Nārada Muni continued: Lord Brahmā was very much satisfied by Hiraṇyakaśipu’s auster ities, which were difficult to perform. There fore, when solicited for benedictions, he indeed granted them, although they were rarely to be achieved. (1) Lord Brahmā said: O Hiraṇyakaśipu, these benedictions for which you have asked are dif ficult to obtain for most men. Nonetheless, O my son, I shall grant you them although they are generally not available. (2) Then Lord Brahmā, who awards infallible benedictions, departed, being worshiped by the best of the demons, Hiraṇyakaśipu, and being praised by great sages and saintly persons. (3)

The demon Hiraṇyakaśipu, having thus been blessed by Lord Brahmā and having acquired a lustrous golden body, continued to remember the death of his brother and therefore be envi ous of Lord Viṣṇu. (4) Hiraṇyakaśipu became the conqueror of the entire universe. Indeed, that great demon conquered all the planets in the three worldsupper, middle and lowerinclud ing the planets of the human beings, the Gandharvas, the Garuḍas, the great serpents, the Siddhas, Cāraṇas and Vidyādharas, the great saints, Yamarāja, the Manus, the Yakṣas, the Rākṣasas, the Piśācas and their masters, and the masters of the ghosts and Bhūtas. He de feated the rulers of all the other planets where there are living entities and brought them under his control. Conquering the abodes of all, he seized their power and influence. (5-7)

Hiraṇyakaśipu, who possessed all opulence, began residing in heaven, with its famous Nan dana garden, which is enjoyed by the demi gods. In fact, he resided in the most opulent pal ace of Indra, the King of heaven. The palace had been directly constructed by the demigod architect Viśvakarmā and was as beautifully made as if the goddess of fortune of the entire universe resided there. (8) The steps of King Indra’s residence were made of coral, the floor was bedecked with invaluable emeralds, the walls were of crystal, and the columns of vaidūrya stone. The wonderful canopies were beautifully decorated, the seats were bedecked with rubies, and the silk bedding, as white as foam, was decorated with pearls. The ladies of the palace, who were blessed with beautiful teeth and the most wonderfully beautiful faces, walked here and there in the palace, their ankle bells tinkling melodiously, and saw their own beautiful reflections in the gems. The demi gods, however, being very much oppressed, had to bow down and offer obeisances at the feet of Hiraṇyakaśipu, who chastised the demi gods very severely and for no reason. Thus Hiraṇyakaśipu lived in the palace and severely ruled everyone. (9-12)

O my dear King, Hiraṇyakaśipu was always drunk on strong smelling wines and liquors, and therefore his coppery eyes were always rolling. Nonetheless, because he had powerfully executed great aus terities in mystic yoga, although he was abom inable, all but the three principal demigodsLord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and Lord Viṣṇupersonally worshiped him to please him by bringing him various presentations with their own hands. (13) O Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, descendant of Pāṇḍu, by dint of his personal power, Hiraṇyakaśipu, being situated on the throne of King Indra, controlled the inhabitants of all the other planets. The two Gandharvas Viśvāvasu and Tumburu, I myself and the Vidyādharas, Apsarās and sages all offered prayers to him again and again just to glorify him. (14)

Being worshiped by sacrifices offered with great gifts by those who strictly followed the principles of varṇa and āśrama, Hiraṇyakaśipu, instead of offering shares of the oblations to the demigods, accepted them himself. (15) As if in fear of Hiraṇyakaśipu, the planet earth, which consists of seven islands, delivered food grains without being plowed. Thus it resembled cows like the surabhi of the spiritual world or the kāma-dughā of heaven. The earth yielded suf ficient food grains, the cows supplied abundant milk, and outer space was beautifully decorated with wonderful phenomena. (16) By the flow ing of their waves, the various oceans of the universe, along with their tributaries, the rivers, which are compared to their wives, supplied various kinds of gems and jewels for Hiraṇyakaśipu’s use. These oceans were the oceans of salt water, sugarcane juice, wine, clarified butter, milk, yogurt, and sweet water. (17)

The valleys between the mountains be came fields of pleasure for Hiraṇyakaśipu, by whose influence all the trees and plants pro duced fruits and flowers profusely in all sea sons. The qualities of pouring water, drying and burning, which are all qualities of the three de partmental heads of the universenamely Indra, Vāyu and Agniwere all directed by Hiraṇyakaśipu alone, without assistance from the demigods. (18) In spite of achieving the power to control in all directions and in spite of enjoying all types of dear sense gratification as much as possible, Hiraṇyakaśipu was dissatis fied because instead of controlling his senses he remained their servant. (19) Hiraṇyakaśipu thus passed a long time being very much proud of his opulences and trans gressing the laws and regulations mentioned in the authoritative śāstras. He was therefore sub jected to a curse by the four Kumāras, who were great brāhmaṇas. (20)

Everyone, includ ing the rulers of the various planets, was ex tremely distressed because of the severe pun ishment inflicted upon them by Hiraṇyakaśipu. Fearful and disturbed, unable to find any other shelter, they at last surrendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. (21) “Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto that direc tion where the Supreme Personality of God head is situated, where those purified souls in the renounced order of life, the great saintly persons, go, and from which, having gone, they never return.” Without sleep, fully controlling their minds, and living on only their breath, the predominating deities of the various planets be gan worshiping Hṛṣīkeśa with this meditation. (22-23) Then there appeared before them a transcendental sound vibration, emanating from a personality not visible to material eyes. The voice was as grave as the sound of a cloud, and it was very encouraging, driving away all fear. (24)

The voice of the Lord vibrated as fol lows: O best of learned persons, do not fear! I wish all good fortune to you. Become My dev otees by hearing and chanting about Me and of fering Me prayers, for these are certainly meant to award benedictions to all living entities. I know all about the activities of Hiraṇyakaśipu and shall surely stop them very soon. Please wait patiently until that time. (25-26) When one is envious of the demigods, who represent the Supreme Personality of Godhead, of the Vedas, which give all knowledge, of the cows, brāhmaṇas, Vaiṣṇavas and religious principles, and ultimately of Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he and his civilization will be van quished without delay. (27) When Hiraṇyakaśipu teases the great devotee Prah lāda, his own son, who is peaceful and sober and who has no enemy, I shall kill Hiraṇyakaśipu immediately, despite the bene dictions of Brahmā. (28)

The great saint Nārada Muni continued: When the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the spiritual master of everyone, thus reassured all the demigods living in the heavenly planets, they offered their respectful obeisances unto Him and returned, confident that the demon Hiraṇyakaśipu was now practically dead. (29) Hiraṇyakaśipu had four wonderful, well qualified sons, of whom the one named Prah lāda was the best. Indeed, Prahlāda was a res ervoir of all transcendental qualities because he was an unalloyed devotee of the Personality of Godhead. (30) [The qualities of Mahārāja Prahlāda, the son of Hiraṇyakaśipu, are de scribed herewith.] He was completely cultured as a qualified brāhmaṇa, having very good character and being determined to understand the Absolute Truth. He had full control of his senses and mind. Like the Supersoul, he was kind to every living entity and was the best friend of everyone. To respectable persons he acted exactly like a menial servant, to the poor he was like a father, to his equals he was at tached like a sympathetic brother, and he con sidered his teachers, spiritual masters and older Godbrothers to be as good as the Supreme Per sonality of Godhead. He was completely free from unnatural pride that might have arisen from his good education, riches, beauty, aris tocracy and so on. (31-32)

Although Prahlāda Mahārāja was born in a family of asuras, he himself was not an asura but a great devotee of Lord Viṣṇu. Unlike the other asuras, he was never envious of Vaiṣṇavas. He was not agi tated when put into danger, and he was neither directly nor indirectly interested in the fruitive activities described in the Vedas. Indeed, he considered everything material to be useless, and therefore he was completely devoid of ma terial desires. He always controlled his senses and life air, and being of steady intelligence and determination, he subdued all lusty desires. (33) O King, Prahlāda Mahārāja’s good quali ties are still glorified by learned saints and Vaiṣṇavas. As all good qualities are always found existing in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they also exist forever in His devotee Prahlāda Mahārāja. (34) In any assembly where there are discourses about saints and devotees, O King Yudhiṣṭhira, even the ene mies of the demons, namely the demigods, what to speak of you, would cite Prahlāda Mahārāja as an example of a great devotee. (35)

Who could list the innumerable transcen dental qualities of Prahlāda Mahārāja? He had unflinching faith in Vāsudeva, Lord Kṛṣṇa [the son of Vasudeva], and unalloyed devotion to Him. His attachment to Lord Kṛṣṇa was natural because of his previous devotional service. Alt hough his good qualities cannot be enumerated, they prove that he was a great soul [mahātmā]. (36) From the very beginning of his childhood, Prahlāda Mahārāja was uninterested in childish playthings. Indeed, he gave them up altogether and remained silent and dull, being fully ab sorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Since his mind was always affected by Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he could not understand how the world goes on being fully absorbed in the activities of sense gratification. (37) Prahlāda Mahārāja was al ways absorbed in thought of Kṛṣṇa. Thus, being always embraced by the Lord, he did not know how his bodily necessities, such as sitting, walking, eating, lying down, drinking and talk ing, were being automatically performed. (38)

Because of advancement in Kṛṣṇa conscious ness, he sometimes cried, sometimes laughed, sometimes expressed jubilation and sometimes sang loudly. (39) Sometimes, upon seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Prahlāda Mahārāja would loudly call in full anxiety. He sometimes lost his shyness in jubilation and be gan dancing in ecstasy, and sometimes, being fully absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa, he felt one ness and imitated the pastimes of the Lord. (40) Sometimes, feeling the touch of the Lord’s lo tus hands, he became spiritually jubilant and re mained silent, his hairs standing on end and tears gliding down from his half-closed eyes because of his love for the Lord. (41) Because of his association with perfect, unalloyed dev otees who had nothing to do with anything ma terial, Prahlāda Mahārāja constantly engaged in the service of the Lord’s lotus feet. By seeing his bodily features when he was in perfect ec stasy, persons very poor in spiritual under standing became purified. In other words, Prah lāda Mahārāja bestowed upon them transcen dental bliss. (42)

