Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 8: “Withdrawal of the Cosmic Creations”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter Twenty-two

Bali Maharaja Surrenders His Life

SB8.22Summary

The summary of this Twenty-second Chapter is as follows. The Supreme Personality of Godhead was pleased by the behavior of Bali Maharaja. Thus the Lord placed him on the planet Sutala, and there, after bestowing benedictions upon him, the Lord agreed to become his doorman.

Bali Maharaja was extremely truthful. Being unable to keep his promise, he was very much afraid, for he knew that one who has deviated from truthfulness is insignificant in the eyes of society. An exalted person can suffer the consequences of hellish life, but he is very much afraid of being defamed for deviation from the truth. Bali Maharaja agreed with great pleasure to accept the punishment awarded him by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Bali Maharaja’s dynasty there were many asuras who because of their enmity toward Visnu had achieved a destination more exalted than that of many mystic yogis. Bali Maharaja specifically remembered the determination of Prahlada Maharaja in devotional service. Considering all these points, he decided to give his head in charity as the place for Visnu’s third step. Bali Maharaja also considered how great personalities give up their family relationships and material possessions to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Indeed, they sometimes even sacrifice their lives for the satisfaction of the Lord, just to become His personal servants. Accordingly, by following in the footsteps of previous acaryas and devotees, Bali Maharaja perceived himself successful.

While Bali Maharaja, having been arrested by the ropes of Varuna, was offering prayers to the Lord, his grandfather Prahlada Maharaja appeared there and described how the Supreme Personality of Godhead had delivered Bali Maharaja by taking his possessions in a tricky way. While Prahlada Maharaja was present, Lord Brahma and Bali’s wife, Vindhyavali, described the supremacy of the Supreme Lord. Since Bali Maharaja had given everything to the Lord, they prayed for his release. The Lord then described how a nondevotee’s possession of wealth is a danger whereas a devotee’s opulence is a benediction from the Lord. Then, being pleased with Bali Maharaja, the Supreme Lord offered His disc to protect Bali Maharaja and promised to remain with him.

SB8.22.1

TEXT 1

sri-suka uvaca

evam viprakrto rajan

balir bhagavatasurah

bhidyamano ’py abhinnatma

pratyahaviklavam vacah

SYNONYMS

sri-sukah uvaca—Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; evam—thus, as aforementioned; viprakrtah—having been put into difficulty; rajan—O King; balih—Maharaja Bali; bhagavata—by the Personality of Godhead Vamanadeva; asurah—the King of the asuras; bhidyamanah api—although situated in this uncomfortable position; abhinna-atma—without being disturbed in body or mind; pratyaha—replied; aviklavam—undisturbed; vacah—the following words.

TRANSLATION

Sukadeva Gosvami said: O King, although the Supreme Personality of Godhead was superficially seen to have acted mischievously toward Bali Maharaja, Bali Maharaja was fixed in his determination. Considering himself not to have fulfilled his promise, he spoke as follows.

SB8.22.2

TEXT 2

sri-balir uvaca

yady uttamasloka bhavan mameritam

vaco vyalikam sura-varya manyate

karomy rtam tan na bhavet pralambhanam

padam trtiyam kuru sirsni me nijam

SYNONYMS

sri-balih uvaca—Bali Maharaja said; yadi—if; uttamasloka—O Supreme Lord; bhavan—Your good self; mama—my; iritam—promised; vacah—words; vyalikam—false; sura-varya—O greatest of all suras (demigods); manyate—You think so; karomi—I shall make it; rtam—truth; tat—that (promise); na—not; bhavet—will become; pralambhanam—cheating; padam—step; trtiyam—the third; kuru—just do it; sirsni—on the head; me—my; nijam—Your lotus feet.

TRANSLATION

Bali Maharaja said: O best Personality of Godhead, most worshipable for all the demigods, if You think that my promise has become false, I shall certainly rectify matters to make it truthful. I cannot allow my promise to be false. Please, therefore, place Your third lotus footstep on my head.

