Shloka 10

Maitreya’s Inquiry into Prahlāda: The Logic of Bhakti’s Invincibility

Devanagari script

हालाहलं विषं घोरं दैत्यसूदैर् महात्मनः कस्माद् दत्तं विनाशाय यज् जीर्णं तेन धीमता

Transliteration

hālāhalaṃ viṣaṃ ghoraṃ daityasūdair mahātmanaḥ kasmād dattaṃ vināśāya yaj jīrṇaṃ tena dhīmatā

Translation

That dreadful poison, Hālāhala—why did the slayers of the Daityas offer it to the great-souled one as though for his destruction, when that wise Lord swallowed it and digested it?

Word by Word

• हालाहलम्: Hālāhala (deadly poison)
• हालाहलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हालाहल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• विषम्: poison
• विषम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• घोरम्: terrible
• घोरम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; विशेषण

• दैत्यसूदैः: by slayers of the Daityas
• दैत्यसूदैः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दैत्य (प्रातिपदिक) + सूद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (दैत्यानां सूदाः/हन्तारः)

• महात्मनः: of the great-souled one
• महात्मनः: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (महान् आत्मा यस्य)

• कस्मात्: why/from what cause
• कस्मात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक-सर्वनाम

• दत्तम्: given
• दत्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √दा (धातु) → दत्त (कृदन्त; क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त

• विनाशाय: for destruction
• विनाशाय: Sampradana (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विनाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थ-चतुर्थी

• यत्: which
• यत्: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम

• जीर्णम्: digested/consumed
• जीर्णम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √जॄ/√जृ (धातु) → जीर्ण (कृदन्त; क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त

• तेन: by him/thereby
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• धीमता: by the wise one
• धीमता: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धीमत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; गुणवाचक-शब्दः

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Maitreya

Topic: Why the dreadful Hālāhala poison was given for destruction, yet was swallowed and digested by the wise Lord

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: astonished, devotional

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: What is intended as destruction by hostile powers becomes powerless before the Lord, whose wisdom and sovereignty transmute danger into harmlessness.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Cultivate steadiness in devotion when threatened—respond with remembrance and ethical clarity rather than panic.

Vishishtadvaita: The Lord’s supremacy includes intimate protection of the devotee within the world, not merely transcendence beyond it.

Prahlada Narrative

Phase: Divine-protection

Bhakti Quality: trust in the Lord’s unassailable power

Persecution: Poison

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Hālāhala
• Devas (as 'Daitya-sūda')
• Śiva (implied as the great-souled one who drank the poison)

FAQs

What is the significance of Hālāhala in the Vishnu Purana?

Hālāhala represents a primordial cosmic toxin emerging before the treasures of the ocean; its containment shows how divine power absorbs catastrophe to preserve universal order.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the act of offering the poison to the great-souled one?

He frames it as a pointed question—why it was ‘given for destruction’—only to emphasize the superior, wisdom-backed power by which it was digested instead of causing harm.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when another deity performs the immediate saving act, the narrative reinforces a cosmos governed by higher sovereignty—events unfold within the overarching divine order central to Vaishnava theology.