My dear King Yudhiṣṭhira, the demon Hiraṇyakaśipu tormented this ex alted, fortunate devotee, although Prahlāda was his own son. (43) Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira said: O best of the saints among the demigods, O best of spiritual leaders, how did Hiraṇyakaśipu give so much trouble to Prahlāda Mahārāja, the pure and ex alted saint, although Prahlāda was his own son? I wish to know about this subject from you. (44) A father and mother are always affection ate to their children. When the children are dis obedient the parents chastise them, not due to enmity but only for the child’s instruction and welfare. How did Hiraṇyakaśipu, the father of  Prahlāda Mahārāja, chastise such a noble son? This is what I am eager to know. (45) Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira further inquired: How was it possible for a father to be so violent to ward an exalted son who was obedient, well behaved and respectful to his father? O brāhmaṇa, O master, I have never heard of such a contradiction as an affectionate father’s pun ishing his noble son with the intention of killing him. Kindly dissipate our doubts in this regard. (46)

Nārada Muni said to Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira: The demoniac king Hiraṇyakaśipu wanted to be unconquerable and free from old age and dwin dling of the body. He wanted to gain all the yo gic perfections like aṇimā and laghimā, to be deathless, and to be the only king of the entire universe, including Brahmaloka. (1) In the val ley of Mandara Hill, Hiraṇyakaśipu began per forming his austerities by standing with his toes on the ground, keeping his arms upward and looking toward the sky. This position was ex tremely difficult, but he accepted it as a means to attain perfection. (2) From the hair on Hiraṇyakaśipu’s head there emanated an efful gent light as brilliant and intolerable as the rays of the sun at the time of dissolution. Seeing the performance of such austere penances, the demigods, who had been wandering throughout the planets, now returned to their respective homes. (3)

Because of Hiraṇyakaśipu’s severe austerities, fire came from his head, and this fire and its smoke spread throughout the sky, encompassing the upper and lower planets, which all became extremely hot. (4) Because of the power of his severe austerities, all the riv ers and oceans were agitated, the surface of the globe, with its mountains and islands, began trembling, and the stars and planets fell. All di rections were ablaze. (5) Scorched and extremely disturbed because of Hiraṇyakaśipu’s severe penances, all the demigods left the planets where they reside and went to the planet of Lord Brahmā, where they informed the creator as follows: O lord of the demigods, O master of the universe, because of the fire emanating from Hiraṇyakaśipu’s head as a result of his severe austerities, we have be come so disturbed that we could not stay in our planets but have come to you. (6) O great per son, chief of the universe, if you think it proper, kindly stop these disturbances, meant to de stroy everything, before all your obedient sub jects are annihilated. (7)

Hiraṇyakaśipu has un dertaken a most severe type of austerity. Alt hough his plan is not unknown to you, kindly listen as we submit his intentions. (8) “The su preme person within this universe, Lord Brahmā, has gotten his exalted post by dint of severe austerities, mystic power and trance. Consequently, after creating the universe, he has become the most worshipable demigod within it. Since I am eternal and time is eternal, I shall endeavor for such austerity, mystic power and trance for many, many births, and thus I shall occupy the same post occupied by Lord Brahmā. (9-10) “By dint of my severe austerities, I shall reverse the results of pious and impious activities. I shall overturn all the established practices within this world. Even Dhruvaloka will be vanquished at the end of the millennium. Therefore, what is the use of it? I shall prefer to remain in the position of Brahmā.” (11)

O lord, we have heard from re liable sources that in order to obtain your post, Hiraṇyakaśipu is now engaged in severe auster ity. You are the master of the three worlds. Please, without delay, take whatever steps you deem appropriate. (12) O Lord Brahmā, your position within this universe is certainly most auspicious for everyone, especially the cows and brāhmaṇas. Brahminical culture and the protection of cows can be increasingly glori fied, and thus all kinds of material happiness, opulence and good fortune will automatically increase. But unfortunately, if Hiraṇyakaśipu occupies your seat, everything will be lost. (13) O King, being thus informed by the demi gods, the most powerful Lord Brahmā, accom panied by Bhṛgu, Dakṣa and other great sages, immediately started for the place where Hiraṇyakaśipu was performing his penances and austerities. (14)

Lord Brahmā, who is car ried by a swan airplane, at first could not see where Hiraṇyakaśipu was, for Hiraṇyakaśipu’s body was covered by an anthill and by grass and bamboo sticks. Because Hiraṇyakaśipu had been there for a long time, the ants had de voured his skin, fat, flesh and blood. Then Lord Brahmā and the demigods spotted him, resem bling a cloud-covered sun, heating all the world by his austerity. Struck with wonder, Lord Brahmā began to smile and then addressed him as follows. (15-16) Lord Brahmā said: O son of Kaśyapa Muni, please get up, please get up. All good fortune unto you. You are now perfect in the perfor mance of your austerities, and therefore I may give you a benediction. You may now ask from me whatever you desire, and I shall try to fulfill your wish. (17) I have been very much aston ished to see your endurance. In spite of being eaten and bitten by all kinds of worms and ants, you are keeping your life air circulating within your bones. Certainly this is wonderful. (18)

Even saintly persons like Bhṛgu, born previ ously, could not perform such severe austeri ties, nor will anyone in the future be able to do so. Who within these three worlds can sustain his life without even drinking water for one hundred celestial years? (19) My dear son of Diti, with your great determination and auster ity you have done what was impossible even for great saintly persons, and thus I have certainly been conquered by you. (20) O best of the asuras, for this reason I am now prepared to give you all benedictions, according to your de sire. I belong to the celestial world of demi gods, who do not die like human beings. There fore, although you are subject to death, your au dience with me will not go in vain. (21) Śrī Nārada Muni continued: After speaking these words to Hiraṇyakaśipu, Lord Brahmā, the original being of this universe, who is ex tremely powerful, sprinkled transcendental, in fallible, spiritual water from his kamaṇḍalu upon Hiraṇyakaśipu’s body, which had been eaten away by ants and moths. Thus he enliv ened Hiraṇyakaśipu. (22)

As soon as he was sprinkled with the water from Lord Brahmā’s waterpot, Hiraṇyakaśipu arose, endowed with a full body with limbs so strong that they could bear the striking of a thunderbolt. With physi cal strength and a bodily luster resembling mol ten gold, he emerged from the anthill a com pletely young man, just as fire springs from fuel wood. (23) Seeing Lord Brahmā present before him in the sky, carried by his swan airplane, Hiraṇyakaśipu was extremely pleased. He im mediately fell flat with his head on the ground and began to express his obligation to the lord. (24) Then, getting up from the ground and see ing Lord Brahmā before him, the head of the Daityas was overwhelmed by jubilation. With tears in his eyes, his whole body shivering, he began praying in a humble mood, with folded hands and a faltering voice, to satisfy Lord Brahmā. (25)

Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the supreme lord within this universe. At the end of each day of his life, the universe is fully covered with dense darkness by the influence of time, and then again, during his next day, that self-effulgent lord, by his own effulgence, manifests, maintains and destroys the entire cosmic manifestation through the material en ergy, which is invested with the three modes of material nature. He, Lord Brahmā, is the shelter of those modes of naturesattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa. (26-27) I offer my obeisances to the original personality within this universe, Lord Brahmā, who is cognizant and who can apply his mind and realized intelligence in cre ating this cosmic manifestation. It is because of his activities that everything within the uni verse is visible. He is therefore the cause of all manifestations. (28) Your Lordship, being the origin of the life of this material world, is the master and controller of the living entities, both moving and stationary, and you inspire their consciousness. You maintain the mind and the acting and knowledge-acquiring senses, and therefore you are the great controller of all the material elements and their qualities, and you are the controller of all desires. (29)

My dear lord, by your form as the Vedas personified and through knowledge relating to the activities of all the yajñic brāhmaṇas, you spread the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies of the seven kinds of sac rifices, headed by agniṣṭoma. Indeed, you in spire the yajñic brāhmaṇas to perform the ritu als mentioned in the three Vedas. Being the Su preme Soul, the Supersoul of all living entities, you are beginningless, endless and omniscient, beyond the limits of time and space. (30) O my lord, Your Lordship is eternally awake, seeing everything that happens. As eternal time, you reduce the duration of life for all living entities through your different parts, such as moments, seconds, minutes and hours. Nonetheless, you are unchanged, resting in one place as the Su persoul, witness and Supreme Lord, the birth less, all-pervading controller who is the cause of life for all living entities. (31)

There is noth ing separate from you, whether it be better or lower, stationary or moving. The knowledge derived from the Vedic literatures like the Upaniṣads, and from all the sub-limbs of the original Vedic knowledge, form your external body. You are Hiraṇyagarbha, the reservoir of the universe, but nonetheless, being situated as the supreme controller, you are transcendental to the material world, which consists of the three modes of material nature. (32) O my lord, being changelessly situated in your own abode, you expand your universal form within this cosmic manifestation, thus appearing to taste the material world. You are Brahman, the Su persoul, the oldest, the Personality of Godhead. (33) Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme, who in his unlimited, un manifested form has expanded the cosmic man ifestation, the form of the totality of the uni verse. He possesses external and internal ener gies and the mixed energy called the marginal potency, which consists of all the living enti ties. (34)

O my lord, O best of the givers of benediction, if you will kindly grant me the benediction I desire, please let me not meet death from any of the living entities created by you. (35) Grant me that I not die within any residence or outside any residence, during the daytime or at night, nor on the ground or in the sky. Grant me that my death not be brought by any being other than those created by you, nor by any weapon, nor by any human being or animal. (36) Grant me that I not meet death from any entity, living or nonliving. Grant me, further, that I not be killed by any demigod or demon or by any great snake from the lower planets. Since no one can kill you in the battlefield, you have no compet itor. Therefore, grant me the benediction that I too may have no rival. Give me sole lordship over all the living entities and presiding deities, and give me all the glories obtained by that position. Furthermore, give me all the mystic powers attained by long austerities and the practice of yoga, for these cannot be lost at any time. (37-38)

