Prahlada Instructs His Demon Classmates

Verse 1 (bhagavata.7.6.1)

श्रीप्रह्राद उवाच कौमार आचरेत्प्राज्ञो धर्मान्भागवतानिह । दुर्लभं मानुषं जन्म तदप्यध्रुवमर्थदम् ॥ १ ॥

śrī-prahrāda uvāca kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma tad apy adhruvam arthadam

Prahlada said: One who is wise should practice the duties of devotion to the Supreme from childhood itself, here in this world. The human birth is difficult to obtain, and though it too is impermanent, it alone grants real purpose.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.7.6.2)

यथा हि पुरुषस्येह विष्णोः पादोपसर्पणम् । यदेष सर्वभूतानां प्रिय आत्मेश्वरः सुहृत् ॥ २ ॥

yathā hi puruṣasyeha viṣṇoḥ pādopasarpaṇam yad eṣa sarva-bhūtānāṁ priya ātmeśvaraḥ suhṛt

For here, a person's real purpose is to approach the feet of Vishnu — since He is the one dear to all beings, the Lord of the self, and their true friend.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.7.6.3)

सुखमैन्द्रियकं दैत्या देहयोगेन देहिनाम् । सर्वत्र लभ्यते दैवाद्यथा दुःखमयत्नतः ॥ ३ ॥

sukham aindriyakaṁ daityā deha-yogena dehinām sarvatra labhyate daivād yathā duḥkham ayatnataḥ

O sons of demons, the pleasure of the senses that comes to embodied beings through the body is obtained everywhere by destiny alone, just as suffering comes without any effort.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.7.6.4)

तत्प्रयासो न कर्तव्यो यत आयुर्व्ययः परम् । न तथा विन्दते क्षेमं मुकुन्दचरणाम्बुजम् ॥ ४ ॥

tat-prayāso na kartavyo yata āyur-vyayaḥ param na tathā vindate kṣemaṁ mukunda-caraṇāmbujam

Therefore no effort should be spent chasing that pleasure, for it only wastes away one's lifespan; by that path one never attains the true good — the lotus feet of Mukunda.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.7.6.5)

ततो यतेत कुशलः क्षेमाय भवमाश्रितः । शरीरं पौरुषं यावन्न विपद्येत पुष्कलम् ॥ ५ ॥

tato yateta kuśalaḥ kṣemāya bhavam āśritaḥ śarīraṁ pauruṣaṁ yāvan na vipadyeta puṣkalam

Therefore, one who is capable, though situated in worldly existence, should strive for the highest good, as long as the body, while still vigorous, has not yet fully deteriorated.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.7.6.6)

पुंसो वर्षशतं ह्यायुस्तदर्धं चाजितात्मनः । निष्फलं यदसौ रात्र्यां शेतेऽन्धं प्रापितस्तमः ॥ ६ ॥

puṁso varṣa-śataṁ hy āyus tad-ardhaṁ cājitātmanaḥ niṣphalaṁ yad asau rātryāṁ śete ’ndhaṁ prāpitas tamaḥ

A man's lifespan is a hundred years, and half of that, for one who has not conquered the self, is fruitless, since at night he lies given over to blinding darkness in sleep.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.7.6.7)

मुग्धस्य बाल्ये कैशोरे क्रीडतो याति विंशतिः । जरया ग्रस्तदेहस्य यात्यकल्पस्य विंशतिः ॥ ७ ॥

mugdhasya bālye kaiśore krīḍato yāti viṁśatiḥ jarayā grasta-dehasya yāty akalpasya viṁśatiḥ

Of one who is bewildered, in childhood and youth spent at play, twenty years pass; and of one whose body is seized by old age and rendered helpless, another twenty years likewise pass.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.7.6.8)

दुरापूरेण कामेन मोहेन च बलीयसा । शेषं गृहेषु सक्तस्य प्रमत्तस्यापयाति हि ॥ ८ ॥

durāpūreṇa kāmena mohena ca balīyasā śeṣaṁ gṛheṣu saktasya pramattasyāpayāti hi

By insatiable desire and overpowering delusion, the remaining years likewise pass away for one who is attached to household affairs and heedless.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.7.6.9)

को गृहेषु पुमान्सक्तमात्मानमजितेन्द्रियः । स्नेहपाशैर्दृढैर्बद्धमुत्सहेत विमोचितुम् ॥ ९ ॥

ko gṛheṣu pumān saktam ātmānam ajitendriyaḥ sneha-pāśair dṛḍhair baddham utsaheta vimocitum

What man, whose senses are unconquered and who is attached to household life, could ever find the strength to free himself, bound as he is by the tight cords of affection?

