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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 1:
Sri Paraasharah -
Evam sanchintayan vishnum abhedena aatmano dvija |
Tanmayatvam avaapa agryam mene cha aatmaanam achyutam || *Sri Paraashara *- O Maitreya, this is what happened to Prahlaada. Meditating thus upon Vishnu, thinking of himself as Vishnu, experiencing the Vishnu who is antaryaami in him, he experienced that he merged himself into Vishnu, he reached the perfection of that experience, and because of that he thought of himself as Achyuta.
***Sri Engal Aalwaan’s Commentary:
Vishada vishadatara vishadatama kramena yoga kaashtaam praapta iti
aaha evam iti | Aatmano abhedena sva shareerakatvena | Vishnu
shabdah kaarana vaachee, aatma shabdah kaarya bhoota sva
prakaaraka vishnu vaachee, tena api abhedah | Tanmayatvam tat
praachuryam | Agryam utkrushtam, svasya tat aatmakatva
vaishadyaam api | Ata eva aatmaanam achyutam mene | Tanmayatvam
avaapyaage iti cha paathah | ***How Prahlaada reached that pinnacle of Yoga, the ultimate state of Yoga; first it became clear, then it became more clear, and then he had a vivid perception, when he meditated upon Paramaatman. Brahman having him as Brahman’s shareera; he himself being the shareera of Paramaatman, that is how he experienced. Vishnu is the cause. When it is said ’ *Sat eva somya *idam agra aaseet, tat aikshata bahusyaam prajaayeya’, ‘I will be born, I will become many’, then He became everything Himself, this is the effect, kaarya bhoota. Everything existed as His mode, being His shareera. This is in the shareera shareeri bhaava with three relationships - *aadhaara *aadheya bhaava, niyaamaka niyaamya bhaava and sheshi shesha bhaava. Everything is present within Paramaatman with these three relationships. The entire world is present as effect, as His mode only, being His shareera. Because Paramaatman is antaryaami, all words denote Paramaatman only in [[610]] the ultimate analysis, so everything can be called as Vishnu only. *Sarvam *khalvidam brahma means sarvam brahmaatmakam, everything can be called as Brahman in the aparyavasaana vrutti. Any name and form is Paramaatman only. Shruti says clearly - *Prajaapatih prajaa asrujata, taa *srushtaah samashlishyan, saa roopena anupraavishat, …, when Paramaatman created everything, everything was existing as Him only, united in Him; He did anupravesha as form; so they say that all forms as Paramaatman only, and He did anupravesha in names also; so all names as Brahman only. All forms and names are Brahman. This means that everything has Paramaatman as antaryaami. Prahlaada meditated as kaarana roopa Vishnu became kaarya, he experienced the Brahmaatmakatva directly; he had abundance of that experience. Then he thought himself as Achyuta, he had vivid perception of Paramaatman being antaryaami, and he being the shareera of Paramaatman. In this state, he thought of himself as Achyuta. ***
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 2:
Visasmaara tadaa aatmaanam na anyat kinchit ajaanata |
Aham eva avyayo anantah paramaatmaa iti achintayat ||*** He forgot himself, he did not know anything else, he thought of himself as only the immutable one, I am only Ananta, I am only Paramaatman. He had this experience. ***
Sri Engal Aalwaan’s Commentary:
Visasmaraa iti | Ayoga dashaayaam aatmaanam atadaatmaktvena
bhraantyaa vaasitam visasmaara | Sva prakaashasya yoga dashaayaam
aavirbhootasya cha svaroopasya vismarana ayogaat; svaroopa
vismrutou tu vaamadevaadeh * Aham manuh abhavam ityaadi
vachanavat mattah sarvam ityaadi vachanam na syaat | Tarhi katham
