Shloka 8
Prahlāda Rejects Material Boons; Forgives His Father; Tripura and the Power of Remembrance
इन्द्रियाणि मन: प्राण आत्मा धर्मो धृतिर्मति: । ह्री: श्रीस्तेज: स्मृति: सत्यं यस्य नश्यन्ति जन्मना ॥ ८ ॥
indriyāṇi manaḥ prāṇa ātmā dharmo dhṛtir matiḥ hrīḥ śrīs tejaḥ smṛtiḥ satyaṁ yasya naśyanti janmanā
О Господь мой! С самого рождения из-за вожделения угасают силы чувств, ума, жизненного дыхания, тела, дхармы, терпения, разума, стыда, благополучия, могущества, памяти и правдивости۔
As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, kāmaṁ hṛd-rogam. Materialistic life means that one is afflicted by a formidable disease called lusty desire. Liberation means freedom from lusty desires because it is only due to such desires that one must accept repeated birth and death. As long as one’s lusty desires are unfulfilled, one must take birth after birth to fulfill them. Because of material desires, therefore, one performs various types of activities and receives various types of bodies with which to try to fulfill desires that are never satisfied. The only remedy is to take to devotional service, which begins when one is free from all material desires. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam. Anya-abhilāṣitā means “material desire,” and śūnyam means “free from.” The spiritual soul has spiritual activities and spiritual desires, as described by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: mama janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi . Unalloyed devotion to the service of the Lord is the only spiritual desire. To fulfill this spiritual desire, however, one must be free from all material desires. Desirelessness means freedom from material desires. This is described by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī as anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam. As soon as one has material desires, one loses his spiritual identity. Then all the paraphernalia of one’s life, including one’s senses, body, religion, patience and intelligence, are deviated from one’s original Kṛṣṇa consciousness. As soon as one has material desires, one cannot properly use his senses, intelligence, mind and so on for the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Māyāvādī philosophers want to become impersonal, senseless and mindless, but that is not possible. The living entity must be living, always existing with desires, ambitions and so on. These should be purified, however, so that one can desire spiritually and be spiritually ambitious, without material contamination. In every living entity these propensities exist because he is a living entity. When materially contaminated, however, one is put into the hands of material misery ( janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi ). If one wants to stop repeated birth and death, one must take to the devotional service of the Lord.
FAQs
This verse lists how, for a degraded person, core virtues and inner strengths—truthfulness, memory, modesty, intelligence, and even steadiness—become ruined, indicating deep spiritual and moral decline.
Prahlāda warns about the consequences of demoniac or sinful tendencies: when one turns away from dharma and devotion, the very foundations of character and self-control collapse.
Practice bhakti with discipline—chanting, hearing scripture, truthful living, and regulated habits—so the senses and mind stay guided by dharma rather than degrading influences.