“Prahlada Maharaja said: O Supreme Lord, because You are so merciful to the fallen souls, I ask You for only one benediction. I know that my father, at the time of his death, had already been purified by Your glance upon him, but because of his ignorance of Your beautiful power and supremacy, he was unnecessarily angry at You, falsely thinking that You were the killer of his brother. Thus he directly blasphemed Your Lordship, the spiritual master of all living beings, and committed heavily sinful activities directed against me, Your devotee. I wish that he be excused for these sinful activities.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.10.15-17)

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श्रीप्रह्राद उवाच
वरं वरय एतत्ते वरदेशान्महेश्वर
यदनिन्दत्पिता मे त्वामविद्वांस्तेज ऐश्वरम्
विद्धामर्षाशय: साक्षात्सर्वलोकगुरुं प्रभुम्
भ्रातृहेति मृषाद‍ृष्टिस्त्वद्भ‍क्ते मयि चाघवान्
तस्मात्पिता मे पूयेत दुरन्ताद् दुस्तरादघात्
पूतस्तेऽपाङ्गसंद‍ृष्टस्तदा कृपणवत्सल

śrī-prahrāda uvāca
varaṁ varaya etat te
varadeśān maheśvara
yad anindat pitā me
tvām avidvāṁs teja aiśvaram

viddhāmarṣāśayaḥ sākṣāt
sarva-loka-guruṁ prabhum
bhrātṛ-heti mṛṣā-dṛṣṭis
tvad-bhakte mayi cāghavān

tasmāt pitā me pūyeta
durantād dustarād aghāt
pūtas te ’pāṅga-saṁdṛṣṭas
tadā kṛpaṇa-vatsala

1. Finish him

In the deep-dive analysis for today, we travel back in time to the kingdom of the Daityas. We go long into the past, but the remnants of events pertaining to a father and son are still around today. People can visit the areas where important interactions took place. They can see with their own eyes the markings left behind. They can try to fathom the travel that must have taken place, in the rapid descent from a cliff towards the ground. A five-year-old boy happened to survive such a fall, which was intended to be lethal punishment.

You see, Prahlada was different. He did not go along with the crowd. He did not follow in the family business. His inclination since birth was neither anticipated by the leaders nor welcomed. The highest commander in that place happened to be Prahlada’s father. Hiranyakashipu wielded the greatest authority. Whatever he said went. He was like the chief executive, the congress, and the appellate court combined into one.

Hiranyakashipu wanted it that way. Hiranyakashipu set it as a goal, put in the necessary work, and then turned the dream into a reality. His rise to power happened to create something like a nightmare situation for saintly people around the world. They were too afraid to step foot against him. The suras did what they are known to do in emergencies: call out for help. They were assured by the highest being of all that everything would be taken care of in due course of time.

Who could have expected that the tides would turn from within the very family of Hiranyakashipu? It was Prahlada and his free movements and expression. It was Prahlada and his unwavering devotion to Vishnu. It was Prahlada and his possession of the greatest wisdom. It was Prahlada and his unashamed allegiance to someone Hiranyakashipu viewed as the greatest enemy.

Hiranyakashipu took a more peaceful approach at the beginning. He ordered the teachers in the royal academy to get Prahlada’s mind straight. They were to attempt something like a modern-day deprogramming effort. A forced conversion to a different way of thinking. Place value in possessions, in autonomy, in acquisition, and in strength. Set aside long-term interest, paramartha, and a higher objective in enjoyment, shreyas. Work for right now. If you ascend to the top, then no one can bring you down. That is how Hiranyakashipu felt about himself, after all.

The deprogramming did not work. Prahlada kept speaking about Vishnu. The father then ordered punishment. The worst kind, intended to kill the innocent child. The order was for Prahlada to be finished. At least this way the father would no longer have to hear about how great Vishnu is. He would no longer be lectured on the true source of strength, in how Vishnu is like the spark of both the universe itself and the individual beings populating that universe.

2. Spare him

Alas, keeping in line with the previous failures, the lethal punishment did not work. Just what did Hiranyakashipu try? A more appropriate question to ask is what the father did not attempt. There were pointed weapons directed at the child. There was association with poisonous snakes. There was placement in fire. There was a push off a high mountaintop. There was forced submersion at the bottom of the ocean, with heavy weights placed on top.

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)

Nothing worked. Hiranyakashipu commanded. Hiranyakashipu demanded. Nature did not cooperate. Prahlada managed to protect himself, in thinking about the same Vishnu that he continuously worshiped. It was a special case, indeed. It is not that every person will be spared in the same way. Vishnu was protecting Prahlada. When Hiranyakashipu grew too frustrated to wait any longer, when he decided to strike Prahlada with his own sword, Vishnu appeared in a manifest form. This was a half-man/half-lion known as Narasimha.

Unlike Hiranyakashipu, Vishnu did not fail. Vishnu implemented the attack, with expert precision, and without extra effort. The comparison is to the eagle named Garuda catching a snake. Hiranyakashipu was helpless against Narasimha. The end was ugly for that leader of the Daityas. He ended up being torn apart, into two pieces, while placed on the lap of that amazing being, one which was unique to the world.

Hiranyakashipu had ordered Prahlada to be eliminated. It was a command. Now the tables were turned. Prahlada had the upper hand. Prahlada was in the position of authority, since he had Narasimha there as a personal protector. What did Prahlada do? Well, he made a request. Kindly and politely. With the greatest reverence, keeping in mind that the benefactor had final say. Prahlada asked that the father be forgiven. Prahlada asked for forgiveness. In the face of such amazing devotion, how could Vishnu not agree? He was always there for Prahlada, and so He agreed to pardon the now-slain leader.

In Closing:

With Vishnu standing there,
Prahlada asking to spare.

Mere moments prior to tear,
Using lap as a chair.

Whereas father violence committed,
Now seeking verdict acquitted.

From peaceful and forgiving son,
Through whom liberation was won.

Categories: the two

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