PURPORT

Bali Maharaja could understand the pretense of Lord Vamanadeva, who had taken the side of the demigods and come before him as a beggar. Although the Lord’s purpose was to cheat him, Bali Maharaja took pleasure in understanding how the Lord will cheat His devotee to glorify the devotee’s position. It is said that God is good, and this is a fact. Whether He cheats or rewards, He is always good. Bali Maharaja therefore addressed Him as Uttamasloka. “Your Lordship,” he said, “You are always praised with the best of selected verses. On behalf of the demigods, You disguised Yourself to cheat me, saying that You wanted only three paces of land, but later You expanded Your body to such an extent that with two footsteps You covered the entire universe. Because You were working on behalf of Your devotees, You do not regard this as cheating. Never mind. I cannot be considered a devotee. Nonetheless, because although You are the husband of the goddess of fortune You have come to me to beg, I must satisfy You to the best of my ability. So please do not think that I wanted to cheat You; I must fulfill my promise. I still have my body. When I place my body for Your satisfaction, please put Your third step on my head.” Since the Lord had covered the entire universe with two steps, one might ask how Bali Maharaja’s head could be sufficient for His third step? Bali Maharaja, however, thought that the possessor of wealth must be greater than the possession. Therefore although the Lord had taken all his possessions, the head of Bali Maharaja, the possessor, would provide adequate place for the Lord’s third step.

SB8.22.3

TEXT 3

bibhemi naham nirayat pada-cyuto

na pasa-bandhad vyasanad duratyayat

naivartha-krcchrad bhavato vinigrahad

asadhu-vadad bhrsam udvije yatha

SYNONYMS

bibhemi—I do fear; na—not; aham—I; nirayat—from a position in hell; pada-cyutah—nor do I fear being deprived of my position; na—nor; pasa-bandhat—from being arrested by the ropes of Varuna; vyasanat—nor from the distress; duratyayat—which was unbearable for me; na—nor; eva—certainly; artha-krcchrat—because of poverty, or scarcity of money; bhavatah—of Your Lordship; vinigrahat—from the punishment I am now suffering; asadhu-vadat—from defamation; bhrsam—very much; udvije—I become anxious; yatha—as.

TRANSLATION

I do not fear being deprived of all my possessions, living in hellish life, being arrested for poverty by the ropes of Varuna or being punished by You as much as I fear defamation.

PURPORT

Although Bali Maharaja fully surrendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he could not tolerate being defamed for cheating a brahmana-brahmacari, Being quite alert in regard to his reputation, he thought deeply about how to prevent being defamed. The Lord, therefore, gave him the good counsel to prevent defamation by offering his head. A Vaisnava does not fear any punishment. Narayana-parah sarve na kutascana bibhyati (Bhag. 6.17.28).

SB8.22.4

TEXT 4

pumsam slaghyatamam manye

dandam arhattamarpitam

yam na mata pita bhrata

suhrdas cadisanti hi

SYNONYMS

pumsam—of men; slaghya-tamam—the most exalted; manye—I consider; dandam—punishment; arhattama-arpitam—given by You, the supreme worshipable Lord; yam—which; na—neither; mata—mother; pita—father; bhrata—brother; suhrdah—friends; ca—also; adisanti—offer; hi—indeed.

TRANSLATION

Although a father, mother, brother or friend may sometimes punish one as a well-wisher, they never punish their subordinate like this. But because You are the most worshipable Lord, I regard the punishment You have given me as most exalted.

PURPORT

Punishment meted out by the Supreme Personality of Godhead is accepted by the devotee as the greatest mercy.

tat te ’nukampam susamiksamano
bhunjana evatma-krtam vipakam
hrd-vag-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jiveta yo mukti-pade sa daya-bhak

“One who seeks Your compassion and thus tolerates all kinds of adverse conditions due to the karma of his past deeds, who engages always in Your devotional service with his mind, words and body, and who always offers obeisances to You is certainly a bona fide candidate for liberation.” (Bhag. 10.14.8) A devotee knows that so-called punishment by the Supreme Personality of Godhead is only His favor to correct His devotee and bring him to the right path. Therefore the punishment awarded by the Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot be compared to even the greatest benefit awarded by one’s material father, mother, brother or friend.

SB8.22.5

TEXT 5

tvam nunam asuranam nah

paroksah paramo guruh

yo no ’neka-madandhanam

vibhramsam caksur adisat

SYNONYMS

tvam—Your Lordship; nunam—indeed; asuranam—of the demons; nah—as we are; paroksah—indirect; paramah—the supreme; guruh—spiritual master; yah—Your Lordship; nah—of us; aneka—many; mada-andhanam—blinded by material opulences; vibhramsam—destroying our false prestige; caksuh—the eye of knowledge; adisat—gave.

TRANSLATION

Since Your Lordship is indirectly the greatest well-wisher of us demons, You act for our best welfare by posing as if our enemy. Because demons like us always aspire for a position of false prestige, by chastising us You give us the eyes by which to see the right path.

