Shloka 40
Nṛsiṁhadeva Appears from the Pillar and Slays Hiraṇyakaśipu
श्रीब्रह्मोवाच नतोऽस्म्यनन्ताय दुरन्तशक्तये विचित्रवीर्याय पवित्रकर्मणे । विश्वस्य सर्गस्थितिसंयमान् गुणै: स्वलीलया सन्दधतेऽव्ययात्मने ॥ ४० ॥
śrī-brahmovāca nato ’smy anantāya duranta-śaktaye vicitra-vīryāya pavitra-karmaṇe viśvasya sarga-sthiti-saṁyamān guṇaiḥ sva-līlayā sandadhate ’vyayātmane
ஸ்ரீபிரம்மா கூறினார்—அனந்தப் பிரபுவே! உமது சக்திகள் அளவிலாதவை; உமது வீரியம் வியத்தகு; உமது செயல்கள் எப்போதும் தூயவை. குணங்களின் மூலம் உமது லீலையால் உலகின் படைப்பு, நிலை, அழிவு ஆகியவற்றை எளிதில் நடத்தினாலும், நீர் அவ்யய ஆத்மாவாய் மாற்றமின்றி நிலைத்திருக்கிறீர். உமக்கு நான் பணிவுடன் வணங்குகிறேன்.
The activities of the Lord are always wonderful. His personal servants Jaya and Vijaya were confidential friends, yet they were cursed, and they accepted bodies of demons. Again, in the family of one such demon, Prahlāda Mahārāja was caused to take birth to exhibit the behavior of an exalted devotee, and then the Lord accepted the body of Nṛsiṁhadeva to kill that same demon, who by the Lord’s own will had taken birth in a demoniac family. Therefore, who can understand the Lord’s transcendental activities? Not to speak of understanding the transcendental activities of the Lord, no one can understand even the activities of His servants. In Caitanya-caritāmṛta ( Madhya 23.39) it is said, tāṅra vākya, kriyā, mudrā vijñeha nā bhujhaya: no one can understand the activities of the Lord’s servants. Therefore, what to speak of the activities of the Lord? Who can understand how Kṛṣṇa is benefiting the entire world? The Lord is addressed as duranta-śakti because no one can understand His potencies and how He acts.
FAQs
This verse states that the Supreme Lord arranges creation, maintenance, and dissolution through the material modes (guṇas), as part of His own līlā, while He Himself remains unchanged and imperishable.
After Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva’s appearance and the destruction of Hiraṇyakaśipu, Brahmā offers obeisances recognizing the Lord’s limitless power and His transcendence over the cosmic processes He controls.
Practice devotion with trust: see changing circumstances as governed by higher order, while remembering the Lord is steady and protective—helping you remain calm, prayerful, and dharmic amid change.