Shreemad Bhagavat Mahapuran- Canto: 7, Chapters: 4-5
After receiving an extremely rare boon from Brahmaji, Hiranyakashipu's body became radiant and powerful. Remembering his brother's death, he began harbouring hatred towards Bhagwan Vishnu and eventually conquered all three worlds, bringing every being—devatas, sages, yakshas, gandharvas, rakshasas, and others—under his control. He seized Indra's palace and began residing in heaven itself.
His palace was full of opulence—walls studded with jewels, beautiful apsaras, and every luxury imaginable. He became the overlord of all devatas and grew so powerful that he would personally claim the offerings of yajnas. Out of fear, all the devatas served him. His rule extended across all seven continents. The earth yielded crops without ploughing, the oceans brought him gems, mountains became his playground, and trees always bore fruits and flowers. Yet he was never content, for he had become a slave to sensual pleasures.
Naradji says, "Yudhishthir, despite having all this, he is the same Hiranyakashipu who was once a servant of Bhagwan Vishnu in a previous life. Due to the curse of the Sanakadi rishis, he was born as an asura. Now, drowning in arrogance and pride, he was crossing all boundaries of Dharma. Time kept moving on, but he remained trapped in delusion."
Due to Hiranyakashipu's tyranny, all beings and guardians of the worlds were terrified. They finally took refuge in Bhagwan Shree Hari when they could find shelter nowhere. They mentally bowed to that Supreme Abode of Bhagwan, where great souls reach and never return, having attained eternal peace. Then they restrained their senses, focused their minds, gave up food and sleep, and, with pure hearts, began to worship Bhagwan Shree Hari.
One day, a divine voice resounded from the sky, deep like thunderclouds and echoing across all directions, "O noble devas! Fear not. Your welfare is assured. I am already aware of this sinful demon's wickedness. At the right time, I shall destroy him. Whoever harbours hatred towards the devas, the Vedas, Dharma, Brahmans, cows, saints, and Me—such beings are swiftly destroyed. When he turns hostile towards his innocent and devoted son, Prahlad, then, despite all his boons, he will not escape Me. I Myself shall kill him."
Upon hearing this divine voice of God, the devas were reassured. It felt to them as if Hiranyakashipu had already been slain. They returned calm and relieved.
Description of Prahlad's Virtues
Naradji continues, saying that among the four sons of Hiranyakashipu, the youngest was Prahlad, but in terms of virtues, he was the greatest. He was a servant and devotee of saints, gentle in nature, steadfast in truth, and a master of his senses. Prahlad saw equality in all beings—he bowed in humility before elders, showed paternal affection toward the poor, treated equals like brothers, and saw the presence of God in his gurus.
Despite being endowed with knowledge, wealth, noble lineage, and beauty, he never became arrogant. Even the gravest dangers could not disturb him. Though he understood both worldly and spiritual matters, he regarded them as transient, and so he harboured no desires in his heart. His senses, mind, body, and life-force were completely under his control. Though born in a family of asuras, not a single demonic trait was found in him. Just as God's qualities are infinite, so are Prahlad's.
Even though the devas were his enemies, they would take Prahlad's name to praise other bhaktas in gatherings of devotees. So, O Yudhishthir! For a bhakt like you, who bears no enemies and is devoted to Bhagwan, reverence for Prahlad is only natural. To describe his glory, one does not need to recite countless qualities. One quality alone is enough—his natural, inborn love for Shree Krishna. That alone expresses the greatness of Prahlad.
- Prahlad would withdraw from playing from childhood and become absorbed in meditation on Bhagwan Shree Krishna.
- By Krishna's grace, his heart was so captivated that he lost all awareness of the world. He would feel as though God was lovingly embracing him in His arms.
- Even while walking, eating, and talking, his mind constantly remained fixed on Bhagwan Shree Hari.
- His love expressed itself in many ways: he would cry when God seemed absent, burst out laughing with joy upon experiencing His presence, sing, be absorbed in meditation, sometimes shout in ecstasy, and sometimes dance in divine love, forgetting all worldly shame.
- He was so immersed in Shree Krishna's pastimes that he began imitating them. Feeling Shree Krishna's tender touch, he would quietly become thrilled, his eyes brimming with tears of love.
- This divine bhakti was born from the association of selfless lovers of Bhagwan Shree Hari, great saintly souls immersed in pure love.
- While he lived in supreme bliss himself, he also offered peace and love to the sorrowful souls suffering due to bad company.
Naradji further says that Prahlad was a supreme lover of Bhagwan, immensely fortunate, and a great saint of the highest order. Yet Hiranyakashipu, despite being his father, branded this saintly son as guilty and tried to harm him.
Yudhishthir asked, "Naradji! Why did Hiranyakashipu, even as a father, behave with such hostility towards a pure-hearted and saintly son like Prahlad? By nature, a father loves his children. Even if the son does something wrong, he may scold him to correct him, but not treat him like an enemy."
To this, Naradji replied that the daityas (demons) had accepted Shukracharya as their guru and priest. His two sons—Shand and Amarka—were appointed by Hiranyakashipu to teach Prahlad and other asura children lessons in politics and economics. Prahlad would listen to the teachings and even recite them, but inwardly, he never accepted them because they were driven by the ego of "I" and "mine".
One day, Hiranyakashipu lovingly took Prahlad on his lap and asked, "Son, what do you find to be the most beloved or worthwhile thing in life?"
