Vamana Purana — Prahlada's Victory through Bhakti, Shloka 40
Prahlada’s Defeat in Battle and Victory through Bhakti (Nara-Narayana Episode)
असौ यद्यजयो देव त्रैलोक्येनापि सुव्रतः न स्थातुं त्वत्प्रसादेव शक्यं किमु करोम्यज
asau yadyajayo deva trailokyenāpi suvrataḥ na sthātuṃ tvatprasādeva śakyaṃ kimu karomyaja
Even if he is unconquerable, O God—indeed, even by the three worlds, O you of excellent vow—without your grace it is not possible even to stand; what then can I do, O Unborn One?
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FAQs
The verse expresses radical dependence: even basic stability (‘to stand’) is attributed to divine grace. Ethically, it undermines pride and reframes agency as cooperative with dharma and the divine will.
Vamśānucarita/Carita with a strong didactic overlay—devotional theology embedded in the historical-mythic account of deva–asura power shifts.
‘Unconquerable even by the three worlds’ highlights the limits of collective worldly power; ‘without grace one cannot even stand’ symbolizes ontological dependence. In the Vamana–Bali arc, it prefigures surrender as the true ‘victory-condition’.