Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 5: “The Creative Impetus”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter Eighteen

The Prayers Offered to the Lord by the Residents of Jambudvipa

SB5.18Summary

In this chapter Sukadeva Gosvami describes the different varsas of Jambudvipa and the incarnation of the Supreme Lord worshiped in each. The predominating ruler of Bhadrasva-varsa is Bhadrasrava. He and his many servants always worship the incarnation known as Lord Hayagriva. At the end of each kalpa, when the demon Ajnana steals the Vedic knowledge, Lord Hayagriva appears and preserves it. Then He delivers it to Lord Brahma. In the land known as Hari-varsa, the exalted devotee Prahlada Maharaja worships Lord Nrsimhadeva. (The appearance of Lord Nrsimhadeva is described in the Seventh Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam.) Following in the footsteps of Prahlada Maharaja, the inhabitants of Hari-varsa always worship Lord Nrsimhadeva to receive from Him the benediction of being engaged in His loving service. In the tract of land known as Ketumala-varsa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead (Lord Hrsikesa) appears in the form of Cupid. The goddess of fortune and the demigods living there engage in His service day and night. Manifesting Himself in sixteen parts, Lord Hrsikesa is the source of all encouragement, strength and influence. The conditioned living entity has the defect of being always fearful, but simply by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he can rid himself of this defect of material life. Therefore the Lord alone can be addressed as master. In the tract of land known as Ramyaka-varsa, Manu and all the inhabitants worship Matsyadeva to this very day. Matsyadeva, whose form is pure goodness, is the ruler and maintainer of the whole universe, and as such He is the director of all the demigods, headed by King Indra. In Hiranmaya-varsa Lord Visnu has assumed the form of a tortoise (Kurma murti) and is worshiped there by Aryama, along with all the other residents. Similarly, in the tract of land known as Uttarakuru-varsa, Lord Sri Hari has assumed the form of a boar, and in that form He accepts service from all the inhabitants living there.

All the information in this chapter can be fully realized by one who associates with devotees of the Lord. Therefore in the sastras it is recommended that one associate with devotees. This is better than residing on the banks of the Ganges. In the hearts of pure devotees reside all good sentiments as well as all the superior qualities of the demigods. In the hearts of nondevotees, however, there cannot be any good qualities, for such people are simply enchanted by the external, illusory energy of the Lord. Following in the footsteps of devotees, one should know that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the only worshipable Deity. Everyone should accept this proposal and worship the Lord. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (15.15), vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah: the purpose of studying all Vedic literature is to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna. If after studying all the Vedic literature, one does not awaken his dormant love for the Supreme Lord, it is to be understood that he has labored for nothing. He has simply wasted his time. Lacking attachment for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he remains attached to family life in this material world. Thus the lesson of this chapter is that one should get out of family life and completely take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord.

SB5.18.1

TEXT 1

sri-suka uvaca

tatha ca bhadrasrava nama dharma-sutas tat-kula-patayah purusa bhadrasva-varse saksad bhagavato vasudevasya priyam tanum dharmamayim hayasirsabhidhanam paramena samadhina sannidhapyedam abhigrnanta upadhavanti.

SYNONYMS

sri-sukah uvaca—Sukadeva Gosvami said; tatha ca—similarly (just as Lord Siva worships Sankarsana in Ilavrta-varsa); bhadra-srava—Bhadrasrava; nama—known as; dharma-sutah—the son of Dharmaraja; tat—of him; kula-patayah—the chiefs of the dynasty; purusah—all the residents; bhadrasva-varse—in the land known as Bhadrasva-varsa; saksat—directly; bhagavatah—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; vasudevasya—of Lord Vasudeva; priyam tanum—very dear form; dharma-mayim—the director of all religious principles; hayasirsa-abhidhanam—the Lord’s incarnation named Hayasirsa (also called Hayagriva); paramena samadhina—with the highest form of trance; sannidhapya—coming near; idam—this; abhigrnantah—chanting; upadhavanti—they worship.