PURPORT

Bali Maharaja considered the Supreme Personality of Godhead a better friend to the demons than to the demigods. In the material world, the more one gets material possessions, the more he becomes blind to spiritual life. The demigods are devotees of the Lord for the sake of material possessions, but although the demons apparently do not have the Supreme Personality of Godhead on their side, He always acts as their well-wisher by depriving them of their positions of false prestige. By false prestige one is misguided, so the Supreme Lord takes away their position of false prestige as a special favor.

SB8.22.6-7

TEXTS 6–7

yasmin vairanubandhena

vyudhena vibudhetarah

bahavo lebhire siddhim

yam u haikanta-yoginah

tenaham nigrhito ’smi

bhavata bhuri-karmana

baddhas ca varunaih pasair

nativride na ca vyathe

SYNONYMS

yasmin—unto You; vaira-anubandhena—by continuously treating as an enemy; vyudhena—firmly fixed by such intelligence; vibudha-itarah—the demons (those other than the demigods); bahavah—many of them; lebhire—achieved; siddhim—perfection; yam—which; u ha—it is well known; ekanta-yoginah—equal to the achievements of the greatly successful mystic yogis; tena—therefore; aham—I; nigrhitah asmi—although I am being punished; bhavata—by Your Lordship; bhuri-karmana—who can do many wonderful things; baddhah ca—I am arrested and bound; varunaih pasaih—by the ropes of Varuna; na ati-vride—I am not at all ashamed of this; na ca vyathe—nor am I suffering very much.

TRANSLATION

Many demons who were continuously inimical toward You finally achieved the perfection of great mystic yogis. Your Lordship can perform one work to serve many purposes, and consequently, although You have punished me in many ways, I do not feel ashamed of having been arrested by the ropes of Varuna, nor do I feel aggrieved.

PURPORT

Bali Maharaja appreciated the Lord’s mercy not only upon him but upon many other demons. Because this mercy is liberally distributed, the Supreme Lord is called all-merciful. Bali Maharaja was indeed a fully surrendered devotee, but even some demons who were not at all devotees but merely enemies of the Lord attained the same exalted position achieved by many mystic yogis. Thus Bali Maharaja could understand that the Lord had some hidden purpose in punishing him. Consequently he was neither unhappy nor ashamed because of the awkward position in which he had been put by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SB8.22.8

TEXT 8

pitamaho me bhavadiya-sammatah

prahrada aviskrta-sadhu-vadah

bhavad-vipaksena vicitra-vaisasam

samprapitas tvam paramah sva-pitra

SYNONYMS

pitamahah—grandfather; me—my; bhavadiya-sammatah—approved by the devotees of Your Lordship; prahradah—Prahlada Maharaja; aviskrta-sadhu-vadah—famous, being celebrated everywhere as a devotee; bhavat-vipaksena—simply going against You; vicitra-vaisasam—inventing different kinds of harassments; samprapitah—suffered; tvam—You; paramah—the supreme shelter; sva-pitra—by his own father.

TRANSLATION

My grandfather Prahlada Maharaja is famous, being recognized by all Your devotees. Although harassed in many ways by his father, Hiranyakasipu, he still remained faithful, taking shelter at Your lotus feet.

PURPORT

A pure devotee like Prahlada Maharaja, although harassed circumstantially in many ways, never gives up the shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead to take shelter of anyone else. A pure devotee never complains against the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A vivid example is Prahlada Maharaja. Examining the life of Prahlada Maharaja, we can see how severely he was harassed by his own father, Hiranyakasipu, yet he did not divert his attention from the Lord even to the smallest extent. Bali Maharaja, following in the footsteps of his grandfather Prahlada Maharaja, remained fixed in his devotion to the Lord, despite the Lord’s having punished him.

SB8.22.9

TEXT 9

kim atmananena jahati yo ’ntatah

kim riktha-haraih svajanakhya-dasyubhih

kim jayaya samsrti-hetu-bhutaya

martyasya gehaih kim ihayuso vyayah

SYNONYMS

kim—what is the use; atmana anena—of this body; jahati—gives up; yah—which (body); antatah—at the end of life; kim—what is the use; riktha-haraih—the plunderers of wealth; svajana-akhya-dasyubhih—they who are actually plunderers but who pass by the name of relatives; kim—what is the use; jayaya—of a wife; samsrti-hetu-bhutaya—who is the source of increasing material conditions; martyasya—of a person sure to die; gehaih—of houses, family and community; kim—what is the use; iha—in which house; ayusah—of the duration of life; vyayah—simply wasting.

