Srimad Bhagavatam — Saptama Skandha, Shloka 22
Prahlāda’s Prayers Pacify Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva
Prahlāda-stuti and the Lord’s Benediction Offer
स त्वं हि नित्यविजितात्मगुण: स्वधाम्ना कालो वशीकृतविसृज्यविसर्गशक्ति: । चक्रे विसृष्टमजयेश्वर षोडशारे निष्पीड्यमानमुपकर्ष विभो प्रपन्नम् ॥ २२ ॥
sa tvaṁ hi nitya-vijitātma-guṇaḥ sva-dhāmnā kālo vaśī-kṛta-visṛjya-visarga-śaktiḥ cakre visṛṣṭam ajayeśvara ṣoḍaśāre niṣpīḍyamānam upakarṣa vibho prapannam
ഹേ പ്രഭോ, ഹേ അജയേശ്വരാ! നിന്റെ സ്വധാമപ്രഭാവത്താൽ നീ സദാ ത്രിഗുണങ്ങളെ ജയിച്ചവൻ; സൃഷ്ടി‑പ്രളയശക്തികളും കാലവും നിന്റെ അധീനമാണ്. പതിനാറു ഘടകങ്ങളുള്ള ഈ ലോകചക്രം നീ സൃഷ്ടിച്ചിട്ടും, അതിന്റെ ഗുണങ്ങൾക്ക് അതീതനാണ് നീ. ഞാൻ കാലചക്രത്തിൽ ചതഞ്ഞുപോകുന്നു; അതുകൊണ്ട് പൂർണ്ണമായി ശരണം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു—ദയചെയ്ത് എന്നെ നിന്റെ കമലപാദങ്ങളുടെ സംരക്ഷണത്തിൽ ഏറ്റെടുക്കണമേ।
The wheel of material miseries is also a creation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but He is not under the control of the material energy. Rather, He is the controller of the material energy, whereas we, the living entities, are under its control. When we give up our constitutional position ( jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’ ), the Supreme Personality of Godhead creates this material energy and her influence over the conditioned soul. Therefore He is the Supreme, and only He can deliver the conditioned soul from the onslaught of material nature ( mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te ). Māyā, the external energy, continuously imposes upon the conditioned souls the suffering of the threefold miseries of this material world. Therefore, in the previous verse, Prahlāda Mahārāja prayed to the Lord, “But for Your Lordship, no one can save me.” Prahlāda Mahārāja has also explained that a child’s protectors, his parents, cannot save the child from the onslaught of birth and death, nor can medicine and a physician save one from death, nor can a boat or similar means of protection save a person drowning in the water, for everything is controlled by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore suffering humanity must surrender to Kṛṣṇa, as Kṛṣṇa Himself demands in the last instruction of Bhagavad-gītā (18.66) :
FAQs
This verse states that even kāla (time) and the cosmic powers of creation and manifestation act under the Supreme Lord’s control; He is never conquered by material nature.
Prahlada describes the world as a crushing wheel of material existence and, as a surrendered soul, prays that the Lord personally lift him beyond samsara and protect him.
Remember that overwhelming pressures are part of the “wheel” of material life; practice conscious surrender—prayer, devotion, and reliance on the Lord’s protection—rather than trying to control everything by oneself.