TRANSLATION

Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said: Bhadrasrava, the son of Dharmaraja, rules the tract of land known as Bhadrasva-varsa. Just as Lord Siva worships Sankarsana in Ilavrta-varsa, Bhadrasrava, accompanied by his intimate servants and all the residents of the land, worships the plenary expansion of Vasudeva known as Hayasirsa. Lord Hayasirsa is very dear to the devotees, and He is the director of all religious principles. Fixed in the topmost trance, Bhadrasrava and his associates offer their respectful obeisances to the Lord and chant the following prayers with careful pronunciation.

SB5.18.2

TEXT 2

bhadrasravasa ucuh

om namo bhagavate dharmayatma-visodhanaya nama iti.

SYNONYMS

bhadrasravasah ucuh—the ruler Bhadrasrava and his intimate associates said; om—O Lord; namah—respectful obeisances; bhagavate—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; dharmaya—the source of all religious principles; atma-visodhanaya—who purifies us of material contamination; namah—our obeisances; iti—thus.

TRANSLATION

The ruler Bhadrasrava and his intimate associates utter the following prayer: We offer our respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the reservoir of all religious principles, who cleanses the heart of the conditioned soul in this material world. Again and again we offer our respectful obeisances unto Him.

PURPORT

Foolish materialistic persons do not know how they are being controlled and punished at every step by the laws of nature. They think they are very happy in the conditioned state of material life, not knowing the purpose of repeated birth, death, old age and disease. Therefore in Bhagavad-gita (7.15) Lord Krsna describes such materialistic persons as mudhas (rascals): na mam duskrtino mudhah prapadyante naradhamah. These mudhas do not know that if they want to purify themselves, they must worship Lord Vasudeva (Krsna) by performing penances and austerities. This purification is the aim of human life. This life is not meant for blind indulgence in sense gratification. In the human form, the living being must engage himself in Krsna consciousness to purify his existence: tapo divyam putraka yena sattvam suddhyet. This is the instruction of King Rsabhadeva to His sons. In the human form of life, one must undergo all kinds of austerities to purify his existence. Yasmad brahma-saukhyam tv anantam. We are all seeking happiness, but because of our ignorance and foolishness, we cannot know what unobstructed happiness really is. Unobstructed happiness is called brahma-saukhya, spiritual happiness. Although we may get some so-called happiness in this material world, that happiness is temporary. The foolish materialists cannot understand this. Therefore Prahlada Maharaja points out, maya-sukhaya bharam udvahato vimudhan: [SB 7.9.43] merely for temporary materialistic happiness, these rascals are making huge arrangements, and thus they are baffled life after life.

SB5.18.3

TEXT 3

aho vicitram bhagavad-vicestitam

ghnantam jano ’yam hi misan na pasyati

dhyayann asad yarhi vikarma sevitum

nirhrtya putram pitaram jijivisati

SYNONYMS

aho—alas; vicitram—wonderful; bhagavat-vicestitam—the pastimes of the Lord; ghnantam—death; janah—a person; ayam—this; hi—certainly; misan—although seeing; na pasyati—does not see; dhyayan—thinking about; asat—material happiness; yarhi—because; vikarma—forbidden activities; sevitum—to enjoy; nirhrtya—burning; putram—sons; pitaram—the father; jijivisati—desires a long life.

TRANSLATION

Alas! How wonderful it is that the foolish materialist does not heed the great danger of impending death! He knows that death will surely come, yet he is nevertheless callous and neglectful. If his father dies, he wants to enjoy his father’s property, and if his son dies, he wants to enjoy his son’s possessions as well. In either case, he heedlessly tries to enjoy material happiness with the acquired money.

