Shloka 23
प्रह्लादचरितम् (हिरण्यकशिपोः स्वर्गापहरणं, प्रह्लादस्य विष्णुभक्तिः, उपदेशः)
परमेश्वरसंज्ञो ऽज्ञ किम् अन्यो मय्य् अवस्थिते तवास्ति मर्तुकामस् त्वं प्रब्रवीषि पुनः पुनः
parameśvarasaṃjño 'jña kim anyo mayy avasthite tavāsti martukāmas tvaṃ prabravīṣi punaḥ punaḥ
O ignorant one—while I am present here—what other ‘Supreme Lord’ could there be for you? If you are truly eager to die, why do you keep speaking again and again?
Uncertain (verse presented without surrounding dialogue; likely a dominant figure rebuking an opponent within Parasara’s narration to Maitreya)
Concept: The deluded tyrant mistakes proximity and power for ultimate divinity, responding to truth with violence.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Do not equate social power with moral or spiritual authority; keep speech truthful yet non-reactive under intimidation.
Vishishtadvaita: Affirms the categorical difference between īśvara and bound beings despite apparent worldly dominance.
Phase: Persecution
Bhakti Quality: Kṣānti (forbearance) and steadfastness under threat.
Narasimha: Sets the immediate tension leading to the Lord’s intervention against the asura’s claim to supreme lordship.
FAQs
It marks ultimate sovereignty—there cannot be a rival ‘Supreme Lord’ when the true supreme presence is established in the narrative.
Through sharp rebukes that deny the legitimacy of competing claims and present repeated boasting as ignorance, reinforcing a single highest authority.
The verse underscores exclusivity of supreme status—central to Vaishnava readings where the highest reality is singular and all other powers are secondary.