achintayat tatra aaha aham eva avyayah iti |*** Now he is in yoga dasha. Earlier he was in ayoga dasha. We are all in *ayoga *dasha; in this dasha, we don’t experience Brahman as aatman, the experience that we are all brahmaatmaka is not there in the ayoga dasha. In the yoga dasha, it will be experienced completely. In the ayoga dasha, what he thought himself as not brahmaatmaka, which is due to wrong knowledge, *bhraanti *- he forgot that. What he was thinking in the *ayoga *dasha, that he was not brahmaatmaka, he forgot that wrong knowledge. The knowledge of Aham Brahma Asmi is not svaroopa aikya, that Brahman only is true and nothing else exists - this is not that kind of knowledge; the knowledge is that I am also true, but am having Brahman as [[611]] the inner self, and I am the shareera of *Paramaatman *- this kind of experience. Visasmaara means that he forgot the earlier knowledge that he had, that was not not in the yoga dasha, the wrong knowledge that he was not brahmaatmaka. This is because he had reached the vivid perception of Paramaatman as aatman. In yoga dasha, one experiences the self, as the shareera of Paramaatman, that Paramaatman is present as the inner self. In the first stage, he experiences the individual self, and then experiences the individual self as having Paramaatman as aatman. At that stage, the individual self is svayam prakaasha. We are not able to experience this because of our karma, and because our *dharma bhoota *jnyaana is hindered, covered and contracted. In the yoga dasha, one will be able to experience the individual self’s svaroopa, which is *svayam *prakaasha. This svayam prakaasha cannot disappear at that stage. In *yoga *dasha, that svayam prakaasha will become aavirbhoota, it reveals itself directly; this cannot be forgotten. Sri Engal Aalwaan quotes *Rishi *Vaamadeva from Upanishads, that ‘I am only Manu, I only became Manu, I am only Soorya’ - he experiences like this. I and Paramaatman are different and distinct, but the relationship is aatma shareera bhaava. It is not the experience of I merging into Paramaatman, and losing the svaroopa; because the svaroopa which is svayam prakaasha of the individual self, that reveals more vividly at that time. Then the Paramaatma svaroopa is also experienced, with the relation. If he had forgotten his svaroopa itself, if he had not realized his own self itself at that time, he could not have said ’ Mattah sarvam’, ‘Aham sarvam’. Prahlaada’s svaroopa, which is *svayam *prakaasha, is well revealed at that stage. He realized that it was brahmaatmaka, the shareera of Paramaatman. Then he realized that ‘I am only immutable, and Ananta’. ***
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 3:
Tasya tat bhaavanaa yogaat ksheena paapasya vai kramaat |
Shuddhe antahkarane vishnuh tasthou jnyaanamayo achyutah ||*** As he reached the vivid perception of the self, having Paramaatman as aatman, because of that experience, that state of meditation, all his paapaas started to get destroyed, step by step. His mind became very clear, pure, and there Vishnu revealed Himself, that *Achyuta *Vishnu, who is jnyaanamaya, He revealed Himself.
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***Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 4:
Yoga prabhaavaat prahlaade jaate vishnu maye asure |
Chalati uragabandham tat maitreya trutitam kshanaat || ***Because of this yoga prabhaava, effect of this yoga, when the asura [[612]] Prahlaada became Vishnu maya, when Vishnu revealed Himself in his mind, as he moved, the uraga bandha, where he was tied with serpents, within a fraction of a second, was completely broken.
***Sri Engal Aalwaan’s Commentary:
Yoga prabhaavaat iti | Vishnu maye vishnu prachure, yogaat chalati
sati | Uraga bandham iti napumsakatvam aarshatvaat | Bhaave
nishthaa | Uraga bandhanaih iti vaa paathah | Chalati uraga
bandhanam iti cha paathah | ***Prahlaada was having such abundance of experience of Vishnu, such a vivid perception of Vishnu. Uragabandham is in aarsha, rishi prayoga, it should be uragabandhah.
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***Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 5:
Bhraanta graahaganah sormih yayou kshobham mahaarnavah |
Chachaala cha mahee sarvaa sashaila vana kaananaa || ***All the living beings which were there inside the ocean, fishes, and others, everything was completely bhraanta, they did not know what was happening. The whole ocean was agitated like anything, with waves. The whole world including mountains, forests, was shaken up, when Prahlaada moved.