PURPORT

Material happiness means to have good facilities for eating, sleeping, sexual intercourse and defense. Within this world, the materialistic person lives only for these four principles of sense gratification, not caring for the impending danger of death. After his father’s death, a son tries to inherit his money and use it for sense gratification. Similarly, one whose son dies tries to enjoy the possessions of his son. Sometimes the father of a dead son even enjoys his son’s widow. Materialistic persons behave in this way. Thus Sukadeva Gosvami says, “How wonderful are these pastimes of material happiness transacted by the will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead!” In other words, materialistic persons want to commit all kinds of sinful activities, but without the sanction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, no one can do anything. Why does the Supreme Personality of Godhead permit sinful activities? The Supreme Lord does not want any living being to act sinfully, and He begs him through his good conscience to refrain from sin. But when someone insists upon acting sinfully, the Supreme Lord gives him the sanction to act at his own risk (mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca [Bg. 15.15]). No one can do anything without the sanction of the Lord, but He is so kind that when the conditioned soul persists in doing something, the Lord permits the individual soul to act at his own risk.

According to Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, sons always outlive their fathers in other planetary systems and other lands in this universe, especially on Svargaloka. However, on this planet earth a son often dies before his father, and the materialistic father is pleased to enjoy the possessions of his son. Neither the father nor the son can see the reality—that both of them are awaiting death. When death comes, however, all their plans for material enjoyment are finished.

SB5.18.4

TEXT 4

vadanti visvam kavayah sma nasvaram

pasyanti cadhyatmavido vipascitah

tathapi muhyanti tavaja mayaya

suvismitam krtyam ajam nato ’smi tam

SYNONYMS

vadanti—they say authoritatively; visvam—the entire material creation; kavayah—great learned sages; sma—certainly; nasvaram—perishable; pasyanti—they see in trance; ca—also; adhyatma-vidah—who have realized spiritual knowledge; vipascitah—very learned scholars; tatha api—still; muhyanti—become illusioned; tava—your; aja—O unborn one; mayaya—by the illusory energy; su-vismitam—most wonderful; krtyam—activity; ajam—unto the supreme unborn one; natah asmi—I offer my obeisances; tam—unto Him.

TRANSLATION

O unborn one, learned Vedic scholars who are advanced in spiritual knowledge certainly know that this material world is perishable, as do other logicians and philosophers. In trance they realize the factual position of this world, and they preach the truth as well. Yet even they are sometimes bewildered by Your illusory energy. This is Your own wonderful pastime. Therefore, I can understand that Your illusory energy is very wonderful, and I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

PURPORT

Not only does the illusory energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead act on the conditioned soul within this material world, but sometimes it also acts on the most advanced learned scholars, who factually know the constitutional position of this material world through realization. As soon as someone thinks, “I am this material body (aham mameti [SB 5.5.8]) and everything in relationship with this material body is mine,” he is in illusion (moha). This illusion caused by the material energy acts especially on the conditioned souls, but it sometimes also acts on liberated souls as well. A liberated soul is a person who has sufficient knowledge of this material world and is therefore unattached to the bodily conception of life. But because of association with the modes of material nature for a very long time, even liberated souls sometimes become captivated by the illusory energy due to inattentiveness in the transcendental position. Therefore Lord Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita (7.14), mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te: “Only those who surrender unto Me can overcome the influence of the material energy.” Therefore no one should think of himself as a liberated person immune to the influence of maya. Everyone should very cautiously execute devotional service by rigidly following regulative principles. Thus he will remain fixed at the lotus feet of the Lord. Otherwise, a little inattention will create havoc. We have already seen an example of this in the case of Maharaja Bharata. Maharaja Bharata was undoubtedly a great devotee, but because he turned his attention slightly toward a small deer, he had to suffer two more births, one as a deer and another as the brahmana Jada Bharata. Afterward he was liberated and went back home, back to Godhead.

The Lord is always prepared to excuse His devotee, but if a devotee takes advantage of the Lord’s leniency and purposefully commits mistakes again and again, the Lord will certainly punish him by letting him fall down into the clutches of the illusory energy. In other words, theoretical knowledge acquired by studying the Vedas is insufficient to protect one from the clutches of maya. One must strongly adhere to the lotus feet of the Lord in devotional service. Then one’s position is secure.