TRANSLATION

What is the use of the material body, which automatically leaves its owner at the end of life? And what is the use of all one’s family members, who are actually plunderers taking away money that is useful for the service of the Lord in spiritual opulence? What is the use of a wife? She is only the source of increasing material conditions. And what is the use of family, home, country and community? Attachment for them merely wastes the valuable energy of one’s lifetime.

PURPORT

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, advises, sama-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja: “Give up all other varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me.” The common man does not appreciate such a statement by the Supreme Personality of Godhead because he thinks that during his lifetime his family, society, country, body and relatives are everything. Why should one give up any one of them and take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead? But from the behavior of great personalities like Prahlada Maharaja and Bali Maharaja we understand that surrendering to the Lord is the right action for an intelligent person. Prahlada Maharaja took shelter of Visnu against the will of his father. Similarly, Bali Maharaja took shelter of Vamanadeva against the will of his spiritual master, Sukracarya, and all the leading demons. People may be surprised that devotees like Prahlada Maharaja and Bali Maharaja could seek shelter of the side of the enemy, giving up the natural affinity for family, hearth and home. In this connection, Bali Maharaja explains that the body, which is the center of all material activities, is also a foreign element. Even though we want to keep the body fit and helpful to our activities, the body cannot continue eternally. Although I am the soul, which is eternal, after using the body for some time I have to accept another body (tatha dehantara-praptih), according to the laws of nature, unless I render some service with the body for advancement in devotional service. One should not use the body for any other purpose. One must know that if he uses the body for any other purpose he is simply wasting time, for as soon as the time is ripe, the soul will automatically leave the body.

We are very interested in society, friendship and love, but what are they? Those in the garb of friends and relatives merely plunder the hard-earned money of the bewildered soul. Everyone is affectionate toward his wife and is attached to her, but what is this wife? The wife is called stri, which means, “one who expands the material condition.” If a person lives without a wife, his material conditions are less extensive. As soon as one marries and is connected with a wife, his material necessities increase.

pumsah striya mithuni-bhavam etam
tayor mitho hrdaya-granthim ahuh
ato grha-ksetra-sutapta-vittair
janasya moho ’yam aham mameti

“The attraction between male and female is the basic principle of material existence. On the basis of this misconception, which ties together the hearts of the male and female, one becomes attracted to his body, home, property, children, relatives and wealth. In this way one increases life’s illusions and thinks in terms of ‘I and mine.’ ” (Bhag. 5.5.8) Human life is meant for self-realization, not for increasing unwanted things. Actually, a wife increases unwanted things. One’s lifetime, one’s home and everything one has, if not properly used in the service of the Lord, are all sources of material conditions of perpetual suffering under the threefold miseries (adhyatmika, adhibhautika and adhidaivika). Unfortunately, there is no institution in human society for education on this subject. People are kept in darkness about the goal of life, and thus there is a continuous struggle for existence. We speak of “survival of the fittest,” but no one survives, for no one is free under material conditions.

SB8.22.10

TEXT 10

ittham sa niscitya pitamaho mahan

agadha-bodho bhavatah pada-padmam

dhruvam prapede hy akutobhayam janad

bhitah svapaksa-ksapanasya sattama

SYNONYMS

ittham—because of this (as stated above); sah—he, Prahlada Maharaja; niscitya—definitely deciding on this point; pitamahah—my grandfather; mahan—the great devotee; agadha-bodhah—my grandfather, who received unlimited knowledge because of his devotional service; bhavatah—of Your Lordship; pada-padmam—the lotus feet; dhruvam—the infallible, eternal shelter; prapede—surrendered; hi—indeed; akutah-bhayam—completely free of fear; janat—from ordinary common people; bhitah—being afraid; svapaksa-ksapanasya—of Your Lordship, who kill the demons on our own side; sat-tama—O best of the best.

TRANSLATION

My grandfather, the best of all men, who achieved unlimited knowledge and was worshipable for everyone, was afraid of the common men in this world. Being fully convinced of the substantiality afforded by shelter at Your lotus feet, He took shelter of Your lotus feet, against the will of his father and demoniac friends, who were killed by Your own self.