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***Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 6:
Sa cha tam shaila sanghaatam daityaih nyastam athaa upari |
Utkshipya tasmaat salilaat nischakraama mahaa matih || ***At that moment, Prahlaada just came out of that ocean, and threw away all the things that he was bound with, the boulders and naaga paasha, which were all thrown on him and completely covered him. He just came out of those waters, and threw away all those things. ***
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 7:
Drushtvaa cha sa jagat bhooyo gaganaadi upalakshanam |
Prahlaado asmi iti sasmaara punah aatmaanam aatmanaa ||*** When he came out of the ocean, he saw the world, with sky and trees, all around, which he had completely forgotten, as he was having a vivid perception of Vishnu in his mind, in yoga dasha. As he came out, he saw the sky and other things outside. Then he remembered himself as Prahlaada, which he had completely forgotten as he had the experience of the self, Vishnu as aatman, and he had vivid perception of Vishnu. When he came out, at that moment, due to power of yoga, he threw away everything, and came outside from the waters. [[613]]
***Sri Engal Aalwaan’s Commentary:
Drushtvaa iti | Prahlaado asmi iti loka drushtyaa kevalam oupaadhika
roopa avacchinnam aatmaanam sasmaara, na tu paramaatma
roopatayaa | ***From the way it is experienced in the world, the self as he experiences being covered by karma, due to upaadhi, the worldly view; that was not his experience in the yoga kaashtha.
Now he again remembered that he was Prahlaada, being covered by upaadhi, and present in this form with this body, etc.
All the forms of deva, asura, etc. are not there for aatman in the state without karma. ***
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 8:
Tushtaava cha punah dheemaan anaadim purushottamam |
Ekaagra matih avyagro yatavaak kaaya maanasah ||*** He was such a great devotee, when he came out, the most intelligent knowledgeable person, jnyaani he was, one who had the knowledge of the self, aatma jnyaana, again he started to pray to Bhagavaan, Purushottama. With complete concentration, without any disturbance, with speech, and mind, totally merged in Paramaatman.
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Prahlaada now prays to Bhagavaan, with Pranava, just like a mantra. Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 9:
Prahlaadah -
Om namah paramaarthaaya sthoola sookshma kshara akshara |
Vyakta avyakta kalaateeta sakalesa niranjana || *Prahlaada *- O That which is imperishable, You are only present in the causal state as well as in the state of effect, You are only present in the form of mukta roopa, You are the antaryaami of even muktaas, who are untouched by karma.
Sri Engal Aalwaan’s Commentary:
Om nama iti | Paramaarthaaya avinaashee paramaarthah |
Paramaarthaarthe iti paathe artha shabdah prayojana vaachee |
Sthoola ityaadi | Sookshmam aksharam avyaktam kaarana roopam,
sthoolam ksharam vyaktam kaarya roopam | Panchendriyaani pancha
vishayaah pancha bhootaani cha kaalaah; kaalaateetam mukta roopam;
niranjana idam cha mukta roopam | * Niranjanah paramam soumyam
upaiti * iti shruteh | [[614]] There is also one paatha Paramaarthaartha, that He is the ultimate goal. Sthoola-sookshma, Kshara-akshara, Vyakta-avyakta are to be understood together. Here, sthoola, kshara, vyakta are grouped together to describe the kaarya roopa, in the form of effect, everything is in the gross state with name and form, that which is visible and manifest. *Sookshma, *akshara, avyakta in the kaarana roopa, with *sthoola chit-achit vishishta *Paramaatman, He is subtle, imperishable and unmanifest; this is the causal state of Paramaatman. Kalaah means all the five indriyaas, all the five objects of senses, and all the five elements. Shruti says that when one gets liberated, having got rid of the bondage of karma completely, he attains ultimate similarity with Paramaatman, his jnyaana svaroopa manifests completely; he exists in his original form where his attributive consciousness is fully evolved, present in its original state.
Na ksharati iti aksharam, that which does not perish.
