Shloka 31
विषप्रयोगः कृत्योत्पादनं च (प्रह्लादस्य अवध्यता, कृत्याविनाशः, पुरोहितानां रक्षणम्)
अतिभीमा समागम्य पादन्यासक्षतक्षितिः शूलेन सा सुसंक्रुद्धा तं जघानाथ वक्षसि
atibhīmā samāgamya pādanyāsakṣatakṣitiḥ śūlena sā susaṃkruddhā taṃ jaghānātha vakṣasi
Then Atibhīmā rushed forward—so forceful that the very earth was scarred beneath her footfalls—and, inflamed with fierce wrath, she struck him on the chest with her trident.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Escalation of persecution through magical violence against Prahlāda
Teaching: Devotional
Quality: revealing
Phase: Persecution
Bhakti Quality: Unshaken composure under assault; refuge in Hari beyond bodily fear
Persecution: Weapons
FAQs
It heightens the narrative intensity and signals overwhelming martial force—an image often used in Purāṇic storytelling to show that adharma-fueled rage can become physically disruptive to the world’s order.
By describing actions and their consequences in vivid, concrete scenes—here, wrath and violence are shown as powerful forces that must ultimately be governed by rightful order (dharma) rather than impulse.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana frames such events within Vishnu’s sovereignty: worldly violence unfolds inside a cosmos sustained by the Supreme Reality, toward the restoration of balance.