Shloka 148
Pracetās, Māriṣā, Dakṣa’s Re-manifestation, and the Brahma-parastava; Cyclic Creation and Genealogies
शैलैर् आक्रान्तदेहो ऽपि यः स्मरन् पुरुषोत्तमम् तत्याज नात्मनः प्राणान् विष्णुस्मरणदंशितः
śailair ākrāntadeho 'pi yaḥ smaran puruṣottamam tatyāja nātmanaḥ prāṇān viṣṇusmaraṇadaṃśitaḥ
Even though his body was crushed beneath rocks, he did not relinquish his life-breath; for, remembering Puruṣottama, he was as though pierced through by the power of Vishnu-remembrance.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How remembrance of Vishnu rendered Prahlāda unkillable by physical torments.
Teaching: Devotional
Quality: revealing
Concept: Single-pointed remembrance of Puruṣottama can render even extreme bodily affliction powerless over the devotee’s inner life.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: In crisis, return repeatedly to nāma-smaraṇa/japa or mental repetition of the Lord’s qualities as an anchor stronger than pain or fear.
Vishishtadvaita: Bhakti as a real relation between the finite self and the Supreme Person, whose grace safeguards the devotee without negating embodied existence.
Phase: Persecution
Bhakti Quality: Puruṣottama-smaraṇa as life-sustaining, overpowering bodily harm.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
This verse presents Vishnu-remembrance as a transformative force that can sustain a devotee beyond physical trauma, emphasizing bhakti as spiritually sovereign over bodily conditions.
Through narrative illustration: even when the body is crushed, the mind fixed on Puruṣottama does not ‘let go’ of life—devotion becomes the inner support that overrides ordinary limits.
‘Puruṣottama’ signals Vishnu as the Supreme Person—the highest reality and refuge—so remembrance of Him is not merely emotional comfort but contact with the ultimate sustaining principle.