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***Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 10:
Gunaanjana gunaadhaara nirgunaatman guna sthita |
Moorta amoorta mahaa moorte sookshma moorte sphuta asphuta || **The form of collectivity, with which the whole world is supported, nirguna, abode of all auspicious qualities, moorta amoorta, mahaa moorti, sookshma, sphuta, asphuta. ***
Sri Engal Aalwaan’s Commentary:
Gunaanjana iti | Gunaanjana guna aadhaara iti samashti roopam yayaa
idam dhaaryate jagat iti | Nirgunaatman * Sattvaadyo na santi eeshe
yatra cha praakrutaa gunaah * iti | Guna sthita samasta kalyaana
gunaatmako asou iti | Moorta amoorta sthoola sookshma prapancha
roopa | Mahaa moorte vishva roopa adhyaaya ukta mahaa moortih;
vaishvaanara moortih vaa | Sookshma moortih vyoohah | Sphuto
vibhavah | Asphutam para roopam | Nirguna is told in the sense that He does not have sattva, rajas, tamas, which are the qualities, attributes of prakruti. Prakruti is told as triguna, having sattva, rajas and tamas as qualities. Everything which is a modification of prakruti, called praakruta, it all has these three *gunaas - *mahat, ahamkaara, tanmaatraas, pancha bhootaas, ekaadasha indriyaas. Qualities of prakruti, sattva, rajas, tamas are not there in Eeshvara, Paramaatman. Moorta is sthoola prapancha roopa, and amoorta is sookshma prapancha roopa. In causal state, this whole world is present in subtle state, and is existing united with *Paramaatman. *Paramaatman is only present in the subtle state, qualified, sookshma chit [[615]] achit vishishta Paramaatman, the *kaarana. Sthoola chit achit vishishta *Paramaatman is the kaarya. In the Vishvaroopa Adhyaaya of *Bhagavad *Geetha, this is told wonderfully, where Arjuna sees the Vishvaroopa of *Paramaatman *- this form of Paramaatman is said to be Mahaa Moorti. Or also the form of Vaishvaanara, which is told in Upanishads, dyouh moordhaa, soorya and chandra are His eyes; the whole world is imagined as a form of Paramaatman itself; this is how they meditate upon in Vaishvaanara vidyaa. He is *Vaishvaanara moorti. Sookshma *moorti is vyooha roopa, Vyooha Vaasudeva, which is very subtle; *sphuta *roopa is vibhava, where He comes as Raama, Krishna, where He moves around and talks to people. Asphuta is the para roopa. These are all the attributes of Paramaatman by which Prahlaada is praising Paramaatman.
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 11: Karaala soumya roopaatman vidyaa avidyaamaya achyuta | **Sat asat roopasadbhaava sat asat bhaava bhaavana || You are with ferocious form, with very pleasant form, *vidyaa, avidyaa, sat, *asat roopa, sat asat bhaava bhaavanaa.
Sri Engal Aalwaan’s Commentary:
Karaala iti | Karaalatvam samhaara aadishu | Soumya aatmatvam
svatah | Avidyaa karma, bhraanti jnyaanam vaa | Sat asat roopa
bhaava abhaava roopa | Sadbhaavah sat padaarthah | * Om tat sat iti
nirdesho brahmanah trividhah smrutah * Sat bhaave saadhu bhaave cha
sat * iti | Vastoonaam sat asat bhaavou karoti jaanaati iti vaa sat asat
bhaava bhaavana | Ferocious form is when Paramaatman is doing samhaara, pralaya. By Himself, He is of very pleasant form. Avidyaa is karma, or also the wrong knowledge. Vidyaa is all the upaasanaas. Asat means abhaava roopa, not that He does not have any form, He has got a very subtle form, and is present as naastitva vishishta Paramaatman, which is not perceptible to our indriyaas. Sat itself is Paramaatman. In Bhagavad Geetha, it is told that upon doing karma, if we do Om Tat, or Om Sat, or when we are doing some good karmaas, Sat is told. When He creates sat bhaava and asat bhaava for all the vastus, asat bhaava can be taken as impermanent, sat bhaava is that which is nitya. He does sankalpa that some objects may be eternal, like aatman. Why is prakruti changing form all the time, in avyakta form, it is also nitya; but in the manifested form, prakruti, aakaasha, vaayu, etc. are all anitya; they merge during pralaya. Why are they like that - it is Paramaatman’s sankalpa that they should be like that. If He does sankalpa that something should be anitya, it becomes anitya. If He [[616]] does sankalpa that something should be nitya, it becomes nitya. He is the cause of all these. He knows also, and makes them to be like that. For both reasons, He can be called as sat asat bhaava bhaavanaa. ***
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 12:
Nitya anitya prapancha aatman nishprapancha amala aashrita |
Eka aneka namastubhyam vaasudeva aadi kaarana ||*** Nitya, anitya, He is the refuge for everyone, He is without blemishes, cause and effect. I do namaskaara to You. You are Vaasudeva, existing everywhere, all pervading, You are the primeval cause of this whole world. ***
Sri Engal Aalwaan’s Commentary:
Nitya anitya iti | Anityam ghata aadi, tat apekshayaa nityam
gaganaadi | Nishprapancha prapanchaat nirgata, prapancha utteerne
iti arthah | Eka aneka kaarana roopena eka, kaarya roopena aneka |*** Nitya and anitya are both told to be praakruta only, but aakaasha is said to be nitya compared to ghata. Ghata is a pot which stays for only very short time, compared to aakaasha which stays for a long time. He is beyond the prapancha, He is beyond the world. He is eka in the kaarana roopa, and aneka in the kaarya roopa.
