Vishnu's Blessing on Prahlada and the Fruits of His Story

Verse 1 (vishnu.1.20.1)

श्रीपराशर उवाच । एवं संचिन्तयन् विष्णुम् अभेदेनात्मनो द्विज । तन्मयत्वम् अवापाग्र्यं मेने चात्मानम् अच्युतम्

śrīparāśara uvāca evaṁ saṁcintayan viṣṇum abhedenātmano dvija tanmayatvam avāpāgryaṁ mene cātmānam acyutam

Parashara said: Thus contemplating Vishnu, without difference from himself, O twice-born, he attained the highest state of absorption in him, and considered his own self to be the very Undying One.

Verse 2 (vishnu.1.20.2)

विसस्मार तथात्मानं नान्यत् किंचिद् अजानत । अहम् एवाव्ययोऽनन्तः परमात्मेत्य् अचिन्तयत्

visasmāra tathātmānaṁ nānyat kiṁcid ajānata aham evāvyayo 'nantaḥ paramātmety acintayat

He forgot his own self as anything other, knowing nothing else at all; he thought, 'I myself am that undying, infinite Supreme Self.'

Verse 3 (vishnu.1.20.3)

तस्य तद्भावनायोगात् क्षीणपापस्य वै क्रमात् । शुद्धेऽन्तःकरणे विष्णुस् तस्थौ ज्ञानमयोऽच्युतः

tasya tadbhāvanāyogāt kṣīṇapāpasya vai kramāt śuddhe 'ntaḥkaraṇe viṣṇus tasthau jñānamayo 'cyutaḥ

Through the power of that meditation, his sins gradually exhausted, Vishnu, made of knowledge, the Undying One, came to abide in his purified inner faculty.

Verse 4 (vishnu.1.20.4)

योगप्रभावात् प्रह्लादे जाते विष्णुमयेऽसुरे । चलत्य् उरगबन्धैस् तैर् मैत्रेय त्रुटितं क्षणात्

yogaprabhāvāt prahlāde jāte viṣṇumaye 'sure calaty uragabandhais tair maitreya truṭitaṁ kṣaṇāt

Through the power of that yoga, when Prahlada, that Asura, had become of the very nature of Vishnu, O Maitreya, those serpent-bonds broke in an instant.

Verse 5 (vishnu.1.20.5)

भ्रान्तग्राहगणः सोर्मिर् ययौ क्षोभं महार्णवः । चचाल च मही सर्वा सशैलवनकानना

bhrāntagrāhagaṇaḥ sormir yayau kṣobhaṁ mahārṇavaḥ cacāla ca mahī sarvā saśailavanakānanā

The great ocean, its shoals of creatures thrown into confusion, its waves surging, fell into turmoil; and the whole earth shook, with its mountains, forests, and groves.

Verse 6 (vishnu.1.20.6)

स च तं शैलसंघातं दैत्यैर् न्यस्तम् अथोपरि । प्रक्षिप्य तस्मात् सलिलान् निश्चक्राम महामतिः

sa ca taṁ śailasaṁghātaṁ daityair nyastam athopari prakṣipya tasmāt salilān niścakrāma mahāmatiḥ

And that great-minded one, casting off that mass of mountains which the Daityas had heaped above him, emerged from those waters.

Verse 7 (vishnu.1.20.7)

दृष्ट्वा च स जगद् भूयो गगनाद्युपलक्षणम् । प्रह्लादोऽस्मीति सस्मार पुनर् आत्मानम् आत्मना

dṛṣṭvā ca sa jagad bhūyo gaganādyupalakṣaṇam prahlādo 'smīti sasmāra punar ātmānam ātmanā

And seeing the world once more, marked by the sky and the rest, he remembered himself again, by his own self: 'I am Prahlada.'

Verse 8 (vishnu.1.20.8)

तुष्टाव च पुनर् धीमान् अनादिं पुरुषोत्तमम् । एकाग्रमतिर् अव्यग्रो यतवाक्कायमानसः

tuṣṭāva ca punar dhīmān anādiṁ puruṣottamam ekāgramatir avyagro yatavākkāyamānasaḥ

And that wise one again praised the beginningless Supreme Person, his mind one-pointed, undisturbed, his speech, body, and mind restrained.

Verse 9 (vishnu.1.20.9)

श्रीप्रह्लाद उवाच । ओं नमः परमार्थार्थ स्थूलसूक्ष्म क्षराक्षर । व्यक्ताव्यक्त कलातीत सकलेश निरञ्जन

śrīprahlāda uvāca oṁ namaḥ paramārthārtha sthūlasūkṣma kṣarākṣara vyaktāvyakta kalātīta sakaleśa nirañjana

Shri Prahlada said: 'Om, salutation to you, the very meaning of the highest truth, gross and subtle, perishable and imperishable, manifest and unmanifest, beyond all divisions, lord of all, stainless.'

