Chapter Ten
Prahlāda, the Best Among Exalted Devotees
TEXT 57
athānugṛhya bhagavān
mā bhaiṣṭeti surān vibhuḥ
śaraṁ dhanuṣi sandhāya
pureṣv astraṁ vyamuñcata
SYNONYMS
atha—thereafter; anugṛhya—just to show them favor; bhagavān—the most powerful; mā—do not; bhaiṣṭa—be afraid; iti—thus; surān—unto the demigods; vibhuḥ—Lord Śiva; śaram—arrows; dhanuṣi—on the bow; sandhāya—fixing; pureṣu—at those three residences occupied by the demons; astram—weapons; vyamuñcata—released.
TRANSLATION
The most powerful and able Lord Śiva reassured them and said, “Do not be afraid.” He then fixed his arrows to his bow and released them toward the three residences occupied by the demons.
TEXT 58
tato ’gni-varṇā iṣava
utpetuḥ sūrya-maṇḍalāt
yathā mayūkha-sandohā
nādṛśyanta puro yataḥ
SYNONYMS
tataḥ—thereafter; agni-varṇāḥ—as brilliant as fire; iṣavaḥ—arrows; utpetuḥ—released; sūrya-maṇḍalāt—from the sun globe; yathā—just as; mayūkha-sandohāḥ—beams of light; na adṛśyanta—could not be seen; puraḥ—the three residences; yataḥ—because of this (being covered by the arrows of Lord Śiva).
TRANSLATION
The arrows released by Lord Śiva appeared like fiery beams emanating from the sun globe and covered the three residential airplanes, which could then no longer be seen.
TEXT 59
taiḥ spṛṣṭā vyasavaḥ sarve
nipetuḥ sma puraukasaḥ
tān ānīya mahā-yogī
mayaḥ kūpa-rase ’kṣipat
SYNONYMS
taiḥ—by those (fiery arrows); spṛṣṭāḥ—being attacked or being touched; vyasavaḥ—without life; sarve—all the demons; nipetuḥ—fell down; sma—formerly; pura-okasaḥ—being the inhabitants of the above-mentioned three residential airplanes; tān—all of them; ānīya—bringing; mahā-yogī—the great mystic; mayaḥ—Maya Dānava; kūpa-rase—in the well of nectar (created by the great mystic Maya); akṣipat—put.
TRANSLATION
Attacked by Lord Śiva’s golden arrows, all the demoniac inhabitants of those three dwellings lost their lives and fell down. Then the great mystic Maya Dānava dropped the demons into a nectarean well that he had created.
PURPORT
The asuras are generally extremely powerful because of their mystic yogic power. However, as Lord Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (6.47):
yoginām api sarveṣāṁ
mad-gatenāntarātmanā
śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ
sa me yuktatamo mataḥ
“Of all yogīs, he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all.” The actual purpose of mystic yoga is to concentrate one’s attention fully on the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, and always think of Him (mad-gatenāntarātmanā). To attain such perfection, one must undergo a certain process—haṭha-yoga—and through this yoga system the practitioner achieves some uncommon mystic power. The asuras, however, instead of becoming devotees of Kṛṣṇa, utilize this mystic power for their personal sense gratification. Maya Dānava, for example, is mentioned here as mahā-yogī, a great mystic, but his business was to help the asuras. Nowadays we are actually seeing that there are some yogīs who cater to the senses of materialists, and there are imposters who advertise themselves as God. Maya Dānava was such a person, a god among the demons, and he could perform some wonderful feats, one of which is described here: he made a well filled with nectar and dipped the asuras into that nectarean well. This nectar was known as mṛta-sanjīvayitari, for it could bring a dead body to life. Mṛta-sanjīvayitari is also an Āyur-vedic preparation. It is a kind of liquor that invigorates even a person on the verge of death.
TEXT 60
siddhāmṛta-rasa-spṛṣṭā
vajra-sārā mahaujasaḥ
uttasthur megha-dalanā
vaidyutā iva vahnayaḥ
SYNONYMS
siddha-amṛta-rasa-spṛṣṭāḥ—the demons, thus being touched by the powerful mystic nectarean liquid; vajra-sārāḥ—their bodies becoming invincible to thunderbolts; mahā-ojasaḥ—being extremely strong; uttasthuḥ—again got up; megha-dalanāḥ—that which goes through the clouds; vaidyutāḥ—lightning (which penetrates the clouds); iva—like; vahnayaḥ—fiery.
TRANSLATION
When the dead bodies of the demons came in touch with the nectar, their bodies became invincible to thunderbolts. Endowed with great strength, they got up like lightning penetrating clouds.
TEXT 61
vilokya bhagna-saṅkalpaṁ
vimanaskaṁ vṛṣa-dhvajam
tadāyaṁ bhagavān viṣṇus
tatropāyam akalpayat
SYNONYMS
vilokya—seeing; bhagna-saṅkalpam—disappointed; vimanaskam—extremely unhappy; vṛṣa-dhvajam—Lord Śiva; tadā—at that time; ayam—this; bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; viṣṇuḥ—Lord Viṣṇu; tatra—about the well of nectar; upāyam—means (how to stop it); akalpayat—considered.
TRANSLATION
Seeing Lord Śiva very much aggrieved and disappointed, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu, considered how to stop this nuisance created by Maya Dānava.
TEXT 62
vatsaś cāsīt tadā brahmā
svayaṁ viṣṇur ayaṁ hi gauḥ
praviśya tripuraṁ kāle
rasa-kūpāmṛtaṁ papau
SYNONYMS
vatsaḥ—a calf; ca—also; āsīt—became; tadā—at that time; brahmā—Lord Brahmā; svayam—personally; viṣṇuḥ—Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ayam—this; hi—indeed; gauḥ—a cow; praviśya—entering; tri-puram—the three residences; kāle—at noon; rasa-kūpa-amṛtam—the nectar contained in that well; papau—drank.
TRANSLATION
Then Lord Brahmā became a calf and Lord Viṣṇu a cow, and at noon they entered the residences and drank all the nectar in the well.
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