SB5.18.5

TEXT 5

visvodbhava-sthana-nirodha-karma te

hy akartur angikrtam apy apavrtah

yuktam na citram tvayi karya-karane

sarvatmani vyatirikte ca vastutah

SYNONYMS

visva—of the whole universe; udbhava—of the creation; sthana—of the maintenance; nirodha—of the annihilation; karma—these activities; te—of You (O dear Lord); hi—indeed; akartuh—aloof; angikrtam—still accepted by the Vedic literature; api—although; apavrtah—untouched by all these activities; yuktam—befitting; na—not; citram—wonderful; tvayi—in You; karya-karane—the original cause of all effects; sarva-atmani—in all respects; vyatirikte—set apart; ca—also; vastutah—the original substance.

TRANSLATION

O Lord, although You are completely detached from the creation, maintenance and annihilation of this material world and are not directly affected by these activities, they are all attributed to You. We do not wonder at this, for Your inconceivable energies perfectly qualify You to be the cause of all causes. You are the active principle in everything, although You are separate from everything. Thus we can realize that everything is happening because of Your inconceivable energy.

SB5.18.6

TEXT 6

vedan yugante tamasa tiraskrtan

rasatalad yo nr-turanga-vigrahah

pratyadade vai kavaye ’bhiyacate

tasmai namas te ’vitathehitaya iti

SYNONYMS

vedan—the four Vedas; yuga-ante—at the end of the millennium; tamasa—by the demon of ignorance personified; tiraskrtan—stolen away; rasatalat—from the lowest planetary system (Rasatala); yah—who (the Supreme Personality of Godhead); nr-turanga-vigrahah—assuming the form of half-horse, half-man; pratyadade—returned; vai—indeed; kavaye—to the supreme poet (Lord Brahma); abhiya-cate—when he asked for them; tasmai—unto Him (the form of Hayagriva); namah—my respectful obeisances; te—to You; avitatha-ihitaya—whose resolution never fails; iti—thus.

TRANSLATION

At the end of the millennium, ignorance personified assumed the form of a demon, stole all the Vedas and took them down to the planet of Rasatala. The Supreme Lord, however, in His form of Hayagriva retrieved the Vedas and returned them to Lord Brahma when he begged for them. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, whose determination never fails.

PURPORT

Although Vedic knowledge is imperishable, within this material world it is sometimes manifest and sometimes not. When the people of this material world become too absorbed in ignorance, the Vedic knowledge disappears. Lord Hayagriva or Lord Matsya, however, always protects the Vedic knowledge, and in due course of time it is again distributed through the medium of Lord Brahma. Brahma is the trustworthy representative of the Supreme Lord. Therefore when he again asked for the treasure of Vedic knowledge, the Lord fulfilled his desire.

SB5.18.7

TEXT 7

hari-varse capi bhagavan nara-hari-rupenaste; tad-rupa-grahana-nimittam uttaratrabhidhasye; tad dayitam rupam maha-purusa-guna-bhajano maha-bhagavato daitya-danava-kula-tirthikarana-sila-caritah prahlado ’vyavadhanananya-bhakti-yogena saha tad-varsa-purusair upaste idam codaharati.

SYNONYMS

hari-varse—in the tract of land known as Harivarsa; ca—also; api—indeed; bhagavan—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; nara-hari-rupena—His form of Nrsimhadeva; aste—is situated; tat-rupa-grahana-nimittam—the reason why Lord Krsna (Kesava) assumed the form of Nrsimha; uttaratra—in later chapters; abhidhasye—I shall describe; tat—that; dayitam—most pleasing; rupam—form of the Lord; maha-purusa-guna-bhajanah—Prahlada Maharaja, who is the abode of all the good qualities of great personalities; maha-bhagavatah—the topmost devotee; daitya-danava-kula-tirthi-karana-sila-caritah—whose activities and character were so exalted that he delivered all the daityas (demons) born in his family; prahladah—Maharaja Prahlada; avyavadhana-ananya-bhakti-yogena—by uninterrupted and unflinching devotional service; saha—with; tat-varsa-purusaih—the inhabitants of Hari-varsa; upaste—offers obeisances to and worships; idam—this; ca—and; udaharati—chants.