Verse 10 (vishnu.1.20.10)

गुणाञ्जन गुणाधार निर्गुणात्मन् गुणस्थित । मूर्तामूर्त महामूर्ते सूक्ष्ममूर्ते स्फुटास्फुट

guṇāñjana guṇādhāra nirguṇātman guṇasthita mūrtāmūrta mahāmūrte sūkṣmamūrte sphuṭāsphuṭa

'Marked by the gunas, the ground of the gunas, of the nature of the qualityless, yet abiding within the gunas; formed and formless, of great form, of subtle form, manifest and unmanifest.'

Verse 11 (vishnu.1.20.11)

करालसौम्यरूपात्मन् विद्याविद्यामयाच्युत । सदसद्रूपसद्भाव सदसद्भावभावन

karālasaumyarūpātman vidyāvidyāmayācyuta sadasadrūpasadbhāva sadasadbhāvabhāvana

'Of terrible and gentle forms, of the very nature of knowledge and ignorance, Undying One; of existent and non-existent form, the being of existence, the very contemplation of both being and non-being.'

Verse 12 (vishnu.1.20.12)

नित्यानित्य प्रपञ्चात्मन् निष्प्रपञ्चामलाश्रय । एकानेक नमस् तुभ्यं वासुदेवादिकारण

nityānitya prapañcātman niṣprapañcāmalāśraya ekāneka namas tubhyaṁ vāsudevādikāraṇa

'Eternal and non-eternal, the self of manifestation, the pure refuge free of all manifestation; one and many — salutation to you, first cause of Vasudeva and all.'

Verse 13 (vishnu.1.20.13)

यः स्थूलसूक्ष्मः प्रकटप्रकाशो यः सर्वभूतो न च सर्वभूतः । विश्वं यतश् चैतद् अविश्वहेतोर् नमोऽस्तु तस्मै पुरुषोत्तमाय

yaḥ sthūlasūkṣmaḥ prakaṭaprakāśo yaḥ sarvabhūto na ca sarvabhūtaḥ viśvaṁ yataś caitad aviśvahetor namo 'stu tasmai puruṣottamāya

'He who is gross and subtle, manifestly radiant, who is all beings and yet is not all beings, from whom this universe comes, yet who is the cause of that which is not the universe — salutation to him, the Supreme Person.'

Verse 14 (vishnu.1.20.14)

श्रीपराशर उवाच । तस्य तच्चेतसो देवः स्तुतिम् इत्थं प्रकुर्वतः । आविर्बभूव भगवान् पीताम्बरधरो हरिः

śrīparāśara uvāca tasya taccetaso devaḥ stutim itthaṁ prakurvataḥ āvirbabhūva bhagavān pītāmbaradharo hariḥ

Parashara said: As his mind was thus offering this praise, the blessed lord Hari, clad in yellow garments, appeared.

Verse 15 (vishnu.1.20.15)

ससंभ्रमस् तम् आलोक्य समुत्थायाकुलाक्षरम् । नमोऽस्तु विष्णवैत्य् एतद् व्याजहारासकृद् द्विज

sasaṁbhramas tam ālokya samutthāyākulākṣaram namo 'stu viṣṇavaity etad vyājahārāsakṛd dvija

Beholding him, agitated with excitement, rising up, O twice-born, his voice broken, he uttered again and again, 'Salutation to Vishnu.'

Verse 16 (vishnu.1.20.16)

श्रीप्रह्लाद उवाच । देव प्रपन्नार्तिहर प्रसादं कुरु केशव । अवलोकनदानेन भूयो मां पावयाव्यय

śrīprahlāda uvāca deva prapannārtihara prasādaṁ kuru keśava avalokanadānena bhūyo māṁ pāvayāvyaya

Shri Prahlada said: 'O god, remover of the affliction of those who take refuge, be gracious, Keshava; by the gift of your glance, purify me once more, undying one.'

Verse 17 (vishnu.1.20.17)

श्रीभगवान् उवाच । कुर्वतस् ते प्रसन्नोऽहं भक्तिम् अव्यभिचारिणीम् । यथाभिलषितो मत्तः प्रह्लाद व्रियतां वरः

śrībhagavān uvāca kurvatas te prasanno 'haṁ bhaktim avyabhicāriṇīm yathābhilaṣito mattaḥ prahlāda vriyatāṁ varaḥ

Shri Bhagavan said: 'I am pleased by your unwavering devotion; choose from me, Prahlada, whatever boon you desire.'