Śrī Nārada Muni said: My dear King Yudhiṣṭhira, when Lord Viṣṇu, in the form of Varāha, the boar, killed Hiraṇyākṣa, Hiraṇyākṣa’s brother Hiraṇyakaśipu was ex tremely angry and began to lament. (1) Filled with rage and biting his lips, Hiraṇyakaśipu gazed at the sky with eyes that blazed in anger, making the whole sky smoky. Thus he began to speak. (2) Exhibiting his terrible teeth, fierce glance and frowning eyebrows, terrible to see, he took up his weapon, a trident, and thus began speaking to his associates, the assembled de mons. (3) O Dānavas and Daityas! O Dvimūrdha, Tryakṣa, Śambara and Śatabāhu! O Hayagrīva, Namuci, Pāka and Ilvala! O Vipracitti, Puloman, Śakuna and other demons! All of you, kindly hear me attentively and then act according to my words without delay. (4 5)

My insignificant enemies the demigods have combined to kill my very dear and obedient well-wisher, my brother Hiraṇyākṣa. Although the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, is always equal to both of usnamely, the demigods and the demonsthis time, being devoutly worshiped by the demigods, He has taken their side and helped them kill Hiraṇyākṣa. (6) The Supreme Personality of Godhead has given up His natu ral tendency of equality toward the demons and demigods. Although He is the Supreme Person, now, influenced by māyā, He has assumed the form of a boar to please His devotees, the dem igods, just as a restless child leans toward someone. I shall therefore sever Lord Viṣṇu’s head from His trunk by my trident, and with the profuse blood from His body I shall please my brother Hiraṇyākṣa, who was so fond of suck ing blood. Thus shall I too be peaceful. (7-8)

When the root of a tree is cut and the tree falls down, its branches and twigs automatically dry up. Similarly, when I have killed this diplo matic Viṣṇu, the demigods, for whom Lord Viṣṇu is the life and soul, will lose the source of their life and wither away. (9) While I am engaged in the business of killing Lord Viṣṇu, go down to the planet earth, which is flourish ing due to brahminical culture and a kṣatriya government. These people engage in austerity, sacrifice, Vedic study, regulative vows, and charity. Destroy all the people thus engaged! (10) The basic principle of brahminical culture is to satisfy Lord Viṣṇu, the personification of sacrificial and ritualistic ceremonies. Lord Viṣṇu is the personified reservoir of all reli gious principles, and He is the shelter of all the demigods, the great pitās, and the people in general. When the brāhmaṇas are killed, no one will exist to encourage the kṣatriyas to perform yajñas, and thus the demigods, not being ap peased by yajña, will automatically die. (11)

Immediately go wherever there is good protec tion for the cows and brāhmaṇas and wherever the Vedas are studied in terms of the varṇāśrama principles. Set fire to those places and cut from the roots the trees there, which are the source of life. (12) Thus the demons, being fond of disastrous activities, took Hiraṇyakaśipu’s instructions on their heads with great respect and offered him obeisances. According to his directions, they engaged in envious activities directed against all living beings. (13) The demons set fire to the cities, villages, pasturing grounds, cowpens, gardens, agricultural fields and natu ral forests. They burned the hermitages of the saintly persons, the important mines that pro duced valuable metals, the residential quarters of the agriculturalists, the mountain villages, and the villages of the cow protectors, the cow herd men. They also burned the government capitals. (14)

Some of the demons took digging instruments and broke down the bridges, the protective walls and the gates [gopuras] of the cities. Some took axes and began cutting the important trees that produced mango, jackfruit and other sources of food. Some of the demons took firebrands and set fire to the residential quarters of the citizens. (15) Thus disturbed again and again by the unnatural occurrences caused by the followers of Hiraṇyakaśipu, all the people had to cease the activities of Vedic culture. Not receiving the results of yajña, the demigods also became disturbed. They left their residential quarters in the heavenly plan ets and, unobserved by the demons, began wan dering on the planet earth to see the disasters. (16) After performing the ritualistic observances for the death of his brother, Hiraṇyakaśipu, be ing extremely unhappy, tried to pacify his nephews. (17)

O King, Hiraṇyakaśipu was ex tremely angry, but since he was a great politi cian, he knew how to act according to the time and situation. With sweet words he began pac ifying his nephews, whose names were Śakuni, Śambara, Dhṛṣṭi, Bhūtasantāpana, Vṛka, Kālanābha, Mahānābha, Hariśmaśru and Ut kaca. He also consoled their mother, his sister in-law, Ruṣābhānu, as well as his own mother, Diti. He spoke to them all as follows. (18-19) Hiraṇyakaśipu said: My dear mother, sister in-law and nephews, you should not lament for the death of the great hero, for a hero’s death in front of his enemy is glorious and desirable. (20) My dear mother, in a restaurant or place for drinking cold water, many travelers are brought together, and after drinking water they continue to their respective destinations. Simi larly, living entities join together in a family, and later, as a result of their own actions, they are led apart to their destinations. (21)

The spirit soul, the living entity, has no death, for he is eternal and inexhaustible. Being free from material contamination, he can go anywhere in the material or spiritual worlds. He is fully aware and completely different from the mate rial body, but because of being misled by mis use of his slight independence, he is obliged to accept subtle and gross bodies created by the material energy and thus be subjected to so called material happiness and distress. There fore, no one should lament for the passing of the spirit soul from the body. (22) Because of the movements of the water, the trees on the bank of a river, when reflected on the water, seem to move. Similarly, when the eyes move because of some mental derangement, the land appears to move also. (23)

In the same way, O my gentle mother, when the mind is agitated by the movements of the modes of material nature, the living entity, although freed from all the dif ferent phases of the subtle and gross bodies, thinks that he has changed from one condition to another. (24) In his bewildered state, the liv ing entity, accepting the body and mind to be the self, considers some people to be his kins men and others to be outsiders. Because of this misconception, he suffers. Indeed, the accumu lation of such concocted material ideas is the cause of suffering and so-called happiness in the material world. The conditioned soul thus situated must take birth in different species and work in various types of consciousness, thus creating new bodies. This continued material life is called saṁsāra. Birth, death, lamentation, foolishness and anxiety are due to such material considerations. Thus we sometimes come to a proper understanding and sometimes fall again to a wrong conception of life. (25-26)

In this regard, an example is given from an old history. This involves a discourse between Yamarāja and the friends of a dead person. Please hear it attentively. (27) In the state known as Uśīnara there was a celebrated king named Suyajña. When the King was killed in battle by his enemies, his kinsmen sat down around the dead body and began to lament the death of their friend. (28) His golden, bejeweled armor smashed, his orna ments and garlands fallen from their places, his hair scattered and his eyes lusterless, the slain King lay on the battlefield, his entire body smeared with blood, his heart pierced by the ar rows of the enemy. When he died he had wanted to show his prowess, and thus he had bitten his lips, and his teeth remained in that po sition. His beautiful lotuslike face was now black and covered with dust from the battle field. His arms, with his sword and other weap ons, were cut and broken. When the queens of the King of Uśīnara saw their husband lying in that position, they began crying, “O lord, now that you have been killed, we also have been killed.” Repeating these words again and again, they fell down, pounding their breasts, at the feet of the dead King. (29-31)

As the queens loudly cried, their tears glided down their breasts, becoming reddened by kuṅkuma powder, and fell upon the lotus feet of their husband. Their hair became disarrayed, their ornaments fell, and in a way that evoked sympathy from the hearts of others, the queens began lamenting their husband’s death. (32) O lord, you have now been removed by cruel providence to a state beyond our sight. You had previously sustained the livelihood of the in habitants of Uśīnara, and thus they were happy, but your condition now is the cause of their un happiness. (33) O King, O hero, you were a very grateful husband and the most sincere friend of all of us. How shall we exist without you? O hero, wherever you are going, please direct us there so that we may follow in your footsteps and engage again in your service. Let us go along with you! (34) The time was ap propriate for the body to be burned, but the queens, not allowing it to be taken away, con tinued lamenting for the dead body, which they kept on their laps. In the meantime, the sun completed its movements for setting in the west. (35)

While the queens were lamenting for the dead body of the King, their loud cries were heard even from the abode of Yamarāja. Assuming the body of a boy, Yamarāja person ally approached the relatives of the dead body and advised them as follows. (36) Śrī Yamarāja said: Alas, how amazing it is! These persons, who are older than me, have full experience that hundreds and thousands of liv ing entities have taken birth and died. Thus they should understand that they also are apt to die, yet still they are bewildered. The conditioned soul comes from an unknown place and returns after death to that same unknown place. There is no exception to this rule, which is conducted by material nature. Knowing this, why do they uselessly lament? (37)

It is wonderful that these elderly women do not have a higher sense of life than we do. Indeed, we are most fortu nate, for although we are children and have been left to struggle in material life, unpro tected by father and mother, and although we are very weak, we have not been vanquished or eaten by ferocious animals. Thus we have a firm belief that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has given us protection even in the womb of the mother, will protect us every where. (38) The boy addressed the women: O weak women! Only by the will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is never dimin ished, is the entire world created, maintained and again annihilated. This is the verdict of the Vedic knowledge. This material creation, con sisting of the moving and nonmoving, is ex actly like His plaything. Being the Supreme Lord, He is completely competent to destroy and protect. (39)

Sometimes one loses his money on a public street, where everyone can see it, and yet his money is protected by destiny and not seen by others. Thus the man who lost it gets it back. On the other hand, if the Lord does not give protection, even money main tained very securely at home is lost. If the Su preme Lord gives one protection, even though one has no protector and is in the jungle, one remains alive, whereas a person well protected at home by relatives and others sometimes dies, no one being able to protect him. (40) Every conditioned soul receives a different type of body according to his work, and when the engagement is finished the body is finished. Although the spirit soul is situated in subtle and gross material bodies in different forms of life, he is not bound by them, for he is always un derstood to be completely different from the manifested body. (41)

Just as a householder, although different from the identity of his house, thinks his house to be identical with him, so the conditioned soul, due to ignorance, ac cepts the body to be himself, although the body is actually different from the soul. This body is obtained through a combination of portions of earth, water and fire, and when the earth, water and fire are transformed in the course of time, the body is vanquished. The soul has nothing to do with this creation and dissolution of the body. (42) As fire, although situated in wood, is perceived to be different from the wood, as air, although situated within the mouth and nos trils, is perceived to be separate, and as the sky, although all-pervading, never mixes with any thing, so the living entity, although now en caged within the material body, of which it is the source, is separate from it. (43)