Sat eva somya idam agra aaseet. Ekam eva adiviteeyo. He is eka, present as sookshma chit achit Paramaatman, when all these things did not have name and form, everything existing in a very subtle form, where one could not differentiate between sentient and non sentient. Eka is the causal form Paramaatman. In the form of effect, He is present as many.
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This stuti of Prahlaada is most wonderful. ***Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 13:
Yah sthoola sookshmah prakato aprakaasho yah sarva bhooto na cha
sarva bhootah |
Vishvam yatah cha etat avishva heto namostu tasmai purushottamaaya
|| He is sthoola and sookshma, and can be both at the same time. The whole world is created from Whom only. He is said to be avishva hetu. To that Purushottama I do namaskaara. ***
Sri Engal Aalwaan’s Commentary:
Upasamharati ya iti | Sthoolatvaat prakatah sookshmatvaat
aprakaashah | Yah sthoola sookshma prakata aprakaasha iti cha
pathah | Sarva bhootah svetara sarva vastu shareerah | Na cha sarva [[617]] bhootah svetara samasta vastu vilakshanah | Avishva hetuh srujya
karma saapekshatvaat svato vishama srushteh ahetuh | This is how Prahlaada concludes his prayers. That which is revealed, and well seen, manifest; and because He is sookshma, He is not seen. He is only present as everything means that He has got everything other than Himself as His body, shareera. Everything is existing as shareera to Him. Though He is having everything as His shareera, He is different and distinct from everything else - His svaroopa and svabhaava is very different. Because He is all pervading, everything is existing in Him, He supports everything, He is the Master, Supreme God, having everything as His shareera. He is not jeevaatman, He is not prakruti, He is not any praakruta form, because He is very different and distinct from all these. He is only everything as He is present as antaryaami of everything. He is *brahmaatmaka. Avishva *hetu means that He is not the cause of the world - He only creates, it is told; but the various forms that are created, one person becomes human, one becomes deva, one becomes pashu, pakshi, sareesrupa, all these are driven by the karma of those individual beings; He is not the cause of each individual getting different forms and lives, but their own karma is the cause of all that; in this sense, He is not the cause of this variety, *vishama *srushti which we see here. Though He is the creator, He is just doing the act of creation, but the various bodies that the individual selves take is due to their own karma.
This is the wonderful Prahlaada Stuti comes to an end here. Then Paramaatman appears before Prahlaada and the dialog between Paramaatman and Prahlaada comes next.
Recap: In the previous session, we started to do anusandhaana of *Prahlaada *Stuti, where Prahlaada is meditating on Paramaatman, and starts to eulogize Paramaatman,
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***Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 9:
Prahlaadah -
Om namah paramaarthaaya sthoola sookshma kshara akshara |
Vyakta avyakta kalaateeta sakalesa niranjana ||
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 10:
Gunaanjana gunaadhaara nirgunaatman guna sthita |
Moorta amoorta mahaa moorte sookshma moorte sphuta asphuta ||
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 11: *** [[618]] ***Karaala soumya roopaatman vidyaa avidyaamaya achyuta |
Sat asat roopasadbhaava sat asat bhaava bhaavana ||
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 12:
Nitya anitya prapancha aatman nishprapancha amala aashrita |
Eka aneka namastubhyam vaasudeva aadi kaarana ||
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 13:
Yah sthoola sookshmah prakato aprakaasho yah sarva bhooto na cha
sarva bhootah |
Vishvam yatah cha etat avishva heto namostu tasmai purushottamaaya
|| ***
Prahlaada eulogizes Paramaatman wonderfully, where he tells all the wonderful characteristics of Paramaatman’s svaroopa, svabhaava. He says all contrasting things, everything is Paramaatman only - *sthoola, sookshma, *prakata, aprakaasha, etc. Sarva bhootah means *svetara sarva vastu *shareerah, having everything other than Himself as His *shareera. Na cha *sarva bhootah means svetara samasta vastu vilakshanah, He is different and distinct from everything other than Himself. The whole world is created from Him. At the same time, He is not the cause of the world, meaning that in this vishama srushti, the vaishamya is due to the karma of the beings who are being born here. Bhagavaan is not responsible for this vaishamya, the differences seen. We had seen all this in the previous session.