SB8.22.11

TEXT 11

athaham apy atma-ripos tavantikam

daivena nitah prasabham tyajita-srih

idam krtantantika-varti jivitam

yayadhruvam stabdha-matir na budhyate

SYNONYMS

atha—therefore; aham—I; api—also; atma-ripoh—who are the traditional enemy of the family; tava—of Your good self; antikam—the shelter; daivena—by providence; nitah—brought in; prasabham—by force; tyajita—bereft of; srih—all opulence; idam—this philosophy of life; krta-anta-antika-varti—always given the facility for death; jivitam—the duration of life; yaya—by such material opulence; adhruvam—as temporary; stabdha-matih—such an unintelligent person; na budhyate—cannot understand.

TRANSLATION

Only by providence have I been forcibly brought under Your lotus feet and deprived of all my opulence. Because of the illusion created by temporary opulence, people in general, who live under material conditions, facing accidental death at every moment, do not understand that this life is temporary. Only by providence have I been saved from that condition.

PURPORT

Bali Maharaja appreciated the actions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although all the members of the demoniac families except Prahlada Maharaja and Bali Maharaja considered Visnu their eternal traditional enemy. As described by Bali Maharaja, Lord Visnu was actually not the enemy of the family but the best friend of the family. The principle of this friendship has already been stated. Yasyaham anugrhnami harisye tad-dhanam sanaih: the Lord bestows special favor upon His devotee by taking away all his material opulences. Bali Maharaja appreciated this behavior by the Lord. Therefore he said, daivena nitah prasabham tyajita-srih: “It is to bring me to the right platform of eternal life that You have put me into these circumstances.”

Actually, everyone should fear the so-called society, friendship and love for which he works so hard all day and night. As indicated by Bali Maharaja by the words janad bhitah, every devotee in Krsna consciousness should always be afraid of the common man engaged in pursuing material prosperity. Such a person is described as pramatta, a madman chasing the will-o’-the-wisp. Such men do not know that after a hard struggle for life one must change his body, with no certainty of what kind of body he will receive next. Those who are completely established in Krsna conscious philosophy and who therefore understand the aim of life will never take to the activities of the materialistic dog race. But if a sincere devotee somehow does fall down, the Lord corrects him and saves him from gliding down to the darkest region of hellish life.

adanta-gobhir visatam tamisram
punah punas carvita-carvananam

(Bhag. 7.5.30)

The materialistic way of life is nothing but the repeated chewing of that which has already been chewed. Although there is no profit in such a life, people are enamored of it because of uncontrolled senses. Nunam pramattah kurute vikarma [Bhag. 5.5.4]. Because of uncontrolled senses, people fully engage in sinful activities by which they get a body full of suffering. Bali Maharaja appreciated how the Lord had saved him from such a bewildered life of ignorance. He therefore said that his intelligence had been stunned. Stabdha-matir na budhyate. He could not understand how the Supreme Personality of Godhead favors His devotees by forcibly stopping their materialistic activities.

SB8.22.12

TEXT 12

sri-suka uvaca

tasyettham bhasamanasya

prahrado bhagavat-priyah

ajagama kuru-srestha

raka-patir ivotthitah

SYNONYMS

sri-sukah uvaca—Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; tasya—Bali Maharaja; ittham—in this way; bhasamanasya—while describing his fortunate position; prahradah—Maharaja Prahlada, his grandfather; bhagavat-priyah—the most favored devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ajagama—appeared there; kuru-srestha—O best of the Kurus, Maharaja Pariksit; raka-patih—the moon; iva—like; utthitah—having risen.

TRANSLATION

Sukadeva Gosvami said: O best of the Kurus, while Bali Maharaja was describing his fortunate position in this way, the most dear devotee of the Lord, Prahlada Maharaja, appeared there, like the moon rising in the nighttime.

SB8.22.13

TEXT 13

tam indra-senah sva-pitamaham sriya

virajamanam nalinayateksanam

pramsum pisangambaram anjana-tvisam

pralamba-bahum subhagarsabham aiksata

SYNONYMS

tam—that Prahlada Maharaja; indra-senah—Bali Maharaja, who now possessed all the military force of Indra; sva-pitamaham—unto his grandfather; sriya—present with all beautiful features; virajamanam—standing there; nalina-ayata-iksanam—with eyes as broad as the petals of a lotus; pramsum—a very beautiful body; pisanga-ambaram—dressed in yellow garments; anjana-tvisam—with his body resembling black ointment for the eyes; pralamba-bahum—very long arms; subhaga-rsabham—the best of all auspicious persons; aiksata—he saw.