Verse 18 (vishnu.1.20.18)

श्रीप्रह्लाद उवाच । नाथ योनिसहस्रेषु येषु येषु व्रजाम्य् अहम् । तेषु तेष्व् अच्युता भक्तिर् अच्युतास्तु सदा त्वयि

śrīprahlāda uvāca nātha yonisahasreṣu yeṣu yeṣu vrajāmy aham teṣu teṣv acyutā bhaktir acyutāstu sadā tvayi

Shri Prahlada said: 'O lord, in whatever thousands of wombs I may go, in each and every one of them, may my devotion to you, Undying One, remain undying, ever fixed upon you.'

Verse 19 (vishnu.1.20.19)

या प्रीतिर् अविवेकानां विषयेष्व् अनपायिनी । त्वाम् अनुस्मरतः सा मे हृदयान् मापसर्पतु

yā prītir avivekānāṁ viṣayeṣv anapāyinī tvām anusmarataḥ sā me hṛdayān māpasarpatu

'That attachment of the undiscerning, which clings without fail to the objects of sense — as I remember you, may that depart from my heart.'

Verse 20 (vishnu.1.20.20)

श्रीभगवान् उवाच । मयि भक्तिस् तवास्त्य् एव भूयोऽप्य् एवं भविष्यति । वरश् च मत्तः प्रह्लाद व्रियतां यस् तवेप्सितः

śrībhagavān uvāca mayi bhaktis tavāsty eva bhūyo 'py evaṁ bhaviṣyati varaś ca mattaḥ prahlāda vriyatāṁ yas tavepsitaḥ

Shri Bhagavan said: 'Devotion to me is indeed already yours, and it shall be so again and again; and choose too, Prahlada, whatever other boon you desire from me.'

Verse 21 (vishnu.1.20.21)

श्रीप्रह्लाद उवाच । मयि द्वेषानुबन्धोऽभूत् संस्तुताव् उद्यते तव । मत्पितुस् तत्कृतं पापं देव तस्य प्रणश्यतु

śrīprahlāda uvāca mayi dveṣānubandho 'bhūt saṁstutāv udyate tava matpitus tatkṛtaṁ pāpaṁ deva tasya praṇaśyatu

Shri Prahlada said: 'There arose in my father hostility toward me even as he was engaged in praising you; O god, let that sin of his be destroyed.'

Verse 22 (vishnu.1.20.22)

शस्त्राणि पातितान्य् अङ्गे क्षिप्तो यच् चाग्निसंहतौ । दंशितश् चोरगैर् दत्तं यद् विषं मम भोजने

śastrāṇi pātitāny aṅge kṣipto yac cāgnisaṁhatau daṁśitaś coragair dattaṁ yad viṣaṁ mama bhojane

'The weapons hurled at my body, my being cast into the mass of fire, my being bitten by serpents, the poison given in my food,'

Verse 23 (vishnu.1.20.23)

बद्ध्वा समुद्रे यत् क्षिप्तो यच् चितोऽस्मि शिलोच्चयैः । अन्यानि चाप्य् असाधूनि यानि पित्रा कृतानि मे

baddhvā samudre yat kṣipto yac cito 'smi śiloccayaiḥ anyāni cāpy asādhūni yāni pitrā kṛtāni me

'my being bound and cast into the ocean, my being buried beneath a heap of stones, and whatever other unrighteous deeds were done to me by my father—'

Verse 24 (vishnu.1.20.24)

त्वयि भक्तिमतो द्वेषाद् अघं तत्संभवं च यत् । त्वत्प्रसादात् प्रभो सद्यस् तेन मुच्येत मे पिता

tvayi bhaktimato dveṣād aghaṁ tatsaṁbhavaṁ ca yat tvatprasādāt prabho sadyas tena mucyeta me pitā

'may my father, O lord, by your grace, be released at once from the hatred toward you rooted in his devotion to me, and from the sin arising from it.'

Verse 25 (vishnu.1.20.25)

श्रीभगवान् उवाच । प्रह्लाद सर्वम् एतत् ते मत्प्रसादाद् भविष्यति । अन्यं च ते वरं दद्मि व्रियताम् असुरात्मज

śrībhagavān uvāca prahlāda sarvam etat te matprasādād bhaviṣyati anyaṁ ca te varaṁ dadmi vriyatām asurātmaja

Shri Bhagavan said: 'Prahlada, all this shall come to pass for you by my grace; and I grant you yet another boon — choose it, son of the Asura.'

Verse 26 (vishnu.1.20.26)

श्रीप्रह्लाद उवाच । कृतकृत्योऽस्मि भगवन् वरेणानेन यत् त्वयि । भवित्री त्वत्प्रसादेन भक्तिर् अव्यभिचारिणी

śrīprahlāda uvāca kṛtakṛtyo 'smi bhagavan vareṇānena yat tvayi bhavitrī tvatprasādena bhaktir avyabhicāriṇī

Shri Prahlada said: 'I am accomplished in my purpose, blessed lord, by this very boon — that unwavering devotion to you shall be mine by your grace.'

