Prahlāda Instructs the Sons of Demons: Begin Bhakti from Childhood; Household Attachment as Bondage; Nārāyaṇa as the All-Pervading Supersoul
धर्मार्थकाम इति योऽभिहितस्त्रिवर्ग ईक्षा त्रयी नयदमौ विविधा च वार्ता । मन्ये तदेतदखिलं निगमस्य सत्यं स्वात्मार्पणं स्वसुहृद: परमस्य पुंस: ॥ २६ ॥
dharmārtha-kāma iti yo ’bhihitas tri-varga īkṣā trayī naya-damau vividhā ca vārtā manye tad etad akhilaṁ nigamasya satyaṁ svātmārpaṇaṁ sva-suhṛdaḥ paramasya puṁsaḥ
الدَّهرما والأرثا والكاما تُسمّى في الفيدا «تري-فارغا»، وتندرج معها الدراسة، والطقوس الفيدية، والمنطق، وعلم النظام والعقوبة، ووسائل الكسب. أرى كل ذلك موضوعاتٍ خارجية في الفيدا، ذات طابع مادي. أمّا تسليم الذات عند قدمي فيشنو اللوتسيتين، وهو الشخص الأسمى، فهو الجوهر المتعالي.
These instructions of Prahlāda Mahārāja stress the transcendental position of devotional service. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (14.26) :
This verse states that the essential truth of all scripture culminates in offering oneself fully to the Supreme Person, the true well-wisher of all beings.
Prahlāda teaches that worldly goals and even formal Vedic pursuits are incomplete unless they lead to bhakti—complete self-surrender to the Supreme Lord.
By aligning daily choices with devotion—remembering God, offering one’s work and results, cultivating self-control, and acting with the intention to please the Supreme rather than the ego.