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***Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 14:
Sri Paraasharah -
Tasya tat chetaso devah stutim ittham prakurvatah |
Aavirbabhoova bhagavaan peetaambara dharo harih || ****Sri Paraasharar *- At that moment when Prahlaada was eulogizing Him so wonderfully, deeply concentrating on Him, with mind completely filled with Paramaatman, the Paramaatman Hari, wearing the wonderful peetaambara, He presented Himself in front of Prahlaada.
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Immediately, Prahlaada is taken aback. ***Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 15:
Sasambhramah tam aalokya samutthaayaakula aksharam |
Namo astu vishnave iti etat yaajahaara sakrut dvija || ***Prahlaada, immediately when he saw Hari right in front of him, was totally taken aback, and seeing Him, immediately got up from his seat, and his voice was choked, he said ’ Namostu Vishnave’ again and again, [[619]] did namaskaara to Vishnu, O Maitreya. ***
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 16:
Prahlaadah -
Deva prapaanaarthihara prasaadam kuru keshava |
Avalokana daanena bhooyo maam paalaya achyuta ||*** *Prahlaada *- O Bhagavan, One who destroys the difficulties of those who surrender to Him, O Keshava, be pleased towards me. Be pleased to protect me by putting Your glances on me. ***
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 17:
Sri Bhagavaan uvaacha -
Kurvatah te prasanno aham bhaktim avyabhichaarineem |
Yathaa abhilaashito mattah prahlaada vriyataam varah ||*** Sri Bhagavaan said - You are so completely devoted towards Me, single mindedly, that I am extremely pleased with you. O Prahlaada, whatever you desire, that boon please do seek from Me. ***
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 18:
Prahlaadah -
Naatha yoni sahasreshu yeshu yeshu vrajaami aham |
Teshu teshu achyutaa bhaktih achyuta astu sadaa tvayi ||*** *Prahlaada *- Whatever thousands of births I am taking, in all those births, let my devotion be undisturbed and complete, towards You, O Achyuta, all the time. I want to be Your devotee only. My devotion towards You should be complete all the time, untainted, and undisturbed.
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This is a well known shloka. ***Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 19:
Yaa preetih avivekaanaam vishayeshu anapaayinee |
Tvaam anusmaratah saa me hrudayaat maa apasarpatu || ***For those who are very deeply engrossed in the enjoyment of sensual pleasures, without any break, whatever kind of attachment they have to those sensual pleasures, which is unbroken, that kind of deep attachment, let it be towards You from me, who is having continuous conscious unbroken remembrance towards you again and again. When I am meditating upon You constantly, continuously, similar devotion, let it be there in me towards You. Let it never go from my mind.
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 20:
Sri Bhagavaan uvaacha - [[620]] ***Mayi bhaktih tava asti eva bhooyo api evam bhavishyati |
Varah tu mattah prahlaada vriyataam yah tavepsitah || ****Sri Bhagavaan *- O Prahlaada, already you are highly devoted to Me. Again it will continue to be like that only. Please seek another boon from Me. Whatever you desire, please do seek another boon from Me.
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***Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 21:
Prahlaadah -
Mayi dvesha anubandho abhoot samstutou udyate tava |
Mat pituh tat krutam paapam deva tasya pranashyatu || ****Prahlaada *- When I am praising, eulogizing You all the time, because of that, my father started to hate me. Because it is a great sin to hate or showing disrespect to a bhagavat bhakta, a devotee of Bhagavaan, the sin which is accrued because of that, let it be destroyed.
