Srimad Bhagavatam — Saptama Skandha, Shloka 47
Prahlāda’s Prayers Pacify Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva
Prahlāda-stuti and the Lord’s Benediction Offer
रूपे इमे सदसती तव वेदसृष्टे बीजाङ्कुराविव न चान्यदरूपकस्य । युक्ता: समक्षमुभयत्र विचक्षन्ते त्वां योगेन वह्निमिव दारुषु नान्यत: स्यात् ॥ ४७ ॥
rūpe ime sad-asatī tava veda-sṛṣṭe bījāṅkurāv iva na cānyad arūpakasya yuktāḥ samakṣam ubhayatra vicakṣante tvāṁ yogena vahnim iva dāruṣu nānyataḥ syāt
By authorized Vedic knowledge one understands that the forms of cause and effect in the cosmos—being and nonbeing—belong to You, like seed and sprout, for the universe is Your energy. For the formless Absolute there is nothing separate from this. Those united in bhakti-yoga perceive You directly in both cause and effect, just as a wise man sees fire pervading wood.
As described in previous verses, many so-called students of spiritual understanding follow the ten different methods known as mauna-vrata-śruta-tapo-’dhyayana-sva-dharma-vyākhyā-raho-japa-samādhayaḥ. These may be very attractive, but by following such methods, one cannot actually understand the real cause and effect and the original cause of everything ( janmādy asya yataḥ ). The original source of everything is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself ( sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam ). This original source of everything is Kṛṣṇa, the supreme ruler. īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ . He has His eternal spiritual form. Indeed, He is the root of everything ( bījaṁ māṁ sarva-bhūtānām ). Whatever manifestations exist, their cause is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This cannot be understood by so-called silence or by any other hodgepodge method. The supreme cause can be understood only by devotional service, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā ( bhaktyā mām abhijānāti ). Elsewhere in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.14.21) , the Supreme Godhead personally says, bhaktyāham ekayā grāhyaḥ: one can understand the original cause of all causes, the Supreme Person, only by devotional service, not by show-bottle exhibitionism.
FAQs
This verse teaches that the realized perceive the Supreme directly in both the unmanifest cause and the manifest effect—like fire present within wood—through yoga and devotion.
Prahlada uses the seed–sprout example to explain that creation’s cause and effect are dependent on the Lord, while the Lord Himself remains transcendental and not confined to material forms.
Train the mind to see the Divine presence in all situations—success and failure, visible and unseen—by steady practice of bhakti (hearing, chanting, remembering), rather than seeking God only in special places or moods.