Without fear, Prahlad replied, "Father! This world suffers because it is trapped in the illusion of 'I' and 'mine'. Therefore, I believe the wise course is for such people to abandon the dark well of worldly life (home) and take refuge in Shree Hari in the forest."
Hearing this, Hiranyakashipu first laughed and assumed that perhaps some Vishnu devotee had infiltrated the guru's household in disguise and corrupted the boy's mind. He ordered stricter monitoring of Prahlad so his thinking would not go astray.
When Prahlad was again sent to Shand and Amarka, they tried to coax him lovingly and asked, "Dear Prahlad! Tell us honestly, how did your mind become like this? Did someone influence you, or are these your own thoughts?"
Prahlad replied, "Those whose intellect is clouded by delusion make false distinctions like 'I' and 'mine', 'us' and 'them'. But all this is Bhagwan's maya. When Bhagwan showers His grace, this illusion vanishes. He is the soul of all beings, but the ignorant see only differences. Just as iron is drawn toward a magnet, in the same way, my mind is drawn toward Bhagwan Shree Hari by His grace."
The supremely wise Prahlad said this much and then fell silent. But the gurus were servants of the king and under his command. They grew afraid. In anger, they scolded Prahlad and said, "This boy is bringing disgrace to our lineage. He won't be corrected by scolding—he must now be punished."
They insulted him, calling him a "thorn in the daitya clan" and a "Vishnu devotee", and then began trying to teach him about artha (wealth), dharma (duty), and kama (desire).
Time passed. When they thought Prahlad had finally learned all the doctrines, they brought him back to his mother. She lovingly groomed and dressed him and took him to Hiranyakashipu. Prahlad fell at his father's feet.
Hiranyakashipu blessed him, lifted him with both hands, embraced him for a long time, and said, "May you live long, dear son Prahlad! Tell me—after all this time, what good teaching have you received from your guru that you can share with me?"
Shree Prahlad Uvaach
Shravanam keertanam Vishnoh smaranam paada-sevanam
Archanam vandanam daasyam sakhyam aatma-nivedanam
Iti pumsaarpitaa Vishnau bhaktish chen nava-lakshanaa
Kriyeta Bhagavaty addhaa tan manye'dheetam uttamam
Prahladji said, "Father! There are nine forms of devotion to Bhagwan Vishnu—listening to His names, glories, and pastimes; singing His praises; remembering Him; serving His feet; worshipping Him; offering obeisances; serving Him as a humble servant; befriending Him; and fully surrendering oneself to Him. When these nine forms of devotion are practised with true surrender to Bhagwan, I consider that to be the highest kind of learning." (Bhagavat 7.5.23-24)
What are the Nine Forms of Devotion (Navadha Bhakti)?
- Shravanam – Listening to the divine glories, names, and pastimes of Bhagwan.
- Kirtanam – Singing or chanting His names, qualities, and leelas (divine acts).
- Smaranam – Constant remembrance of Him through the mind and intellect.
- Paadasevanam – Serving His holy feet.
- Archanam – Worshipping Bhagwan through rituals and offerings.
- Vandanam – Offering obeisances with humility and devotion.
- Daasyam – Serving Him with the attitude of a humble servant.
- Sakhyam – Befriending Bhagwan and behaving as one would with a dear friend.
- Aatmanivedanam – Complete self-surrender, offering one's body, mind, actions and soul to Bhagwan.
Upon hearing this from Prahlad, Hiranyakashipu's lips began to tremble with rage. He turned furiously toward the guru's son and shouted, "You low-born Brahmin! What kind of nonsense is this? You wicked fellow! Without caring for me, you have filled this child's mind with such useless ideas? You must be a servant of my enemies. The world is full of such impostors—traitors who appear as friends but secretly serve the enemy. But just like hidden sins eventually surface in the form of disease, such treachery too cannot remain hidden for long."
The guru's son replied humbly, "Whatever your son is saying, he is not saying under anyone's influence—not mine or anyone else's. These thoughts are his own natural intelligence since birth. Please calm your anger. Do not wrongly accuse us."
When the teacher said this, Hiranyakashipu turned again to Prahlad and asked, "So tell me then, if this wicked, harmful intelligence did not come from your teacher, where did it come from?"
Prahladji answered calmly, "Father! This knowledge does not come from any worldly teacher. People whose minds are controlled by the senses keep falling again and again into this worldly hell. They run after pleasures, and their minds never turn toward Shree Krishna.
True wisdom and liberation come only to those who associate with Bhagwan's pure devotees. Only such souls are able to touch the divine feet of Bhagwan, by whose grace the suffering of birth and death comes to an end."
Hearing such truthful and profound words, Hiranyakashipu became blind with rage. He threw Prahlad down from his lap onto the ground. His eyes turned red with fury, and he roared to his demon guards, "Kill this Vishnu devotee child at once! The one who worships the feet of Vishnu—the one who killed my brother Hiranyaksha—cannot be my son. Perhaps he is Vishnu Himself, disguised and infiltrated into my life! A child who rejects his parents at the age of five cannot be compassionate—he is ungrateful. If a son behaves like an enemy, he must be cut off like a diseased limb to protect the rest of the body. Kill this child whether he is asleep, eating, or walking. He is an enemy in the guise of a son!"
Summary: JKYog India Online Class- Shreemad Bhagavat Katha [Hindi]- 05.05.2025
