Shloka 21
Prahlāda’s Prayers Pacify Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva
Prahlāda-stuti and the Lord’s Benediction Offer
माया मन: सृजति कर्ममयं बलीय: कालेन चोदितगुणानुमतेन पुंस: । छन्दोमयं यदजयार्पितषोडशारं संसारचक्रमज कोऽतितरेत् त्वदन्य: ॥ २१ ॥
māyā manaḥ sṛjati karmamayaṁ balīyaḥ kālena codita-guṇānumatena puṁsaḥ chandomayaṁ yad ajayārpita-ṣoḍaśāraṁ saṁsāra-cakram aja ko ’titaret tvad-anyaḥ
ஹே ஆண்டவனே, ஹே அஜனே! உமது புற மாயை காலத்தால் உந்தப்பட்டு ஜீவர்களுக்கு கர்மமயமான மனத்தை உருவாக்குகிறது; குணங்களின் அனுமதியால் அது வேத விதிகள் (கர்மகாண்டம்) மற்றும் பதினாறு தத்துவங்களின் வழி எண்ணற்ற ஆசைகளில் அவர்களைப் பிணைக்கிறது. இந்த சந்தோமயமான, பதினாறு-அச்சுகளுடைய சம்சாரச் சக்கரத்தை உமது தாமரைப் பாத சரணமின்றி யார் கடக்க முடியும்?
If the hand of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is present in everything, where is the question of being liberated from material encagement to spiritual, blissful life? Indeed, it is a fact that Kṛṣṇa is the source of everything, as we understand from Kṛṣṇa Himself in Bhagavad-gītā ( ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ ). All the activities in both the spiritual and material world are certainly conducted by the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead through the agency of either the material or spiritual nature. As further confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (9.10) , mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sacarācaram: without the direction of the Supreme Lord, material nature cannot do anything; it cannot act independently. Therefore, in the beginning the living entity wanted to enjoy the material energy, and to give the living entity all facility, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, created this material world and gave the living entity the facility to concoct different ideas and plans through the mind. These facilities offered by the Lord to the living entity constitute the sixteen kinds of perverted support in terms of the knowledge-gathering senses, the working senses, the mind and the five material elements. The wheel of repeated birth and death is created by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but to direct the bewildered living entity in progress toward liberation according to varied stages of advancement, different directions are given in the Vedas ( chandomayam ). If one wants to be elevated to the higher planetary systems, he may follow the Vedic directions. As the Lord states in Bhagavad-gītā (9.25) :
FAQs
This verse says the wheel of saṁsāra is driven by Māyā through the mind, time, and the guṇas, and that only the Unborn Lord (Hari/Nṛsiṁha) can truly enable one to cross beyond it.
After Nṛsiṁhadeva protected him and killed Hiraṇyakaśipu, Prahlāda offers prayers acknowledging that bondage is extremely powerful and that liberation is possible only by the Lord’s grace—not by one’s own strength.
Notice how the mind pushes you into habitual “karma-loops” shaped by time and moods; then deliberately anchor the mind in bhakti—hearing, chanting, and remembering the Lord—seeking divine help rather than relying solely on willpower.