Srimad Bhagavatam — Tritiya Skandha, Shloka 30
Portents at the Birth of Diti’s Sons and Hiraṇyākṣa Challenges Varuṇa
पश्यामि नान्यं पुरुषात्पुरातनाद् य: संयुगे त्वां रणमार्गकोविदम् । आराधयिष्यत्यसुरर्षभेहि तं मनस्विनो यं गृणते भवादृशा: ॥ ३० ॥
paśyāmi nānyaṁ puruṣāt purātanād yaḥ saṁyuge tvāṁ raṇa-mārga-kovidam ārādhayiṣyaty asurarṣabhehi taṁ manasvino yaṁ gṛṇate bhavādṛśāḥ
Im Kampf sehe ich niemanden außer dem uralten Purusha, Herrn Viṣṇu, der dich auf dem Schlachtfeld zu befriedigen vermag. Darum, o Fürst der Asuras, tritt zu Ihm, den selbst Helden wie du mit Lobpreis besingen.
Aggressive materialistic warriors are actually punished by the Supreme Lord for their policy of unnecessarily disturbing world peace. Therefore Varuṇa advised Hiraṇyākṣa that the right course to satisfy his fighting spirit would be to seek to fight with Viṣṇu.
FAQs
This verse says that only the Primeval Supreme Person (the Puruṣa—Lord Viṣṇu) can truly satisfy someone as battle-skilled as Hiraṇyākṣa; no other being is equal to Him.
In the narrative, Hiraṇyākṣa is searching for a worthy opponent; Varuṇa points him toward the Supreme Lord as the only truly fitting object of his martial ambition and praise.
Channel intense drives—competition, ambition, the need for challenge—toward the highest goal: devotion and alignment with the Supreme, rather than seeking satisfaction in lesser victories.