Yamarāja continued: O lamenters, you are all fools! The person named Suyajña, for whom you lament, is still lying before you and has not gone anywhere. Then what is the cause for your lamentation? Previously he heard you and re plied to you, but now, not finding him, you are lamenting. This is contradictory behavior, for you have never actually seen the person within the body who heard you and replied. There is no need for your lamentation, for the body you have always seen is lying here. (44) In the body the most important substance is the life air, but that also is neither the listener nor the speaker. Beyond even the life air, the soul also can do nothing, for the Supersoul is actually the direc tor, in cooperation with the individual soul. The Supersoul conducting the activities of the body is different from the body and living force. (45) The five material elements, the ten senses and the mind all combine to form the various parts of the gross and subtle bodies. The living entity comes in contact with his material bodies, whether high or low, and later gives them up by his personal prowess. This strength can be per ceived in a living entity’s personal power to possess different types of bodies. (46)

As long as the spirit soul is covered by the subtle body, consisting of the mind, intelligence and false ego, he is bound to the results of his fruitive ac tivities. Because of this covering, the spirit soul is connected with the material energy and must accordingly suffer material conditions and re versals, continually, life after life. (47) It is fruitless to see and talk of the material modes of nature and their resultant so-called happiness and distress as if they were factual. When the mind wanders during the day and a man begins to think himself extremely important, or when he dreams at night and sees a beautiful woman enjoying with him, these are merely false dreams. Similarly, the happiness and distress caused by the material senses should be under stood to be meaningless. (48)

Those who have full knowledge of self-realization, who know very well that the spirit soul is eternal whereas the body is perishable, are not overwhelmed by lamentation. But persons who lack knowledge of self-realization certainly lament. Therefore it is difficult to educate a person in illusion. (49) There was once a hunter who lured birds with food and captured them after spreading a net. He lived as if appointed by death personi fied as the killer of the birds. (50) While wan dering in the forest, the hunter saw a pair of kuliṅga birds. Of the two, the female was cap tivated by the hunter’s lure. (51) O queens of Suyajña, the male kuliṅga bird, seeing his wife put into the greatest danger in the grip of Prov idence, became very unhappy. Because of af fection, the poor bird, being unable to release her, began to lament for his wife. (52) Alas, how merciless is Providence! My wife, unable to be helped by anyone, is in such an awkward position and lamenting for me. What will Prov idence gain by taking away this poor bird? What will be the profit? (53)

If unkind Provi dence takes away my wife, who is half my body, why should He not take me also? What is the use of my living with half of my body, be reaved by loss of my wife? What shall I gain in this way? (54) The unfortunate baby birds, be reft of their mother, are waiting in the nest for her to feed them. They are still very small and have not yet grown their wings. How shall I be able to maintain them? (55) Because of the loss of his wife, the kuliṅga bird lamented with tears in his eyes. Meanwhile, following the dicta tions of mature time, the hunter, who was very carefully hidden in the distance, released his ar row, which pierced the body of the kuliṅga bird and killed him. (56) Thus Yamarāja, in the guise of a small boy, told all the queens: You are all so foolish that you lament but do not see your own death. Afflicted by a poor fund of knowledge, you do not know that even if you lament for your dead husband for hundreds of years, you will never get him back alive, and in the meantime your lives will be finished. (57)

Hiraṇyakaśipu said: While Yamarāja, in the form of a small boy, was instructing all the rel atives surrounding the dead body of Suyajña, everyone was struck with wonder by his philo sophical words. They could understand that everything material is temporary, not continu ing to exist. (58) After instructing all the fool ish relatives of Suyajña, Yamarāja, in the form of a boy, disappeared from their vision. Then the relatives of King Suyajña performed the rit ualistic funeral ceremonies. (59) Therefore none of you should be aggrieved for the loss of the bodywhether your own or those of others. Only in ignorance does one make bodily dis tinctions, thinking “Who am I? Who are the others? What is mine? What is for others?” (60) Śrī Nārada Muni continued: Diti, the mother of Hiraṇyakaśipu and Hiraṇyākṣa, heard the in structions of Hiraṇyakaśipu along with her daughter-in-law, Ruṣābhānu, Hiraṇyākṣa’s wife. She then forgot her grief over her son’s death and thus engaged her mind and attention in understanding the real philosophy of life. (61)  

King Parīkṣit inquired: My dear brāhmaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, being everyone’s well-wisher, is equal and ex tremely dear to everyone. How, then, did He become partial like a common man for the sake of Indra and thus kill Indra’s enemies? How can a person equal to everyone be partial to some and inimical toward others? (1) Lord Viṣṇu Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the reservoir of all pleasure. Therefore, what benefit would He derive from siding with the demigods? What interest would He fulfill in this way? Since the Lord is transcendental, why should He fear the asuras, and how could He be envious of them? (2) O greatly fortunate and learned brāhmaṇa, whether Nārāyaṇa is partial or impartial has become a subject of great doubt. Kindly dispel my doubt with positive ev idence that Nārāyaṇa is always neutral and equal to everyone. (3)

The great sage Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: My dear King, you have put before me an excellent question. Discourses concerning the activities of the Lord, in which the glories of His devo tees are also found, are extremely pleasing to devotees. Such wonderful topics always coun teract the miseries of the materialistic way of life. Therefore, great sages like Nārada always speak upon Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam because it gives one the facility to hear and chant about the wonderful activities of the Lord. Let me of fer my respectful obeisances unto Śrīla Vyāsadeva and then begin describing topics concerning the activities of Lord Hari. (4-5) The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, is always transcendental to material qualities, and therefore He is called nirguṇa, or without qual ities. Because He is unborn, He does not have a material body to be subjected to attachment and hatred. Although the Lord is always above ma terial existence, through His spiritual potency He appeared and acted like an ordinary human being, accepting duties and obligations, appar ently like a conditioned soul. (6)

My dear King Parīkṣit, the material qualitiessattva-guṇa, rajo guṇa and tamo-guṇaall belong to the material world and do not even touch the Supreme Per sonality of Godhead. These three guṇas cannot act by increasing or decreasing simultaneously. (7) When the quality of goodness is prominent, the sages and demigods flourish with the help of that quality, with which they are infused and surcharged by the Supreme Lord. Similarly, when the mode of passion is prominent the de mons flourish, and when ignorance is promi nent the Yakṣas and Rākṣasas flourish. The Su preme Personality of Godhead is present in everyone’s heart, fostering the reactions of sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa. (8)

The all-pervading Personality of Godhead exists within the heart of every living being, and an expert thinker can perceive how He is present there to a large or small extent. Just as one can understand the supply of fire in wood, the water in a waterpot, or the sky within a pot, one can understand whether a living entity is a demon or a demigod by understanding that living en tity’s devotional performances. A thoughtful man can understand how much a person is fa vored by the Supreme Lord by seeing his ac tions. (9) When the Supreme Personality of Godhead creates different types of bodies, of fering a particular body to each living entity ac cording to his character and fruitive actions, the Lord revives all the qualities of material nature sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa. Then, as the Supersoul, He enters each body and influ ences the qualities of creation, maintenance and annihilation, using sattva-guṇa for mainte nance, rajo-guṇa for creation and tamo-guṇa for annihilation. (10)

O great King, the Su preme Personality of Godhead, the controller of the material and spiritual energies, who is cer tainly the creator of the entire cosmos, creates the time factor to allow the material energy and the living entity to act within the limits of time. Thus the Supreme Personality is never under the time factor nor under the material energy. (11) O King, this time factor enhances the sattva guṇa. Thus although the Supreme Lord is the controller, He favors the demigods, who are mostly situated in sattva-guṇa. Then the de mons, who are influenced by tamo-guṇa, are annihilated. The Supreme Lord induces the time factor to act in different ways, but He is never partial. Rather, His activities are glori ous, and therefore He is called Uruśravā. (12)

Formerly, O King, when Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was performing the Rājasūya sacrifice, the great sage Nārada, responding to his inquiry, recited historical facts showing how the Su preme Personality of Godhead is always impar tial, even when killing demons. In this regard he gave a vivid example. (13) O King, at the Rājasūya sacrifice, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, the son of Mahārāja Pāṇḍu, personally saw Śiśupāla merge into the body of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, struck with wonder, he inquired about the reason for this from the great sage Nārada, who was seated there. While he inquired, all the sages present also heard him ask his question. (14-15) Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira inquired: It is very wonderful that the demon Śiśupāla merged into the body of the Supreme Personality of God head even though extremely envious. This sāyujya-mukti is impossible to attain even for great transcendentalists. How then did the en emy of the Lord attain it? (16)

O great sage, we are all eager to know the cause for this mercy of the Lord. I have heard that formerly a king named Vena blasphemed the Supreme Person ality of Godhead and that all the brāhmaṇas consequently obliged him to go to hell. Śiśupāla should also have been sent to hell. How then did he merge into the Lord’s exist ence? (17) From the very beginning of his childhood, when he could not even speak properly, Śiśupāla, the most sinful son of Damaghoṣa, began blaspheming the Lord, and he continued to be envious of Śrī Kṛṣṇa until death. Similarly, his brother Dantavakra con tinued the same habits. (18) Although these two menŚiśupāla and Dantavakrarepeatedly blasphemed the Supreme Personality of God head, Lord Viṣṇu [Kṛṣṇa], the Supreme Brah man, they were quite healthy. Indeed, their tongues were not attacked by white leprosy, nor did they enter the darkest region of hellish life. We are certainly most surprised by this. (19)

How was it possible for Śiśupāla and Danta vakra, in the presence of many exalted persons, to enter very easily into the body of Kṛṣṇa, whose nature is difficult to attain? (20) This matter is undoubtedly very wonderful. Indeed, my intelligence has become disturbed, just as the flame of a candle is disturbed by a blowing wind. O Nārada Muni, you know eve rything. Kindly let me know the cause of this wonderful event. (21) ŚrīŚukadeva Gosvāmī said: After hearing the request of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, Nārada Muni, the most powerful spiritual master, who knew everything, was very pleased. Thus he re plied in the presence of everyone taking part in the yajña. (22) The great sage Śrī Nāradajī said: O King, blasphemy and praise, chastisement and re spect, are experienced because of ignorance. The body of the conditioned soul is planned by the Lord for suffering in the material world through the agency of the external energy. (23)