TRANSLATION

Sukadeva Gosvami continued: My dear King, Lord Nrsimhadeva resides in the tract of land known as Hari-varsa. In the Seventh Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, I shall describe to you how Prahlada Maharaja caused the Lord to assume the form of Nrsimhadeva. Prahlada Maharaja, the topmost devotee of the Lord, is a reservoir of all the good qualities of great personalities. His character and activities have delivered all the fallen members of his demoniac family. Lord Nrsimhadeva is very dear to this exalted personality. Thus Prahlada Maharaja, along with his servants and all the denizens of Hari-varsa, worships Lord Nrsimhadeva by chanting the following mantra.

PURPORT

Jayadeva Gosvami’s ten prayers worshiping the incarnations of Lord Krsna (Kesava) contain His name in every stanza. For example, kesava dhrta-nara-hari-rupa jaya jagad-isa hare, kesava dhrta-mina-sarira jaya jagad-isa hare, and kesava dhrta-vamana-rupa jaya jagad-isa hare. The word jagad-isa refers to the proprietor of all the universes. His original form is the two-handed form of Lord Krsna, standing with a flute in His hands and engaged in tending the cows. As stated in Brahma-samhita:

cintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vrksa-
laksavrtesu surabhir abhipalayantam
laksmi-sahasra-sata-sambhrama-sevyamanam
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

[Bs. 5.29]

“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor, who is tending the cows, yielding all desires, in abodes built with spiritual gems and surrounded by millions of purpose trees. He is always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune.” From this verse we learn that Govinda, or Krsna, is the adi-purusa (the original person). The Lord has innumerable incarnations, exactly like the innumerable waves of a flowing river, but the original form is Krsna, or Kesava.

Sukadeva Gosvami refers to Nrsimhadeva because of Prahlada Maharaja. Prahlada Maharaja was put into great distress by his powerful father, the demon Hiranyakasipu. Apparently helpless before him, Prahlada Maharaja called on the Lord, who immediately assumed the gigantic form of Nrsimhadeva, half-lion and half-man, to kill the gigantic demon. Although Krsna is the original person, one without a second, He assumes different forms just to satisfy His devotees or to execute a specific purpose. Therefore Jayadeva Gosvami always repeats the name of Kesava, the original Personality of Godhead, in his prayers describing the Lord’s different incarnations for different purposes.

SB5.18.8

TEXT 8

om namo bhagavate narasimhaya namas tejas-tejase avir-avirbhava vajra-nakha vajra-damstra karmasayan randhaya randhaya tamo grasa grasa om svaha; abhayam abhayam atmani bhuyistha om ksraum.

SYNONYMS

om—O Lord; namah—my respectful obeisances; bhagavate—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; nara-simhaya—known as Lord Nrsimha; namah—obeisances; tejah-tejase—the power of all power; avih-avirbhava—please be fully manifest; vajra-nakha—O You who possess nails like thunderbolts; vajra-damstra—O You who possess teeth like thunderbolts; karma-asayan—demoniac desires to be happy by material activities; randhaya randhaya—kindly vanquish; tamah—ignorance in the material world; grasa—kindly drive away; grasa—kindly drive away; om—O my Lord; svaha—respectful oblations; abhayam—fearlessness; abhayam—fearlessness; atmani—in my mind; bhuyisthah—may You appear; om—O Lord; ksraum—the bija, or seed, of mantras offering prayers to Lord Nrsimha.

TRANSLATION

I offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Nrsimhadeva, the source of all power. O my Lord who possesses nails and teeth just like thunderbolts, kindly vanquish our demonlike desires for fruitive activity in this material world. Please appear in our hearts and drive away our ignorance so that by Your mercy we may become fearless in the struggle for existence in this material world.