Verse 10 (bhagavata.7.6.10)

को न्वर्थतृष्णां विसृजेत्प्राणेभ्योऽपि य ईप्सितः । यं क्रीणात्यसुभिः प्रेष्ठैस्तस्करः सेवको वणिक् ॥ १० ॥

ko nv artha-tṛṣṇāṁ visṛjet prāṇebhyo ’pi ya īpsitaḥ yaṁ krīṇāty asubhiḥ preṣṭhais taskaraḥ sevako vaṇik

Who indeed could give up the thirst for wealth, desired even more than life itself — that for which the thief, the hired soldier, and the merchant will risk even their own dear lives?

Verse 11 (bhagavata.7.6.11)

कथं प्रियाया अनुकम्पितायाः सङ्गं रहस्यं रुचिरांश्च मन्त्रान् । सुहृत्सु तत्स्नेहसितः शिशूनां कलाक्षराणामनुरक्तचित्तः ॥ ११ ॥

kathaṁ priyāyā anukampitāyāḥ saṅgaṁ rahasyaṁ rucirāṁś ca mantrān suhṛtsu tat-sneha-sitaḥ śiśūnāṁ kalākṣarāṇām anurakta-cittaḥ

Bound by love for his affectionate and devoted wife, absorbed in their private moments and their pleasant, intimate words; his heart attached, by that same tenderness, to his little ones and their sweet broken speech —

Verse 12 (bhagavata.7.6.12)

पुत्रान्स्मरंस्ता दुहितृर्हृदय्या भ्रातृन् स्वसृर्वा पितरौ च दीनौ । गृहान् मनोज्ञोरुपरिच्छदांश्च वृत्तीश्च कुल्याः पशुभृत्यवर्गान् ॥ १२ ॥

putrān smaraṁs tā duhitṝr hṛdayyā bhrātṝn svasṝr vā pitarau ca dīnau gṛhān manojñoru-paricchadāṁś ca vṛttīś ca kulyāḥ paśu-bhṛtya-vargān

remembering his sons, his dear daughters, his brothers or sisters, his aged and helpless parents; his home with its many pleasing furnishings, his family's livelihood, his cattle and his servants —

Verse 13 (bhagavata.7.6.13)

त्यजेत कोशस्कृदिवेहमानः कर्माणि लोभादवितृप्तकामः । औपस्थ्यजैह्वं बहुमन्यमानः कथं विरज्येत दुरन्तमोहः ॥ १३ ॥

tyajeta kośas-kṛd ivehamānaḥ karmāṇi lobhād avitṛpta-kāmaḥ aupasthya-jaihvaṁ bahu-manyamānaḥ kathaṁ virajyeta duranta-mohaḥ

— how, striving on like a silkworm spinning its own cocoon, driven by greed with desires never satisfied, prizing the pleasures of the genitals and the tongue above all else, could such a man ever give up these engagements? How could one caught in such unending delusion ever become detached?

Verse 14 (bhagavata.7.6.14)

कुटुम्बपोषाय वियन्निजायु र्न बुध्यतेऽर्थं विहतं प्रमत्तः । सर्वत्र तापत्रयदुःखितात्मा निर्विद्यते न स्वकुटुम्बरामः ॥ १४ ॥

kuṭumba-poṣāya viyan nijāyur na budhyate ’rthaṁ vihataṁ pramattaḥ sarvatra tāpa-traya-duḥkhitātmā nirvidyate na sva-kuṭumba-rāmaḥ

His own lifespan slips away for the sake of maintaining his family, and the heedless man does not perceive that his true purpose is being destroyed; though afflicted everywhere by the threefold miseries, one who delights in his own family still does not turn away from it.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.7.6.15)

वित्तेषु नित्याभिनिविष्टचेता विद्वांश्च दोषं परवित्तहर्तुः । प्रेत्येह वाथाप्यजितेन्द्रियस्त- दशान्तकामो हरते कुटुम्बी ॥ १५ ॥

vitteṣu nityābhiniviṣṭa-cetā vidvāṁś ca doṣaṁ para-vitta-hartuḥ pretyeha vāthāpy ajitendriyas tad aśānta-kāmo harate kuṭumbī

His mind ever fixed upon wealth, though he well knows the penalty that befalls one who seizes another's riches, whether in this life or after death, the householder whose senses are unconquered and whose desires are never stilled still takes it.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.7.6.16)

विद्वानपीत्थं दनुजाः कुटुम्बं पुष्णन्स्वलोकाय न कल्पते वै । यः स्वीयपारक्यविभिन्नभाव- स्तमः प्रपद्येत यथा विमूढः ॥ १६ ॥

vidvān apītthaṁ danujāḥ kuṭumbaṁ puṣṇan sva-lokāya na kalpate vai yaḥ svīya-pārakya-vibhinna-bhāvas tamaḥ prapadyeta yathā vimūḍhaḥ