My dear King, the conditioned soul, being in the bodily conception of life, considers his body to be his self and considers everything in relationship with the body to be his. Because he has this wrong conception of life, he is sub jected to dualities like praise and chastisement. (24) Because of the bodily conception of life, the conditioned soul thinks that when the body is annihilated the living being is annihilated. Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of God head, is the supreme controller, the Supersoul of all living entities. Because He has no mate rial body, He has no false conception of “I and mine.” It is therefore incorrect to think that He feels pleasure or pain when blasphemed or of fered prayers. This is impossible for Him. Thus He has no enemy and no friend. When He chas tises the demons it is for their good, and when He accepts the prayers of the devotees it is for their good. He is affected neither by prayers nor by blasphemy. (25)

Therefore by enmity or by devotional service, by fear, by affection or by lusty desireby all of these or any one of themif a conditioned soul somehow or other concen trates his mind upon the Lord, the result is the same, for the Lord, because of His blissful po sition, is never affected by enmity or friend ship. (26) Nārada Muni continued: By devo tional service one cannot achieve such intense absorption in thought of the Supreme Personal ity of Godhead as one can through enmity to ward Him. That is my opinion. (27) A grass worm confined in a hole of a wall by a bee al ways thinks of the bee in fear and enmity and later becomes a bee simply because of such re membrance. Similarly, if the conditioned souls somehow or other think of Kṛṣṇa, who is sac cid-ānanda-vigraha, they will become free from their sins. Whether thinking of Him as their worshipable Lord or an enemy, because of constantly thinking of Him they will regain their spiritual bodies. (28-29)

Many, many per sons have attained liberation simply by think ing of Kṛṣṇa with great attention and giving up sinful activities. This great attention may be due to lusty desires, inimical feelings, fear, af fection or devotional service. I shall now ex plain how one receives Kṛṣṇa’s mercy simply by concentrating one’s mind upon Him. (30) My dear King Yudhiṣṭhira, the gopīs by their lusty desires, Kaṁsa by his fear, Śiśupāla and other kings by envy, the Yadus by their familial relationship with Kṛṣṇa, you Pāṇḍavas by your great affection for Kṛṣṇa, and we, the general devotees, by our devotional service, have ob tained the mercy of Kṛṣṇa. (31) Somehow or other, one must consider the form of Kṛṣṇa very seriously. Then, by one of the five different processes mentioned above, one can return home, back to Godhead. Atheists like King Vena, however, being unable to think of Kṛṣṇa’s form in any of these five ways, cannot attain salvation. Therefore, one must somehow think of Kṛṣṇa, whether in a friendly way or in imically. (32)

Nārada Muni continued: O best of the Pāṇḍavas, your two cousins Śiśupāla and Dan tavakra, the sons of your maternal aunt, were formerly associates of Lord Viṣṇu, but because they were cursed by brāhmaṇas, they fell from Vaikuṇṭha to this material world. (33) Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira inquired: What kind of great curse could affect even liberated viṣṇu bhaktas, and what sort of person could curse even the Lord’s associates? For unflinching devotees of the Lord to fall again to this mate rial world is impossible. I cannot believe this. (34) The bodies of the inhabitants of Vaikuṇṭha are completely spiritual, having nothing to do with the material body, senses or life air. There fore, kindly explain how associates of the Per sonality of Godhead were cursed to descend in material bodies like ordinary persons. (35)

The great saint Nārada said: Once upon a time when the four sons of Lord Brahmā named Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanātana and Sanat kumāra were wandering throughout the three worlds, they came by chance to Viṣṇuloka. (36) Although these four great sages were older than Brahmā’s other sons like Marīci, they appeared like small naked children only five or six years old. When Jaya and Vijaya saw them trying to enter Vaikuṇṭhaloka, these two gate keepers, thinking them ordinary children, for bade them to enter. (37)

Thus checked by the doorkeepers Jaya and Vijaya, Sanandana and the other great sages very angrily cursed them. “You two foolish doorkeepers,” they said. “Be ing agitated by the material qualities of passion and ignorance, you are unfit to live at the shel ter of Madhudviṣa’s lotus feet, which are free from such modes. It would be better for you to go immediately to the material world and take your birth in a family of most sinful asuras.” (38) While Jaya and Vijaya, thus cursed by the sages, were falling to the material world, they were addressed as follows by the same sages, who were very kind to them. “O doorkeepers, after three births you will be able to return to your positions in Vaikuṇṭha, for then the dura tion of the curse will have ended.” (39)

These two associates of the LordJaya and Vijayalater descended to the material world, taking birth as the two sons of Diti, Hiraṇyakaśipu being the elder and Hiraṇyākṣa the younger. They were very much respected by the Daityas and Dāna vas [demoniac species]. (40) Appearing as Nṛsiṁhadeva, the Supreme Personality of God head, Śrī Hari, killed Hiraṇyakaśipu. When the Lord delivered the planet earth, which had fallen in the Garbhodaka Ocean, Hiraṇyākṣa tried to hinder Him, and then the Lord, as Varāha, killed Hiraṇyākṣa. (41) Desiring to kill his son Prahlāda, who was a great devotee of Lord Viṣṇu, Hiraṇyakaśipu tortured him in many ways. (42) The Lord, the Supersoul of all living enti ties, is sober, peaceful and equal to everyone. Since the great devotee Prahlāda was protected by the Lord’s potency, Hiraṇyakaśipu was un able to kill him, in spite of endeavoring to do so in various ways. (43)

Thereafter the same Jaya and Vijaya, the two doorkeepers of Lord Viṣṇu, took birth as Rāvaṇa and Kumbhakarṇa, begot ten by Viśravā in the womb of Keśinī. They were extremely troublesome to all the people of the universe. (44) Nārada Muni continued: My dear King, just to relieve Jaya and Vijaya of the brāhmaṇas’ curse, Lord Rāmacandra appeared in order to kill Rāvaṇa and Kumbhakarṇa. It will be better for you to hear narrations about Lord Rāmacandra’s activities from Mārkaṇḍeya. (45) In their third birth, the same Jaya and Vijaya appeared in a family of kṣatriyas as your cousins, the sons of your aunt. Be cause Lord Kṛṣṇa has struck them with His disc, all their sinful reactions have been de stroyed, and now they are free from the curse. (46)

These two associates of Lord ViṣṇuJaya and Vijayamaintained a feeling of enmity for a very long time. Because of always thinking of Kṛṣṇa in this way, they regained the shelter of the Lord, having returned home, back to God head. (47) Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira inquired: O my lord, Nārada Muni, why was there such enmity be tween Hiraṇyakaśipu and his beloved son Prah lāda Mahārāja? How did Prahlāda Mahārāja be come such a great devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa? Kindly explain this to me. (48)

Mahārāja Parīkṣit said: My dear lord, you have already spoken about the puṁsavana vow. Now I want to hear about it in detail, for I un derstand that by observing this vow one can please the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu.(1) Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: On the first day of the bright fortnight of the month of Agrahāyaṇa [November-December], following the instruc tions of her husband, a woman should begin this regulative devotional service with a vow of penance, for it can fulfill all one’s desires. Be fore beginning the worship of Lord Viṣṇu, the woman should hear the story of how the Maruts were born. Under the instructions of qualified brāhmaṇas, in the morning she should wash her teeth, bathe, and dress herself with white cloth and ornaments, and before taking breakfast she should worship Lord Viṣṇu and Lakṣmī.(2-3)

[She should then pray to the Lord as follows.] My dear Lord, You are full in all opulences, but I do not beg You for opulence. I simply offer my respectful obeisances unto You. You are the husband and master of Lakṣmīdevī, the god dess of fortune, who has all opulences. There fore You are the master of all mystic yoga. I simply offer my obeisances unto You.(4) O my Lord, because You are endowed with causeless mercy, all opulences, all prowess and all glo ries, strength and transcendental qualities, You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of everyone.(5) [After profusely offer ing obeisances unto Lord Viṣṇu, the devotee should offer respectful obeisances unto mother Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune, and pray as fol lows.] O wife of Lord Viṣṇu, O internal energy of Lord Viṣṇu, you are as good as Lord Viṣṇu Himself, for you have all of His qualities and opulences. O goddess of fortune, please be kind to me. O mother of the entire world, I offer my respectful obeisances unto you.(6)

“My Lord Viṣṇu, full in six opulences, You are the best of all enjoyers and the most power ful. O husband of mother Lakṣmī, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, who are ac companied by many associates, such as Viśvaksena. I offer all the paraphernalia for worshiping You.” One should chant this mantra every day with great attention while worship ing Lord Viṣṇu with all paraphernalia, such as water for washing His feet, hands and mouth and water for His bath. One must offer Him various presentations for His worship, such as garments, a sacred thread, ornaments, scents, flowers, incense and lamps.(7) Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: After worshiping the Lord with all the paraphernalia mentioned above, one should chant the following mantra while offering twelve oblations of ghee on the sacred fire: oṁ namo bhagavate mahā-puruṣāya mahāvibhūti-pataye svāhā.(8)

If one desires all opulences, his duty is to daily worship Lord Viṣṇu with His wife, Lakṣmī. With great devo tion one should worship Him according to the above-mentioned process. Lord Viṣṇu and the goddess of fortune are an immensely powerful combination. They are the bestowers of all ben edictions and the sources of all good fortune. Therefore the duty of everyone is to worship Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa.(9) One should offer obei sances unto the Lord with a mind humbled through devotion. While offering daṇḍavats by falling on the ground like a rod, one should chant the above mantra ten times. Then one should chant the following prayer.(10) My Lord Viṣṇu and mother Lakṣmī, god dess of fortune, you are the proprietors of the entire creation. Indeed, you are the cause of the creation. Mother Lakṣmī is extremely difficult to understand because she is so powerful that the jurisdiction of her power is difficult to over come. Mother Lakṣmī is represented in the ma terial world as the external energy, but actually she is always the internal energy of the Lord.(11)

