Srimad Bhagavatam — Saptama Skandha, Shloka 9
Nārada’s Protection of Kayādhu and Prahlāda’s Womb-Instructions: Ātma-tattva and the Path of Bhakti
श्रीइन्द्र उवाच आस्तेऽस्या जठरे वीर्यमविषह्यं सुरद्विष: । आस्यतां यावत्प्रसवं मोक्ष्येऽर्थपदवीं गत: ॥ ९ ॥
śrī-indra uvāca āste ’syā jaṭhare vīryam aviṣahyaṁ sura-dviṣaḥ āsyatāṁ yāvat prasavaṁ mokṣye ’rtha-padavīṁ gataḥ
King Indra said: Within the womb of this woman, the wife of the devas’ enemy, lies a seed of unbearable power. Therefore keep her in our custody until she gives birth; afterward we shall release her.
Indra, the King of heaven, decided to arrest Prahlāda Mahārāja’s mother because he thought that another demon, another Hiraṇyakaśipu, was within her womb. The best course, he thought, was to kill the child when the child was born, and then the woman could be released.
FAQs
This verse shows Indra’s fear of an impending Daitya power in Diti’s womb; he chooses to keep her restrained until childbirth, intending to release her only after his perceived danger is removed.
In the Deva–Asura struggle, Indra anticipates that Diti’s unborn child will become a formidable enemy of the demigods, so he speaks of controlling the situation until the birth.
The verse highlights how fear can justify harsh control; it encourages self-examination so that protective instincts do not become unjust treatment of others.