the womb. He happened to retain that knowledge after birth. Prahlada claimed that the source of strength in every person is the same. That source distributes its influence throughout space. At the same time, it is one individual. In this way, that individual can be described as advaita. There is a lack of duality in His influence.

Hiranyakashipu refused to accept this truth. In a sense, he was already a liar. He knew very well that at least Lord Brahma, the creator, is sarvatra in the ability to perceive. Otherwise, how would Brahma ever have located Hiranyakashipu? How would Brahma have known where to go? It was a meeting, after all. It was one person giving and another person receiving. Prahlada was explaining that the essence of life itself is due to one individual. As Hiranyakashipu was powerful through ascension to king of the universe, supported by boons from the benefactor, so Prahlada was also powerful. Every person has the same source of potency, but the exact exhibition of that potency might differ. The difference is due to time and circumstance, which combine to configure the type of body inhabited.

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)

Hiranyakashipu should have believed. Prahlada had nothing to gain either way. If the father rejected the proposal, Prahlada would remain in the same position. If the father accepted, then Prahlada was still not affected. Prahlada was only wishing well for the father, while the dishonest father was always suspicious, thinking that everyone else was just like him in their duplicitous ways. Prahlada was telling the truth, and the sarvatra property of Vishnu would soon manifest in the most unexpected of places. The nearby pillar, which Hiranyakashipu chose almost at random, in mocking his own son, proved to be the birthplace of the most powerful Narasimha.

In Closing:

Of both lion and man’s face,
Birth from most unexpected place.

His own son should have believed,
And from history received.

Where boons from Brahma taking,
After intense sacrifice making.

But always to his nature true,
Narasimha to slay Hiranyakashipu.

Categories: chandrahasa

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