My Lord, You are the master of en ergy, and therefore You are the Supreme Per son. You are sacrifice [yajña] personified. Lakṣmī, the embodiment of spiritual activities, is the original form of worship offered unto You, whereas You are the enjoyer of all sacri fices.(12) Mother Lakṣmī, who is here, is the reservoir of all spiritual qualities, whereas You manifest and enjoy all these qualities. Indeed, You are actually the enjoyer of everything. You live as the Supersoul of all living entities, and the goddess of fortune is the form of their bod ies, senses and minds. She also has a holy name and form, whereas You are the support of all such names and forms and the cause for their manifestation.(13) You are both the supreme rulers and benedictors of the three worlds. Therefore, my Lord, Uttamaśloka, may my am bitions be fulfilled by Your grace.(14)

ŚrīŚukadeva Gosvāmī continued: Thus one should worship Lord Viṣṇu, who is known as Śrīnivāsa, along with mother Lakṣmī, the god dess of fortune, by offering prayers according to the process mentioned above. After remov ing all the paraphernalia of worship, one should offer them water to wash their hands and mouths, and then one should worship them again.(15) Thereafter, with devotion and hu mility, one should offer prayers to the Lord and mother Lakṣmī. Then one should smell the remnants of the food offered and then again worship the Lord and Lakṣmījī.(16) Accepting her husband as the representative of the Su preme Person, a wife should worship him with unalloyed devotion by offering him prasāda. The husband, being very pleased with his wife, should engage himself in the affairs of his fam ily.(17)

Between the husband and wife, one person is sufficient to execute this devotional service. Because of their good relationship, both of them will enjoy the result. Therefore if the wife is unable to execute this process, the husband should carefully do so, and the faithful wife will share the result.(18) One should ac cept this viṣṇu-vrata, which is a vow in devo tional service, and should not deviate from its execution to engage in anything else. By offer ing the remnants of prasāda, flower garlands, sandalwood pulp and ornaments, one should daily worship the brāhmaṇas and worship women who peacefully live with their hus bands and children. Every day the wife must continue following the regulative principles to worship Lord Viṣṇu with great devotion. Thereafter, Lord Viṣṇu should be laid in His bed, and then one should take prasāda. In this way, husband and wife will be purified and will have all their desires fulfilled.(19-20)

The chaste wife must perform such devotional ser vice continuously for one year. After one year passes, she should fast on the full-moon day in the month of Kārttika [October-Novem ber].(21) On the morning of the next day, one should wash oneself, and after worshiping Lord Kṛṣṇa as before, one should cook as one cooks for festivals as stated in the Gṛhya-sūtras. Sweetrice should be cooked with ghee, and with this preparation the husband should offer oblations to the fire twelve times. (22) Thereaf ter, he should satisfy the brāhmaṇas. When the satisfied brāhmaṇas bestow their blessings, he should devotedly offer them respectful obei sances with his head, and with their permission he should take prasāda.(23) Before taking his meal, the husband must first seat the ācārya comfortably, and, along with his relatives and friends, should control his speech and offer prasāda to the guru. Then the wife should eat the remnants of the oblation of sweetrice cooked with ghee. Eating the remnants insures a learned, devoted son and all good fortune.(24)

If this vow or ritualistic ceremony is observed according to the description of śāstra, even in this life a man will be able to achieve all the benedictions he desires from the Lord. A wife who performs this ritualistic ceremony will surely receive good fortune, opulence, sons, a long-living husband, a good reputation and a good home.(25)

If an unmarried girl observes this vrata, she will be able to get a very good husband. If a woman who is avīrāwho has no husband or sonexecutes this ritualistic cere mony, she can be promoted to the spiritual world. A woman whose children have died af ter birth can get a child with a long duration of life and also become very fortunate in pos sessing wealth. If a woman is unfortunate she will become fortunate, and if ugly she will be come beautiful. By observing this vrata, a dis eased man can gain relief from his disease and have an able body with which to work. If one recites this narration while offering oblations to the pitās and demigods, especially during the śrāddha ceremony, the demigods and inhabit ants of Pitṛloka will be extremely pleased with him and bestow upon him the fulfillment of all desires. After one performs this ritualistic cere mony, Lord Viṣṇu and His wife, mother Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune, are very pleased with him. O King Parīkṣit, now I have completely described how Diti performed this ceremony and had good childrenthe Marutsand a happy life. I have tried to explain this to you as elaborately as possible.( 26-28)

ŚrīŚukadeva Gosvāmī said: Pṛśni, who was the wife of Savitā, the fifth of the twelve sons of Aditi, gave birth to three daughtersSāvitrī, Vyāhṛti and Trayīand the sons named Ag nihotra, Paśu, Soma, Cāturmāsya and the five Mahāyajñas.(1) O King, Siddhi, who was the wife of Bhaga, the sixth son of Aditi, bore three sons, named Mahimā, Vibhu and Prabhu, and one extremely beautiful daughter, whose name was Āśī.(2) Dhātā, the seventh son of Aditi, had four wives, named Kuhū, Sinīvālī, Rākā and Anumati. These wives begot four sons, named Sāyam, Darśa, Prātaḥ and Pūrṇamāsa respec tively. The wife of Vidhātā, the eighth son of Aditi, was named Kriyā. In her Vidhātā begot the five fire-gods named the Purīṣyas. The wife of Varuṇa, the ninth son of Aditi, was named Carṣaṇī. Bhṛgu, the son of Brahmā, took birth again in her womb.(3-4) By the semen of Var uṇa, the great mystic Vālmīki took birth from an anthill. Bhṛgu and Vālmīki were specific sons of Varuṇa, whereas Agastya and Vasiṣṭha Ṛṣis were the common sons of Varuṇa and Mi tra, the tenth son of Aditi.(5)

Upon seeing Ur vaśī, the celestial society girl, both Mitra and Varuṇa discharged semen, which they pre served in an earthen pot. The two sons Agastya and Vasiṣṭha later appeared from that pot, and they are therefore the common sons of Mitra and Varuṇa. Mitra begot three sons in the womb of his wife, whose name was Revatī. Their names were Utsarga, Ariṣṭa and Pip pala.(6) O King Parīkṣit, Indra, the King of the heavenly planets and eleventh son of Aditi, be got three sons, named Jayanta, Ṛṣabha and Mīḍhuṣa, in the womb of his wife, Paulomī. Thus we have heard.(7) By His own potency, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has multifarious potencies, appeared in the form of a dwarf as Urukrama, the twelfth son of Aditi. In the womb of His wife, whose name was Kīrti, He begot one son, named Bṛhatśloka, who had many sons, headed by Saubhaga.(8) Later [in the Eighth Canto of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam] I shall describe how Urukrama, Lord Vāmanadeva, appeared as the son of the great sage Kaśyapa and how He covered the three worlds with three steps. I shall describe the uncommon activities He performed, His qualities, His power and how He took birth from the womb of Aditi.(9)

Now let me describe the sons of Diti, who were begotten by Kaśyapa but who became de mons. In this demoniac family the great devo tee Prahlāda Mahārāja appeared, and Bali Mahārāja also appeared in that family. The de mons are technically known as Daityas because they proceeded from the womb of Diti.(10) First the two sons named Hiraṇyakaśipu and Hiraṇyākṣa took birth from Diti’s womb. Both of them were very powerful and were wor shiped by the Daityas and Dānavas.(11) The wife of Hiraṇyakaśipu was known as Kayādhu. She was the daughter of Jambha and a descend ant of Danu. She gave birth to four consecutive sons, known as Saṁhlāda, Anuhlāda, Hlāda and Prahlāda. The sister of these four sons was known as Siṁhikā. She married the demon named Vipracit and gave birth to another de mon, named Rāhu.( 12-13) While Rāhu, in disguise, was drinking nec tar among the demigods, the Supreme Person ality of Godhead severed his head. The wife of Saṁhlāda was named Kṛti. By union with Saṁhlāda, Kṛti gave birth to a son named Pañcajana.(14)

The wife of Hlāda was named Dhamani. She gave birth to two sons, named Vātāpi and Ilvala. When Agastya Muni became Ilvala’s guest, Ilvala served him a feast by cooking Vātāpi, who was in the shape of a ram.(15) The wife of Anuhlāda was named Sūryā. She gave birth to two sons, named Bāṣkala and Mahiṣa. Prahlāda had one son, Vi rocana, whose wife gave birth to Bali Mahārāja.(16) Thereafter, Bali Mahārāja begot one hundred sons in the womb of Aśanā. Of these one hundred sons, King Bāṇa was the eld est. The activities of Bali Mahārāja, which are very laudable, will be described later [in the Eighth Canto].(17) Since King Bāṇa was a great worshiper of Lord Śiva, he became one of Lord Śiva’s most celebrated associates. Even now, Lord Śiva protects King Bāṇa’s capital and always stands beside him.(18) The forty nine Marut demigods were also born from the womb of Diti. None of them had sons. Alt hough they were born of Diti, King Indra gave them a position as demigods.(19)

King Parīkṣit inquired: My dear lord, due to their birth, the forty-nine Maruts must have been obsessed with a demoniac mentality. Why did Indra, the King of heaven, convert them into demigods? Did they perform any rituals or pious activities?(20) My dear brāhmaṇa, I and all the sages present with me are eager to know about this. Therefore, O great soul, kindly ex plain to us the reason.(21) Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī said: O great sage Śau naka, after hearing Mahārāja Parīkṣit speak re spectfully and briefly on topics essential to hear, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, who was well aware of everything, praised his endeavor with great pleasure and replied. (22) ŚrīŚukadeva Gosvāmī said: Just to help In dra, Lord Viṣṇu killed the two brothers Hiraṇyākṣa and Hiraṇyakaśipu. Because of their being killed, their mother, Diti, over whelmed with lamentation and anger, contem plated as follows.(23) Lord Indra, who is very much fond of sense gratification, has killed the two brothers Hiraṇyākṣa and Hiraṇyakaśipu by means of Lord Viṣṇu. Therefore Indra is cruel, hardhearted and sinful. When will I, having killed him, rest with a pacified mind? (24)