PURPORT

In Srimad-Bhagavatam (4.22.39) Sanat-kumara speaks the following words to Maharaja Prthu:

yat-pada-pankaja-palasa-vilasa-bhaktya
karmasayam grathitam udgrathayanti santah
tadvan na rikta-matayo yatayo ’pi ruddha-
srotoganas tam aranam bhaja vasudevam

“Devotees always engaged in the service of the toes of the Lord’s lotus feet can very easily become free from hard-knotted desires for fruitive activities. Because this is very difficult, the nondevotees—the jnanis and yogis—cannot stop the waves of sense gratification, although they try to do so. Therefore you are advised to engage in the devotional service of Krsna, the son of Vasudeva.”

Every living being within this material world has a strong desire to enjoy matter to his fullest satisfaction. For this purpose, the conditioned soul must accept one body after another, and thus his strongly fixed fruitive desires continue. One cannot stop the repetition of birth and death without being completely desireless. Therefore Srila Rupa Gosvami describes pure bhakti (devotional service) as follows:

anyabhilasita-sunyam
jnana-karmady-anavrtam
anukulyena krsnanu-
silanam bhaktir uttama

[Madhya 19.167]

“One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Krsna favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service.” Unless one is completely freed of all material desires, which are caused by the dense darkness of ignorance, one cannot fully engage in the devotional service of the Lord. Therefore we should always offer our prayers to Lord Nrsimhadeva, who killed Hiranyakasipu, the personification of material desire. Hiranya means “gold,” and kasipu means “a soft cushion or bed.” Materialistic persons always desire to make the body comfortable, and for this they require huge amounts of gold. Thus Hiranyakasipu was the perfect representative of materialistic life. He was therefore the cause of great disturbance to the topmost devotee, Prahlada Maharaja, until Lord Nrsimhadeva killed him. Any devotee aspiring to be free of material desires should offer his respectful prayers to Nrsimhadeva as Prahlada Maharaja did in this verse.

SB5.18.9

TEXT 9

svasty astu visvasya khalah prasidatam

dhyayantu bhutani sivam mitho dhiya

manas ca bhadram bhajatad adhoksaje

avesyatam no matir apy ahaituki

SYNONYMS

svasti—auspiciousness; astu—let there be; visvasya—of the entire universe; khalah—the envious (almost everyone); prasidatam—let them be pacified; dhyayantu—let them consider; bhutani—all the living entities; sivam—auspiciousness; mithah—mutual; dhiya—by their intelligence; manah—the mind; ca—and; bhadram—calmness; bhajatat—let it experience; adhoksaje—in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is beyond the perception of mind. intelligence and senses; avesyatam—let it be absorbed; nah—our; matih—intelligence; api—indeed; ahaituki—without any motive.

TRANSLATION

May there be good fortune throughout the universe, and may all envious persons be pacified. May all living entities become calm by practicing bhakti-yoga, for by accepting devotional service they will think of each other’s welfare. Therefore let us all engage in the service of the supreme transcendence, Lord Sri Krsna, and always remain absorbed in thought of Him.

PURPORT

The following verse describes a Vaisnava:

vancha-kalpa-tarubhyas ca
krpa-sindhubhya eva ca
patitanam pavanebhyo
vaisnavebhyo namo namah

Just like a desire tree, a Vaisnava can fulfill all the desires of anyone who takes shelter of his lotus feet. Prahlada Maharaja is a typical Vaisnava. He prays not for himself, but for all living entities—the gentle, the envious and the mischievous. He always thought of the welfare of mischievous persons like his father, Hiranyakasipu. Prahlada Maharaja did not ask for anything for himself; rather, he prayed for the Lord to excuse his demoniac father. This is the attitude of a Vaisnava, who always thinks of the welfare of the entire universe.

