Shloka 47
Pṛthu Mahārāja’s Homecoming, Sacrificial Assembly, and Instruction on Devotional Kingship
हिरण्यकशिपुश्चापि भगवन्निन्दया तम: । विविक्षुरत्यगात्सूनो: प्रह्लादस्यानुभावत: ॥ ४७ ॥
hiraṇyakaśipuś cāpi bhagavan-nindayā tamaḥ vivikṣur atyagāt sūnoḥ prahlādasyānubhāvataḥ
Hiraṇyakaśipu too, by blaspheming Bhagavān and living in sin, entered the darkest hellish state; yet by the grace and potency of his great son Prahlāda, he was also delivered and returned to the Lord’s own abode.
When Prahlāda Mahārāja was offered benediction by Nṛsiṁhadeva, due to his great devotion and tolerance he refused to accept any benediction from the Lord, thinking that such acceptance was not befitting a sincere devotee. The rendering of service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead in expectation of a good reward is deprecated by Prahlāda Mahārāja as mercantile business. Because Prahlāda Mahārāja was a Vaiṣṇava, he did not ask a benediction for his personal self but was very affectionate toward his father. Although his father tortured him and would have killed him had he himself not been killed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Prahlāda Mahārāja begged pardon for him from the Lord. This favor was immediately granted by the Lord, and Hiraṇyakaśipu was delivered from the darkest region of hellish life, and he returned back home, back to Godhead, by the grace of his son. Prahlāda Mahārāja is the topmost example of a Vaiṣṇava, who is always compassionate toward sinful persons suffering a hellish life within this material world. Kṛṣṇa is therefore known as para-duḥkha-duḥkhī kṛpāmbudhiḥ, or one who is compassionate toward others’ suffering and who is an ocean of mercy. Like Prahlāda Mahārāja, all pure devotees of the Lord come to this material world with full compassion to deliver the sinful. They undergo all kinds of tribulations, suffering them with tolerance, because that is another qualification of a Vaiṣṇava, who tries to deliver all sinful persons from the hellish conditions of material existence. Vaiṣṇavas are therefore offered the following prayer:
FAQs
Yes. This verse states that even Hiraṇyakaśipu, darkened by blasphemy, could cross beyond ignorance due to the purifying spiritual influence of his devotee son, Prahlāda.
Prahlāda’s powerful devotion carried such spiritual potency that it could purify even his father, indicating the transformative effect of contact with a pure devotee.
Keep sincere association with devotees and cultivate bhakti at home; devotional character and practice can uplift even difficult family situations and reduce ignorance and negativity.