When dead, the bodies of all the rulers known as kings and great leaders will be transformed into worms, stool or ashes. If one enviously kills others for the protection of such a body, does he actually know the true interest of life? Certainly he does not, for if one is envious of other entities, he surely goes to hell.(25) Diti thought: Indra considers his body eternal, and thus he has become unrestrained. I therefore wish to have a son who can remove Indra’s madness. Let me adopt some means to help me in this.(26) Thinking in this way [with a desire for a son to kill Indra], Diti began constantly acting to satisfy Kaśyapa by her pleasing be havior. O King, Diti always carried out Kaśyapa’s orders very faithfully, as he desired. With service, love, humility and control, with words spoken very sweetly to satisfy her hus band, and with smiles and glances at him, Diti attracted his mind and brought it under her con trol.(27-28) Although Kaśyapa Muni was a learned scholar, he was captivated by Diti’s ar tificial behavior, which brought him under her control. Therefore he assured his wife that he would fulfill her desires. Such a promise by a husband is not at all astonishing.(29)

In the be ginning of creation, Lord Brahmā, the father of the living entities of the universe, saw that all the living entities were unattached. To increase population, he then created woman from the better half of man’s body, for woman’s behav ior carries away a man’s mind.(30) O my dear one, the most powerful sage Kaśyapa, being ex tremely pleased by the mild behavior of his wife Diti, smiled and spoke to her as fol lows.(31) Kaśyapa Muni said: O beautiful woman, O irreproachable lady, since I am very much pleased by your behavior, you may ask me for any benediction you want. If a husband is pleased, what desires are difficult for his wife to obtain, either in this world or in the next?(32) A husband is the supreme demigod for a woman. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Vāsudeva, the husband of the goddess of fortune, is situated in everyone’s heart and is worshiped through the various names and forms of the demigods by fruitive workers. Similarly, a husband represents the Lord as the object of worship for a woman.(33-34)

My dear wife, whose body is so beautiful, your waist be ing thin, a conscientious wife should be chaste and should abide by the orders of her husband. She should very devoutly worship her husband as a representative of Vāsudeva.(35) My dear gentle wife, because you have worshiped me with great devotion, considering me a repre sentative of the Supreme Personality of God head, I shall reward you by fulfilling your de sires, which are unobtainable for an unchaste wife.(36) Diti replied: O my husband, O great soul, I have now lost my sons. If you want to give me a benediction, I ask you for an immortal son who can kill Indra. I pray for this because Indra, with the help of Viṣṇu, has killed my two sons Hiraṇyākṣa and Hiraṇyakaśipu.(37) Upon hearing Diti’s request, Kaśyapa Muni was very much aggrieved. “Alas,” he lamented, “now I face the danger of the impious act of killing Indra.”(38)

Kaśyapa Muni thought: Alas, I have now become too attached to mate rial enjoyment. Taking advantage of this, my mind has been attracted by the illusory energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the form of a woman [my wife]. Therefore I am surely a wretched person who will glide down toward hell.(39) This woman, my wife, has adopted a means that follows her nature, and therefore she is not to be blamed. But I am a man. Therefore, all condemnation upon me! I am not at all conversant with what is good for me, since I could not control my senses.(40) A woman’s face is as attractive and beautiful as a blossoming lotus flower during autumn. Her words are very sweet, and they give pleasure to the ear, but if we study a woman’s heart, we can understand it to be extremely sharp, like the blade of a razor. In these circumstances, who could understand the dealings of a woman?(41) To satisfy their own interests, women deal with men as if the men were most dear to them, but no one is actually dear to them. Women are supposed to be very saintly, but for their own interests they can kill even their husbands, sons or brothers, or cause them to be killed by oth ers.(42)

I promised to give her a benediction, and this promise cannot be violated, but Indra does not deserve to be killed. In these circum stances, the solution I have is quite suita ble.(43) ŚrīŚukadeva Gosvāmī said: Kaśyapa Muni, thinking in this way, became somewhat angry. Condemning himself, O Mahārāja Parīkṣit, descendant of Kuru, he spoke to Diti as follows.(44) Kaśyapa Muni said: My dear gentle wife, if you follow my instructions regarding this vow for at least one year, you will surely get a son who will be able to kill Indra. However, if you deviate from this vow of following the Vaiṣṇava principles, you will get a son who will be favorable to Indra.(45) Diti replied: My dear brāhmaṇa, I must ac cept your advice and follow the vow. Now let me understand what I have to do, what is for bidden and what will not break the vow. Please clearly state all this to me.(46)

Kaśyapa Muni said: My dear wife, to follow this vow, do not be violent or cause harm to an yone. Do not curse anyone, and do not speak lies. Do not cut your nails and hair, and do not touch impure things like skulls and bones.(47) Kaśyapa Muni continued: My dear gentle wife, never enter the water while bathing, never be angry, and do not even speak or associate with wicked people. Never wear clothes that have not been properly washed, and do not put on a garland that has already been worn.(48) Never eat leftover food, never eat prasāda offered to the goddess Kālī [Durgā], and do not eat any thing contaminated by flesh or fish. Do not eat anything brought or touched by a śūdra nor an ything seen by a woman in her menstrual pe riod. Do not drink water by joining your palms.(49)

After eating, you should not go out to the street without having washed your mouth, hands and feet. You should not go out in the evening or with your hair loose, nor should you go out unless you are properly dec orated with ornaments. You should not leave the house unless you are very grave and are suf ficiently covered. (50) You should not lie down without having washed both of your feet or without being purified, nor with wet feet or with your head pointed west or north. You should not lie naked, or with other women, or during the sunrise or sunset.(51) Putting on washed clothing, being always pure and being adorned with turmeric, sandalwood pulp and other auspicious items, before breakfast one should worship the cows, the brāhmaṇas, the goddess of fortune and the Supreme Personal ity of Godhead.(52)

With flower garlands, san dalwood pulp, ornaments and other parapher nalia, a woman following this vow should worship women who have sons and whose hus bands are living. The pregnant wife should worship her husband and offer him prayers. She should meditate upon him, thinking that he is situated in her womb.(53) Kaśyapa Muni con tinued: If you perform this ceremony called puṁsavana, adhering to the vow with faith for at least one year, you will give birth to a son destined to kill Indra. But if there is any dis crepancy in the discharge of this vow, the son will be a friend to Indra.(54) O King Parīkṣit, Diti, the wife of Kaśyapa, agreed to undergo the purificatory process known as puṁsavana. “Yes,” she said, “I shall do everything accord ing to your instructions.” With great jubilation she became pregnant, having taken semen from Kaśyapa, and faithfully began discharging the vow.(55)

O King, who are respectful to every one, Indra understood Diti’s purpose, and thus he contrived to fulfill his own interests. Follow ing the logic that self-preservation is the first law of nature, he wanted to break Diti’s prom ise. Thus he engaged himself in the service of Diti, his aunt, who was residing in an āśrama.(56) Indra served his aunt daily by bringing flowers, fruits, roots and wood for yaj ñas from the forest. He also brought kuśa grass, leaves, sprouts, earth and water exactly at the proper time.(57) O King Parīkṣit, as the hunter of a deer becomes like a deer by covering his body with deerskin and serving the deer, so In dra, although at heart the enemy of the sons of Diti, became outwardly friendly and served Diti in a faithful way. Indra’s purpose was to cheat Diti as soon as he could find some fault in the way she discharged the vows of the ritu alistic ceremony. However, he wanted to be un detected, and therefore he served her very care fully.(58)

O master of the entire world, when Indra could find no faults, he thought, “How will there be good fortune for me?” Thus he was full of deep anxiety.(59) Having grown weak and thin because of strictly following the principles of the vow, Diti once unfortunately neglected to wash her mouth, hands and feet after eating and went to sleep during the evening twilight.(60) Finding this fault, Indra, who has all the mystic powers [the yoga-siddhis such as aṇimā and laghimā], entered Diti’s womb while she was uncon scious, being fast asleep.(61) After entering Diti’s womb, Indra, with the help of his thun derbolt, cut into seven pieces her embryo, which appeared like glowing gold. In seven places, seven different living beings began cry ing. Indra told them, “Do not cry,” and then he cut each of them into seven pieces again.(62) O King, being very much aggrieved, they pleaded to Indra with folded hands, saying, “Dear Indra, we are the Maruts, your brothers. Why are you trying to kill us?”(63)

When Indra saw that ac tually they were his devoted followers, he said to them: If you are all my brothers, you have nothing more to fear from me.(64) Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: My dear King Parīkṣit, you were burned by the brahmāstra of Aśvatthāmā, but when Lord Kṛṣṇa entered the womb of your mother, you were saved. Similarly, although the one embryo was cut into forty-nine pieces by the thunderbolt of Indra, they were all saved by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.(65) If one worships the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the original person, even once, he receives the benefit of being pro moted to the spiritual world and possessing the same bodily features as Viṣṇu. Diti worshiped Lord Viṣṇu for almost one year, adhering to a great vow. Because of such strength in spiritual life, the forty-nine Maruts were born. How, then, is it wonderful that the Maruts, although born from the womb of Diti, became equal to the demigods by the mercy of the Supreme Lord?(66-67)

Because of worshiping the Supreme Person ality of Godhead, Diti was completely purified. When she got up from bed, she saw her forty nine sons along with Indra. These forty-nine sons were all as brilliant as fire and were in friendship with Indra, and therefore she was very pleased.(68) Thereafter, Diti said to Indra: My dear son, I adhered to this difficult vow just to get a son to kill you twelve Ādityas.(69) I prayed for only one son, but now I see that there are forty-nine. How has this happened? My dear son Indra, if you know, please tell me the truth. Do not try to speak lies.(70) Indra replied: My dear mother, because I was grossly blinded by selfish interests, I lost sight of religion. When I understood that you were observing a great vow in spiritual life, I wanted to find some fault in you. When I found such a fault, I entered your womb and cut the embryo to pieces.(71)

First I cut the child in the womb into seven pieces, which became seven children. Then I cut each of the children into seven pieces again. By the grace of the Su preme Lord, however, none of them died.(72) My dear mother, when I saw that all forty-nine sons were alive, I was certainly struck with wonder. I decided that this was a secondary re sult of your having regularly executed devo tional service in worship of Lord Viṣṇu.(73) Although those who are interested only in wor shiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead do not desire anything material from the Lord and do not even want liberation, Lord Kṛṣṇa fulfills all their desires.(74) The ultimate goal of all ambitions is to become a servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If an intelli gent man serves the most dear Lord, who gives Himself to His devotees, how can he desire ma terial happiness, which is available even in hell? (75)