O sons of the demons, even a learned man who supports his family in this way is not fit for his own true good; one whose mind is divided by "this is mine, that is another's" falls into darkness just like a fool.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.7.6.17)

यतो न कश्चित् क्व च कुत्रचिद् वा दीनः स्वमात्मानमलं समर्थः । विमोचितुं कामदृशां विहार- क्रीडामृगो यन्निगडो विसर्गः ॥ १७ ॥

yato na kaścit kva ca kutracid vā dīnaḥ svam ātmānam alaṁ samarthaḥ vimocituṁ kāma-dṛśāṁ vihāra- krīḍā-mṛgo yan-nigaḍo visargaḥ

For nowhere, at any time, has any wretched man ever proved able to free himself, once he has become a plaything, a tame deer in the sport of desire-filled women, his only fetter being the begetting of offspring.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.7.6.18)

ततो विदूरात् परिहृत्य दैत्या दैत्येषु सङ्गं विषयात्मकेषु । उपेत नारायणमादिदेवं स मुक्तसङ्गैरिषितोऽपवर्गः ॥ १८ ॥

tato vidūrāt parihṛtya daityā daityeṣu saṅgaṁ viṣayātmakeṣu upeta nārāyaṇam ādi-devaṁ sa mukta-saṅgair iṣito ’pavargaḥ

Therefore, O demons, cast off from a distance all company with demons absorbed in sense objects, and go to Narayana, the first of the gods — that liberation which those already free from attachment seek.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.7.6.19)

न ह्यच्युतं प्रीणयतो बह्वायासोऽसुरात्मजाः । आत्मत्वात्सर्वभूतानां सिद्धत्वादिह सर्वतः ॥ १९ ॥

na hy acyutaṁ prīṇayato bahv-āyāso ’surātmajāḥ ātmatvāt sarva-bhūtānāṁ siddhatvād iha sarvataḥ

O sons of demons, there is no great labor needed to please Achyuta, the infallible Lord, because He is the very Self of all beings, and thus that end is already accomplished everywhere in this regard.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.7.6.20)

परावरेषु भूतेषु ब्रह्मान्तस्थावरादिषु । भौतिकेषु विकारेषु भूतेष्वथ महत्सु च ॥ २० ॥

parāvareṣu bhūteṣu brahmānta-sthāvarādiṣu bhautikeṣu vikāreṣu bhūteṣv atha mahatsu ca

He is present in beings both high and low, from the unmoving plants up to Brahma; in the transformations of matter, in the elements themselves, and in the mahat-tattva, the total material energy —

Verse 21 (bhagavata.7.6.21)

गुणेषु गुणसाम्ये च गुणव्यतिकरे तथा । एक एव परो ह्यात्मा भगवानीश्वरोऽव्ययः ॥ २१ ॥

guṇeṣu guṇa-sāmye ca guṇa-vyatikare tathā eka eva paro hy ātmā bhagavān īśvaro ’vyayaḥ

in the three modes of nature, in their state of equilibrium, and likewise in their mutual disturbance — He alone, the one Supreme Self, the imperishable Lord Bhagavan.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.7.6.22)

प्रत्यगात्मस्वरूपेण दृश्यरूपेण च स्वयम् । व्याप्यव्यापकनिर्देश्यो ह्यनिर्देश्योऽविकल्पितः ॥ २२ ॥

pratyag-ātma-svarūpeṇa dṛśya-rūpeṇa ca svayam vyāpya-vyāpaka-nirdeśyo hy anirdeśyo ’vikalpitaḥ

He Himself exists both as the innermost Self and as the visible form; describable both as that which is pervaded and as that which pervades, He is in truth beyond all description, undivided.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.7.6.23)

केवलानुभवानन्दस्वरूपः परमेश्वरः । माययान्तर्हितैश्वर्य ईयते गुणसर्गया ॥ २३ ॥

kevalānubhavānanda- svarūpaḥ parameśvaraḥ māyayāntarhitaiśvarya īyate guṇa-sargayā

The very nature of the Supreme Lord is pure, self-realized bliss; yet with His opulence veiled by maya, He is perceived only through the creation born of the material modes.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.7.6.24)

तस्मात्सर्वेषु भूतेषु दयां कुरुत सौहृदम् । भावमासुरमुन्मुच्य यया तुष्यत्यधोक्षजः ॥ २४ ॥

tasmāt sarveṣu bhūteṣu dayāṁ kuruta sauhṛdam bhāvam āsuram unmucya yayā tuṣyaty adhokṣajaḥ

Therefore, giving up your demoniac nature, show compassion and friendship to all beings, by which Adhokshaja, the Lord beyond the reach of the senses, becomes pleased.