TRANSLATION

Then Bali Maharaja saw his grandfather Prahlada Maharaja, the most fortunate personality, whose dark body resembled black ointment for the eyes. His tall, elegant figure was dressed in yellow garments, he had long arms, and his beautiful eyes were like the petals of a lotus. He was very dear and pleasing to everyone.

SB8.22.14

TEXT 14

tasmai balir varuna-pasa-yantritah

samarhanam nopajahara purvavat

nanama murdhnasru-vilola-locanah

sa-vrida-nicina-mukho babhuva ha

SYNONYMS

tasmai—unto Prahlada Maharaja; balih—Bali Maharaja; varuna-pasa-yantritah—being bound by the ropes of Varuna; samarhanam—befitting respect; na—not; upajahara—offered; purva-vat—like before; nanama—he offered obeisances; murdhna—with the head; asru-vilola-locanah—eyes inundated with tears; sa-vrida—with shyness; nicina—downward; mukhah—face; babhuva ha—he so became.

TRANSLATION

Being bound by the ropes of Varuna, Bali Maharaja could not offer befitting respect to Prahlada Maharaja as he had before. Rather, he simply offered respectful obeisances with his head, his eyes being inundated with tears and his face lowered in shame.

PURPORT

Since Bali Maharaja had been arrested by Lord Vamanadeva, he was certainly to be considered an offender. Bali Maharaja seriously felt that he was an offender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Certainly Prahlada Maharaja would not like this. Therefore Bali Maharaja was ashamed and hung his head.

SB8.22.15

TEXT 15

sa tatra hasinam udiksya sat-patim

harim sunandady-anugair upasitam

upetya bhumau sirasa maha-mana

nanama murdhna pulakasru-viklavah

SYNONYMS

sah—Prahlada Maharaja; tatra—there; ha asinam—seated; udiksya—after seeing; sat-patim—the Supreme Personality of Godhead, master of the liberated souls; harim—Lord Hari; sunanda-adi-anugaih—by His followers, like Sunanda; upasitam—being worshiped; upetya—reaching nearby; bhumau—on the ground; sirasa—with his head (bowed down); maha-manah—the great devotee; nanama—offered obeisances; murdhna—with his head; pulaka-asru-viklavah—agitated by tears of jubilation.

TRANSLATION

When the great personality Prahlada Maharaja saw that the Supreme Lord was sitting there, surrounded and worshiped by His intimate associates like Sunanda, he was overwhelmed with tears of jubilation. Approaching the Lord and falling to the ground, he offered obeisances to the Lord with his head.

SB8.22.16

TEXT 16

sri-prahrada uvaca

tvayaiva dattam padam aindram urjitam

hrtam tad evadya tathaiva sobhanam

manye mahan asya krto hy anugraho

vibhramsito yac chriya atma-mohanat

SYNONYMS

sri-prahradah uvaca—Prahlada Maharaja said; tvaya—by Your Lordship; eva—indeed; dattam—which had been given; padam—this position; aindram—of the King of heaven; urjitam—very, very great; hrtam—has been taken away; tat—that; eva—indeed; adya—today; tatha—as; eva—indeed; sobhanam—beautiful; manye—I consider; mahan—very great; asya—of him (Bali Maharaja); krtah—has been done by You; hi—indeed; anugrahah—mercy; vibhramsitah—being bereft of; yat—because; sriyah—from that opulence; atma-mohanat—which was covering the process of self-realization.

TRANSLATION

Prahlada Maharaja said: My Lord, it is Your Lordship who gave this Bali the very great opulence of the post of heavenly king, and now, today, it is You who have taken it all away. I think You have acted with equal beauty in both ways. Because his exalted position as King of heaven was putting him in the darkness of ignorance, You have done him a very merciful favor by taking away all his opulence.

PURPORT

As it is said, yasyaham anugrhnami harisye tad-dhanam sanaih (Bhag. 10.88.8). It is by the mercy of the Lord that one gets all material opulence, but if such material opulence causes one to become puffed up and forget the process of self-realization, the Lord certainly takes all the opulence away. The Lord bestows mercy upon His devotee by helping him find out his constitutional position. For that purpose, the Lord is always ready to help the devotee in every way. But material opulence is sometimes dangerous because it diverts one’s attention to false prestige by giving one the impression that he is the owner and master of everything he surveys, although actually this is not the fact. To protect the devotee from such a misunderstanding, the Lord, showing special mercy, sometimes takes away his material possessions. Yasyaham anugrhnami harisye tad-dhanam sanaih.

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