***Sri Engal Aalwaan’s Commentary:
Mayi iti | Mayi dvesha anubandha iti asahya apachaarah, mat pituh iti
kshamaa hetuh | ***Bhaagavata dvesha is an asahya apachaara, which cannot be tolerated. At the same time, he is father of such a great devotee. Because he is my father, that is the reason why you should pardon him.
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Again he prays to Bhagavaan to make his father not to get affected by the sins which he has done. ***Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 22:
Shastraani patitaani ange kshipto yat cha agni samhatou |
Damshitah cha uragaih dattam yat visham mama bhojane || ***He hit me with all kinds of weapons, he threw me into fire, I was made to be bitten by serpents, poison was given in my food, …
***Sri Engal Aalwaan’s Commentary:
Shastraani iti | Tvayi bhakti mato dveshaat iti asya shastraani
paatitaani ityaadinaa sambandhah | Tat sambhavam shastra paata
aadinaa sambhavam | Ayam bhaagavata apachaarah | ***
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***Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 23:
Baddhvaa samudre yat kshito yacchito asmi shilocchayaih |
Anyaani cha api asaadhooni yaani pitraa krutaani me || ***… I was tied and thrown into the ocean, I was completely covered by boulders, anything also which he did which were unwise, not right, he did all those things towards me.
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[[621]] ***Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 24:
Tvayi bhaktimato dveshaat agham tat sambhavam cha yat |
Tvat prasaadaat prabho sadyah tena muchyatu me pitaa || ***The paapa which he has accrued, because he had hatred towards a devotee of You; because of Your grace, let him be released from all those sins. ***
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 25:
Sri Bhagavaan uvaacha -
Prahlaada sarvam etat te mat prasaadaat bhavishyati |
Anyam cha te varam dadmi vriyataam asuraatmaja ||*** *Sri Bhagavaan *- O Prahlaada, with My anugraha, all these things will happen. Because I am so pleased with you, and you are seeking this boon, all these things happen as it is. O son of Hiranyakashipu, I am going to give you some other boon also, please do seek some other boon from Me. ***
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 26:
Prahlaadah -
Krutakrutyo asmi bhagavan varena anena yat tvayi |
Bhavitree tvat prasaadena bhaktih avyabhchaarinee ||*** *Prahlaada *- Whatever has to be done is done; I don’t have anything else to be done. Due to Your own grace, I am going to have devotion in You continuously, untainted, undiluted, single minded devotion in You. I have no other desire.
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***Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 27:
Dharma artha kaamaih kim tasya muktih tasya kare sthitaa |
Samasta jagataam moole yasya bhaktih sthiraa tvayi || ***If one has liberation, moksha itself in his very hands, what else has to be done by dharma, artha, kaama. One who is the cause of all this world, when continuous steady devotion is there, for such a person, moksha is guaranteed. ***
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 28:
Sri Bhagavaan uvaacha -
Yathaa te nischalam cheto mayi bhakti samanvitam |
Tathaa tvam mat prasaadena nirvaanam param aapsyasi ||*** Sri Bhagavaan says - Because your mind is so much devoted on Me, and you have unmoved devotion on Me, you will get moksha itself, the most coveted liberation, the ultimate goal, out of My grace. ***
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 29: *** [[622]] Sri Paraasharah -
Iti uktvaa antardadhe vishnuh tasya maitreya pashyatah |
Sa cha api punaraagamya vavande charanou pituh || *Sri Paraasharar *- O Maitreya, as Prahlaada was seeing, Vishnu disappeared saying all these. Prahlaada came back and did namaskaara to his father.