Verse 25 (bhagavata.7.6.25)

तुष्टे च तत्र किमलभ्यमनन्त आद्ये किं तैर्गुणव्यतिकरादिह ये स्वसिद्धाः । धर्मादयः किमगुणेन च काङ्क्षितेन सारं जुषां चरणयोरुपगायतां नः ॥ २५ ॥

tuṣṭe ca tatra kim alabhyam ananta ādye kiṁ tair guṇa-vyatikarād iha ye sva-siddhāḥ dharmādayaḥ kim aguṇena ca kāṅkṣitena sāraṁ juṣāṁ caraṇayor upagāyatāṁ naḥ

And when He, the endless and primeval Lord, is satisfied, what then remains unattainable? What use have we for dharma and the rest, which arise on their own from the interplay of the modes? What need have we, who serve and sing of the essence found at His feet, even for the desire for the qualityless state?

Verse 26 (bhagavata.7.6.26)

धर्मार्थकाम इति योऽभिहितस्त्रिवर्ग ईक्षा त्रयी नयदमौ विविधा च वार्ता । मन्ये तदेतदखिलं निगमस्य सत्यं स्वात्मार्पणं स्वसुहृदः परमस्य पुंसः ॥ २६ ॥

dharmārtha-kāma iti yo ’bhihitas tri-varga īkṣā trayī naya-damau vividhā ca vārtā manye tad etad akhilaṁ nigamasya satyaṁ svātmārpaṇaṁ sva-suhṛdaḥ paramasya puṁsaḥ

The threefold group called dharma, artha and kama; philosophy, the triple Veda, statecraft and self-control, and the various means of livelihood — all this, the outer teaching of the scriptures, I regard as secondary; but the offering of one's own self to the Supreme Person, our own true friend, I hold to be the real truth.

Verse 27 (bhagavata.7.6.27)

ज्ञानं तदेतदमलं दुरवापमाह नारायणो नरसखः किल नारदाय । एकान्तिनां भगवतस्तदकिञ्चनानां पादारविन्दरजसाप्लुतदेहिनां स्यात् ॥ २७ ॥

jñānaṁ tad etad amalaṁ duravāpam āha nārāyaṇo nara-sakhaḥ kila nāradāya ekāntināṁ bhagavatas tad akiñcanānāṁ pādāravinda-rajasāpluta-dehināṁ syāt

This pure and rarely attained knowledge was spoken by Narayana, friend of Nara, to Narada Muni; it belongs only to those exclusively devoted, possessionless souls of the Lord whose very bodies are bathed in the dust of His lotus feet.

Verse 28 (bhagavata.7.6.28)

श्रुतमेतन्मया पूर्वं ज्ञानं विज्ञानसंयुतम् । धर्मं भागवतं शुद्धं नारदाद्देवदर्शनात् ॥ २८ ॥

śrutam etan mayā pūrvaṁ jñānaṁ vijñāna-saṁyutam dharmaṁ bhāgavataṁ śuddhaṁ nāradād deva-darśanāt

This knowledge, joined with realized wisdom — the pure bhagavata-dharma — I heard in the past from Narada, seer among the sages, who beholds the divine.

Verse 29 (bhagavata.7.6.29)

श्रीदैत्यपुत्रा ऊचुः प्रह्राद त्वं वयं चापि नर्तेऽन्यं विद्महे गुरुम् । एताभ्यां गुरुपुत्राभ्यां बालानामपि हीश्वरौ ॥ २९ ॥

śrī-daitya-putrā ūcuḥ prahrāda tvaṁ vayaṁ cāpi narte ’nyaṁ vidmahe gurum etābhyāṁ guru-putrābhyāṁ bālānām api hīśvarau

The sons of the demons said: O Prahlada, neither you nor we know of any teacher besides these two, our guru's own sons — for even we children have no masters but them.

Verse 30 (bhagavata.7.6.30)

बालस्यान्तःपुरस्थस्य महत्सङ्गो दुरन्वयः । छिन्धि नः संशयं सौम्य स्याच्चेद्विस्रम्भकारणम् ॥ ३० ॥

bālasyāntaḥpura-sthasya mahat-saṅgo duranvayaḥ chindhi naḥ saṁśayaṁ saumya syāc ced visrambha-kāraṇam

For a child confined within the inner palace, the company of great and saintly souls is all but impossible to attain — so, O gentle one, if there is any real ground for it, dispel this doubt of ours.