Srimad Bhagavatam — Saptama Skandha, Shloka 16
Brahmā’s Boons, Hiraṇyakaśipu’s Cosmic Tyranny, and Prahlāda’s Transcendental Qualities
अकृष्टपच्या तस्यासीत् सप्तद्वीपवती मही । तथा कामदुघा गावो नानाश्चर्यपदं नभ: ॥ १६ ॥
akṛṣṭa-pacyā tasyāsīt sapta-dvīpavatī mahī tathā kāma-dughā gāvo nānāścarya-padaṁ nabhaḥ
Como si temiera a Hiraṇyakaśipu, la tierra de los siete continentes producía granos sin ser arada. Del mismo modo, las vacas kāma-dughā, como la surabhi, daban leche abundante a voluntad, y el firmamento se adornaba con múltiples prodigios maravillosos.
FAQs
This verse says that during Hiraṇyakaśipu’s rule the earth yielded harvests without cultivation—an extraordinary, unnatural prosperity accompanying his dominance.
He highlights how immense material opulence and strange cosmic phenomena can appear even under an asuric ruler, setting the stage for the deeper point that such prosperity is not the same as divine favor or devotion.
Material abundance and “miraculous” success can exist without spiritual virtue; therefore one should not measure righteousness or God’s pleasure merely by external prosperity.