Shloka 5
प्रह्लादचरितम् (हिरण्यकशिपोः स्वर्गापहरणं, प्रह्लादस्य विष्णुभक्तिः, उपदेशः)
देवाः स्वर्गं परित्यज्य तत्त्रासान् मुनिसत्तम विचेरुर् अवनौ सर्वे बिभ्राणा मानुषीं तनुम्
devāḥ svargaṃ parityajya tattrāsān munisattama vicerur avanau sarve bibhrāṇā mānuṣīṃ tanum
હે મુનિશ્રેષ્ઠ! તે ભયથી કંપિત દેવતાઓ સ્વર્ગ ત્યજી, પોતાની દિવ્યતા છુપાવી, માનવ દેહ ધારણ કરીને પૃથ્વી પર વિચરવા લાગ્યા।
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
FAQs
It shows that when cosmic order is threatened, even celestial beings may adopt concealed, earthly embodiments to stabilize dharma without disrupting the human realm.
Through narrative examples like this, Parāśara depicts the gods as agents within Vishnu’s cosmic governance—responding to danger by adapting their forms and operating within the world’s conditions.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the episode reflects Vaishnava cosmology: the devas’ capacity to act and transform is ultimately subordinate to the Supreme ordering principle identified with Vishnu.