O my mother, O best of all women, I am a fool. Kindly excuse me for whatever of fenses I have committed. Your forty-nine sons have been born unhurt because of your devo tional service. As an enemy, I cut them to pieces, but because of your great devotional service they did not die.(76) Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: Diti was extremely satisfied by Indra’s good behavior. Then Indra offered his respects to his aunt with profuse obeisances, and with her permission he went away to the heavenly planets with his brothers the Maruts.(77) My dear King Parīkṣit, I have replied as far as possible to the questions you have asked me, especially in regard to this pure, auspicious narration about the Maruts. Now you may inquire further, and I shall explain more.(78)

Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: After offering obeisances to the direction from which Ananta, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, had dis appeared, Citraketu began traveling in outer space as the head of the Vidyādharas.(1) Being praised by great sages and saints and by the in habitants of Siddhaloka and Cāraṇaloka, Citraketu, the most powerful mystic yogī, wan dered about enjoying life for millions of years. With bodily strength and senses free from dete rioration, he traveled within the valleys of Sumeru Mountain, which is the place of perfec tion for various kinds of mystic power. In those valleys he enjoyed life with the women of Vidyādhara-loka by chanting the glories of the Supreme Lord, Hari.(2-3) One time while King Citraketu was traveling in outer space on a bril liantly effulgent airplane given to him by Lord Viṣṇu, he saw Lord Śiva, surrounded by Sid dhas and Cāraṇas. Lord Śiva was sitting in an assembly of great saintly persons and embrac ing Pārvatī on his lap with his arm. Citraketu laughed loudly and spoke, within the hearing of Pārvatī. (4-5)

Citraketu said: Lord Śiva, the spiritual mas ter of the general populace, is the best of all liv ing entities who have accepted material bodies. He enunciates the system of religion. Yet how wonderful it is that he is embracing his wife, Pārvatī, in the midst of an assembly of great saintly persons.(6) Lord Śiva, whose hair is matted on his head, has certainly undergone great austerities and penances. Indeed, he is the president in the assembly of strict followers of Vedic principles. Nonetheless, he is seated with his wife on his lap in the midst of saintly per sons and is embracing her as if he were a shameless, ordinary human being.(7) Ordinary conditioned persons generally embrace their wives and enjoy their company in solitary places. How wonderful it is that Lord Mahādeva, although a great master of austerity, is embracing his wife openly in the midst of an assembly of great saints.(8)

Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: My dear King, after hearing Citraketu’s statement, Lord Śiva, the most powerful personality, whose knowledge is fathomless, simply smiled and remained silent, and all the members of the assembly followed the lord by not saying any thing.(9) Not knowing the prowess of Lord Śiva and Pārvatī, Citraketu strongly criticized them. His statements were not at all pleasing, and therefore the goddess Pārvatī, being very angry, spoke as follows to Citraketu, who thought himself better than Lord Śiva in con trolling the senses.(10) The goddess Pārvatī said: Alas, has this up start now received a post from which to punish shameless persons like us? Has he been ap pointed ruler, carrier of the rod of punishment? Is he now the only master of everything?(11) Alas, Lord Brahmā, who has taken his birth from the lotus flower, does not know the prin ciples of religion, nor do the great saints like Bhṛgu and Nārada, nor the four Kumāras, headed by Sanat-kumāra. Manu and Kapila have also forgotten the religious principles. I suppose it to be because of this that they have not tried to stop Lord Śiva from behaving im properly.(12)

This Citraketu is the lowest of kṣatriyas, for he has impudently overridden Brahmā and the other demigods by insulting Lord Śiva, upon whose lotus feet they always meditate. Lord Śiva is personified religion and the spiritual master of the entire world, and therefore Citraketu must be punished.(13) This person is puffed up because of his achieve ments, thinking, “I am the best.” He does not deserve to approach the shelter of Lord Viṣṇu’s lotus feet, which are worshiped by all saintly persons, for he is impudent, thinking himself greatly important.(14) O impudent one, my dear son, now take birth in a low, sinful family of demons so that you will not commit such an offense again toward exalted, saintly persons in this world.(15) ŚrīŚukadeva Gosvāmī continued: My dear King Parīkṣit, when Citraketu was cursed by Pārvatī, he descended from his airplane, bowed before her with great humility and pleased her completely.(16)

Citraketu said: My dear mother, with my own hands folded together I accept the curse upon me. I do not mind the curse, for happiness and distress are given by the demigods as a re sult of one’s past deeds.(17) Deluded by igno rance, the living entity wanders in the forest of this material world, enjoying the happiness and distress resulting from his past deeds, every where and at all times. [Therefore, my dear mother, neither you nor I am to be blamed for this incident.](18) In this material world, neither the living en tity himself nor others [friends and enemies] are the cause of material happiness and distress. But because of gross ignorance, the living en tity thinks that he and others are the cause.(19) This material world resembles the waves of a constantly flowing river. Therefore, what is a curse and what is a favor? What are the heav enly planets, and what are the hellish planets? What is actually happiness, and what is actually distress? Because the waves flow constantly, none of them has an eternal effect.(20)

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is one. Unaffected by the conditions of the material world, He creates all the conditioned souls by His own personal potency. Because of being contaminated by the material energy, the living entity is put into ignorance and thus into differ ent conditions of bondage. Sometimes, by knowledge, the living entity is given liberation. In sattva-guṇa and rajo-guṇa, he is subjected to happiness and distress.(21) The Supreme Personality of Godhead is equally disposed toward all living entities. Therefore no one is very dear to Him, and no one is a great enemy for Him; no one is His friend, and no one is His relative. Being unat tached to the material world, He has no affec tion for so-called happiness or hatred for so called distress. The two terms happiness and distress are relative. Since the Lord is always happy, for Him there is no question of dis tress.(22)

Although the Supreme Lord is unattached to our happiness and distress according to karma, and although no one is His enemy or favorite, He creates pious and impious activities through the agency of His material potency. Thus for the continuation of the materialistic way of life He creates happiness and distress, good fortune and bad, bondage and liberation, birth and death.(23) O mother, you are now unnecessarily angry, but since all my happiness and dis tress are destined by my past activities, I do not plead to be excused or relieved from your curse. Although what I have said is not wrong, please let whatever you think is wrong be par doned.(24) ŚrīŚukadeva Gosvāmī continued: O King Parīkṣit, subduer of the enemy, after Citraketu satisfied Lord Śiva and his wife, Pārvatī, he boarded his airplane and left as they looked on. When Lord Śiva and Pārvatī saw that Citraketu, although informed of the curse, was unafraid, they smiled, being fully astonished by his be havior.(25) Thereafter, in the presence of the great sage Nārada, the demons, the inhabitants of Siddhaloka, and his personal associates, Lord Śiva, who is most powerful, spoke to his wife, Pārvatī, while they all listened.(26)

Lord Śiva said: My dear beautiful Pārvatī, have you seen the greatness of the Vaiṣṇavas? Being servants of the servants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, they are great souls and are not interested in any kind of ma terial happiness.(27) Devotees solely engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Per sonality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa, never fear any condition of life. For them the heavenly plan ets, liberation and the hellish planets are all the same, for such devotees are interested only in the service of the Lord. (28) Because of the ac tions of the Supreme Lord’s external energy, the living entities are conditioned in contact with material bodies. The dualities of happiness and distress, birth and death, curses and favors, are natural by-products of this contact in the material world.(29) As one mistakenly considers a flower gar land to be a snake or experiences happiness and distress in a dream, so, in the material world, by a lack of careful consideration, we differentiate between happiness and distress, considering one good and the other bad.(30)

Persons engaged in devotional service to Lord Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, have naturally perfect knowledge and detachment from this material world. Therefore such devotees are not interested in the so-called happiness or so-called distress of this world.(31) Neither I [Lord Śiva], nor Brahmā, nor the Aśvinī-kumāras, nor Nārada or the other great sages who are Brahmā’s sons, nor even the demigods can understand the pastimes and personality of the Supreme Lord. Although we are part of the Supreme Lord, we consider ourselves independent, separate controllers, and thus we cannot understand His iden tity.(32) He holds no one as very dear and no one as inimical. He has no one for His own rel ative, and no one is alien to Him. He is actually the soul of the soul of all living entities. Thus He is the auspicious friend of all living beings and is very near and dear to all of them.(33)

This magnanimous Citraketu is a dear devo tee of the Lord. He is equal to all living entities and is free from attachment and hatred. Simi larly, I am also very dear to Lord Nārāyaṇa. Therefore, no one should be astonished to see the activities of the most exalted devotees of Nārāyaṇa, for they are free from attachment and envy. They are always peaceful, and they are equal to everyone.(34-35) ŚrīŚukadeva Gosvāmī said: O King, after hearing this speech by her husband, the demi goddess [Umā, the wife of Lord Śiva] gave up her astonishment at the behavior of King Citraketu and became steady in intelli gence.(36) The great devotee Citraketu was so powerful that he was quite competent to curse mother Pārvatī in retaliation, but instead of do ing so he very humbly accepted the curse and bowed his head before Lord Śiva and his wife. This is very much to be appreciated as the standard behavior of a Vaiṣṇava.(37)

Being cursed by mother Durgā [Bhavānī, the wife of Lord Śiva], that same Citraketu accepted birth in a demoniac species of life. Although still fully equipped with transcendental knowledge and practical application of that knowledge in life, he appeared as a demon at the fire sacrifice performed by Tvaṣṭā, and thus he became fa mous as Vṛtrāsura.(38) My dear King Parīkṣit, you inquired from me how Vṛtrāsura, a great devotee, took birth in a demoniac family. Thus I have tried to explain to you everything about this.(39) Citraketu was a great devotee [mahātmā]. If one hears this history of Citraketu from a pure devotee, the listener also is freed from the conditional life of material ex istence.(40) One who rises from bed early in the morning and recites this history of Citraketu, controlling his words and mind and remembering the Supreme Personality of God head, will return home, back to Godhead, with out difficulty.(41)