Shloka 16
श्रीप्रह्लाद उवाच त्वयैव दत्तं पदमैन्द्रमूर्जितं हृतं तदेवाद्य तथैव शोभनम् । मन्ये महानस्य कृतो ह्यनुग्रहो विभ्रंशितो यच्छ्रिय आत्ममोहनात् ॥ १६ ॥
śrī-prahrāda uvāca tvayaiva dattaṁ padam aindram ūrjitaṁ hṛtaṁ tad evādya tathaiva śobhanam manye mahān asya kṛto hy anugraho vibhraṁśito yac chriya ātma-mohanāt
Prahlāda said: My Lord, You alone bestowed upon Bali the mighty opulence of Indra’s post, and today You alone have taken it away. To me, both acts are equally beautiful. Since that splendor was casting him into the darkness of delusion, by removing his opulence You have shown him great mercy.
As it is said, yasyāham anugṛhṇāmi hariṣye tad-dhanaṁ śanaiḥ ( Bhāg. 10.88.8 ). It is by the mercy of the Lord that one gets all material opulence, but if such material opulence causes one to become puffed up and forget the process of self-realization, the Lord certainly takes all the opulence away. The Lord bestows mercy upon His devotee by helping him find out his constitutional position. For that purpose, the Lord is always ready to help the devotee in every way. But material opulence is sometimes dangerous because it diverts one’s attention to false prestige by giving one the impression that he is the owner and master of everything he surveys, although actually this is not the fact. To protect the devotee from such a misunderstanding, the Lord, showing special mercy, sometimes takes away his material possessions. Yasyāham anugṛhṇāmi hariṣye tad-dhanaṁ śanaiḥ .
FAQs
This verse explains that a fall from opulence can be a form of divine favor, because prosperity often fuels self-delusion and pride; losing it can awaken a person to humility and dependence on the Lord.
In the context of the Deva-Asura conflict involving Bali Maharaja, Prahlada highlights that rulership and power are ultimately granted and withdrawn by the Supreme, and that reversals can purify even the great.
Treat success as temporary stewardship, practice gratitude and service, and use setbacks to reduce ego and deepen spiritual focus rather than seeing them only as misfortune.