Srimad-Bhagavatam and bhagavata-dharma are meant for persons who are completely free of envy (parama-nirmatsaranam). Therefore Prahlada Maharaja prays in this verse, khalah prasidatam: “May all the envious persons be pacified.” The material world is full of envious persons, but if one frees himself of envy, he becomes liberal in his social dealings and can think of others’ welfare. Anyone who takes up Krsna consciousness and engages himself completely in the service of the Lord cleanses his mind of all envy (manas ca bhadram bhajatad adhoksaje). Therefore we should pray to Lord Nrsimhadeva to sit in our hearts. We should pray, bahir nrsimho hrdaye nrsimhah: “Let Lord Nrsimhadeva sit in the core of my heart, killing all my bad propensities. Let my mind become clean so that I may peacefully worship the Lord and bring peace to the entire world.”

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has given us a very fine purport in this regard. Whenever one offers a prayer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one always requests some benediction from Him. Even pure (niskama) devotees pray for some benediction, as instructed by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His Siksastaka:

ayi nanda-tanuja kinkaram
patitam mam visame bhavambudhau
krpaya tava pada-pankaja-
sthita-dhuli-sadrsam vicintaya

“O son of Maharaja Nanda [Krsna], I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick Me up from the ocean of death and place Me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet.” In another prayer Lord Caitanya says, mama janmani janmanisvare bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi: “Life after life, kindly let Me have unalloyed love and devotion at Your Lordship’s lotus feet.” When Prahlada Maharaja chants om namo bhagavate narasimhaya, he prays for a benediction from the Lord, but because he is also an exalted Vaisnava, he wants nothing for his personal sense gratification. The first desire expressed in his prayer is svasty astu visvasya: “Let there be good fortune throughout the entire universe.” Prahlada Maharaja thus requested the Lord to be merciful to everyone, including his father, a most envious person. According to Canakya Pandita, there are two kinds of envious living entities: one is a snake, and the other is the man like Hiranyakasipu, who is by nature envious of everyone, even of his father or son. Hiranyakasipu was envious of his little son Prahlada, but Prahlada Maharaja asked a benediction for the benefit of his father. Hiranyakasipu was very envious of devotees, but Prahlada wished that his father and other demons like him would give up their envious nature by the grace of the Lord and stop harassing the devotees (khalah prasidatam). The difficulty is that the khala (envious living entity) is rarely pacified. One kind of khala, the snake, can be pacified simply by mantras or by the action of a particular herb (mantrausadhi-vasah sarpah khalakena nivaryate). An envious person, however, cannot be pacified by any means. Therefore Prahlada Maharaja prays that all envious persons may undergo a change of heart and think of the welfare of others.

If the Krsna consciousness movement spreads all over the world, and if by the grace of Krsna everyone accepts it, the thinking of envious people will change. Everyone will think of the welfare of others. Therefore Prahlada Maharaja prays, sivam mitho dhiya. In material activities, everyone is envious of others, but in Krsna consciousness, no one is envious of anyone else; everyone thinks of the welfare of others. Therefore Prahlada Maharaja prays that everyone’s mind may become gentle by being fixed at the lotus feet of Krsna (bhajatad adhoksaje). As indicated elsewhere in Srimad-Bhagavatam (sa vai manah krsna-padaravindayoh) and as advised by Lord Krsna in Bhagavad-gita (18.65), man-mana bhava mad-bhaktah, one should constantly think of the lotus feet of Lord Krsna. Then one’s mind will certainly be cleansed (ceto-darpana-marjanam [Cc. Antya 20.12]). Materialists always think of sense gratification, but Prahlada Maharaja prays that the Lord’s mercy will change their minds and they will stop thinking of sense gratification. If they think of Krsna always, everything will be all right. Some people argue that if everyone thought of Krsna in that way, the whole universe would be vacated because everyone would go back home, back to Godhead. However, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says that this is impossible because the living entities are innumerable. If one set of living entities is actually delivered by the Krsna consciousness movement, another set will fill the entire universe.

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