Here the story is a little different from what we see in the *Bhaagavatha *Puraana. ***
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 30:
Tam pitaa moordhni upaaghraaya parishvajya cha peeditam |
Jeevasi iti aaha vatsa iti baashpaardra nayano dvija ||*** All his sins were destroyed because of the grace of Paramaatman, so Hiranyakashipu became good and embraced Prahlaada, and said ‘May you live long’, and his eyes were wet with tears. ***
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 31:
Preetimaan cha abhavat tasmin anutaapee mahaa asurah |
Guru pitroh chakaara evam sushrooshaam so api dharmavit ||*** The great asura repented for all that he did, and started to like *Prahlaada. *Prahlaada, one who knew what is dharma, did all seva to his gurus, and his father, because he knew what is dharma. ***
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 32:
Pitari uparatim neete narasimha svaroopinaa |
Vishnunaa so api daityaanaam maitreya abhoot patih tatah ||*** We have to conclude that at a later time, Hiranyakashipu again starts to hate Prahlaada, and starts to torture him, and Bhagavaan manifests in the form of Narasimha, and slays Hiranyakashipu. After Hiranyakashipu has been killed by Bhagavaan who came in the form of Lord Narasimha, who is nothing by Vishnu, Prahlaada becomes the king of all the daityaas, O Maitreya. ***
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 33:
Tato raajya dyutim praapya karma shuddhi kareem dvija |
Putra poutraan cha subahoon avaapya aishvaryam eva cha ||*** Then he got all the glory of the kingdom, and did all good acts. He also had children and grandchildren, and also he got great wealth.
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 34:
Ksheena adhikaarah sa yadaa punya paapa vivarjitah |
Tadaa sa bhagavat dhyaanaat param nirvaanam aaptavaan || [[623]] When all his punya and paapa were gone, when his adhikaara was gone, Prahlaada meditated on Bhagavaan, and attained moksha.
Some of these great persons, according to the good deeds done, they are called adhikaaris. They are made to live in this world for a particular time, and do all these things for various reasons, as per the command of Bhagavaan. Once that is over, their time is over. *Yaavat adhikaaram *avasthitih aadhikaarikaanaam, is a Brahma Sutra. As long as they have that adhikaara, they will be here. Vasistha, and others, they come here as per the command of Bhagavaan, that they have to do some good things. Once that is over, they go to moksha.
Punya and paapa are both obstructions to moksha. ***
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 35:
Evam prabhaavo daityo asou maitreya aaseet mahaa matih |
Prahlaado bhagavat bhakto yam tvam maam anuprucchasi ||*** O Maitreya, because of the greatness of this daitya, son of Hiranyakashipu, he was a very wise person, this great devotee of Bhagavaan, Prahlaada was like that. These are all the miracles that we see due to his devotion in Bhagavaan. This is the story of Prahlaada whom you are asking me about.
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***Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 36:
Yah tu etat charitam tasya prahlaadasya mahaatmanah |
Shrunoti tasya paapaani sadyo gacchanti samkshayam || ***Who listens to the story of Prahlaada who is the great person, great devotee of Bhagavaan, all their sins will get destroyed immediately. ***
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 37:
Aho raatra krutam paapam prahlaada charitam narah |
Shrunvan pathan cha maitreya vyapohati na samshayah ||*** Whatever bad deeds one has done and accumulated sins, during the days and nights, just listening to or reading Prahlaada’s stories, O Maitreya, all those sins one gets rid of. There is absolutely no doubt about this. ***
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Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 38:
Pournamaasyaam amaavaasyaam ashtamyaam athavaa pathan |
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Dvaadashyaam vaa tat aapnoti gopradaana phalam (narah) dvija ||*** On the full moon day, on the new moon day, on the Ashtami tithi, reading this Prahlaada Charita, or on Dvaadashi, whatever benefits one attains by doing godaana, that benefit one gets by reading this.*** *** [[624]] Sri Vishnu Puraana, Amsha 1, Chapter 20, Shloka 39:
Prahlaadam sakala aapatsu yathaa rakshitavaan harih |
Tathaa rakshati yah tasya shrunoti charitam sadaa || One who listens to Prahlaada Charita all the time, he will be protected by Bhagavaan in the same way that He protected Prahlaada from all the calamities which he underwent. That is the greatness of this story itself. Prahlaada was such a great devotee. Listening to his story itself will make one get rid of all sins.
This completes the Twentieth Chapter.
***|| Iti Sri Vishnu Puraane Prathame Amshe Vimsho Adhyaayah ||
|| Iti Sri Vishnu Puraana Vyaakhyaane Vishnu Chitteeye Prathame
Amshe Vimsho Adhyaayah || ***
|| Atha Ekavimsho Adhyaayah ||
Now the Twenty First Chapter.*** ***