Verse 27 (vishnu.1.20.27)

धर्मार्थकामैः किं तस्य मुक्तिस् तस्य करे स्थिता । समस्तजगतां मूले यस्य भक्तिः स्थिरा त्वयि

dharmārthakāmaiḥ kiṁ tasya muktis tasya kare sthitā samastajagatāṁ mūle yasya bhaktiḥ sthirā tvayi

'What need has he of dharma, artha, and kama — liberation itself rests in the very palm of his hand — whose devotion to you is firm at the root of all the worlds?'

Verse 28 (vishnu.1.20.28)

श्रीभगवान् उवाच । यथा ते निश्चलं चेतो मयि भक्तिसमन्वितम् । तथा त्वं मत्प्रसादेन निर्वाणं परम् आप्स्यसि

śrībhagavān uvāca yathā te niścalaṁ ceto mayi bhaktisamanvitam tathā tvaṁ matprasādena nirvāṇaṁ param āpsyasi

Shri Bhagavan said: 'As your mind is unwavering, joined with devotion to me, so, by my grace, shall you attain the supreme, final release.'

Verse 29 (vishnu.1.20.29)

श्रीपराशर उवाच । इत्य् उक्त्वान्तर्दधे विष्णुस् तस्य मैत्रेय पश्यतः । स चापि पुनर् आगम्य ववन्दे चरणौ पितुः

śrīparāśara uvāca ity uktvāntardadhe viṣṇus tasya maitreya paśyataḥ sa cāpi punar āgamya vavande caraṇau pituḥ

Parashara said: O Maitreya, having said this, Vishnu vanished from his sight; and he too, returning, bowed at his father's feet.

Verse 30 (vishnu.1.20.30)

तं पिता मूर्ध्न्य् उपाघ्राय परिष्वज्य च पीडितम् । जीवसीत्य् आह वत्सेति बाष्पार्द्रनयनो द्विज

taṁ pitā mūrdhny upāghrāya pariṣvajya ca pīḍitam jīvasīty āha vatseti bāṣpārdranayano dvija

O twice-born, his father, smelling his head and embracing him tightly, said, moist-eyed with tears, 'You are alive, my child.'

Verse 31 (vishnu.1.20.31)

प्रीतिमांश् चाभवत् तस्मिन्न् अनुतापी महासुरः । गुरुपित्रोश् चकारैवं शुश्रूषां सोऽपि धर्मवित्

prītimāṁś cābhavat tasminn anutāpī mahāsuraḥ gurupitroś cakāraivaṁ śuśrūṣāṁ so 'pi dharmavit

And that great Asura, repentant, became full of affection for him; and he too, knower of dharma, performed service to both his teacher and his father.

Verse 32 (vishnu.1.20.32)

पितर्य् उपरतिं नीते नरसिंहस्वरूपिणा । विष्णुना सोऽपि दैत्यानां मैत्रेयाभूत् पतिस् ततः

pitary uparatiṁ nīte narasiṁhasvarūpiṇā viṣṇunā so 'pi daityānāṁ maitreyābhūt patis tataḥ

When, through Vishnu in the form of Narasimha, his father had been brought to his end, he, O Maitreya, then became the lord of the Daityas.

Verse 33 (vishnu.1.20.33)

तद्राज्यभूतिं संप्राप्य कर्मशुद्धिकरीं द्विज । पुत्रपौत्रांश् च सुबहून् अवाप्यैश्वर्यम् एव च

tadrājyabhūtiṁ saṁprāpya karmaśuddhikarīṁ dvija putrapautrāṁś ca subahūn avāpyaiśvaryam eva ca

O twice-born, having obtained that sovereignty which purifies action, and many sons and grandsons, and lordship as well,

Verse 34 (vishnu.1.20.34)

क्षीणाधिकारः स यदा पुण्यपापविवर्जितः । तदासौ भगवद्ध्यानात् परं निर्वाणम् आप्तवान्

kṣīṇādhikāraḥ sa yadā puṇyapāpavivarjitaḥ tadāsau bhagavaddhyānāt paraṁ nirvāṇam āptavān

when his rule was exhausted, freed of both merit and demerit, through meditation on the blessed lord he then attained the supreme, final release.

Verse 35 (vishnu.1.20.35)

एवंप्रभावो दैत्योऽसौ मैत्रेयासीन् महामतिः । प्रह्लादो भगवद्भक्तो यं त्वं माम् अनुपृच्छसि

evaṁprabhāvo daityo 'sau maitreyāsīn mahāmatiḥ prahlādo bhagavadbhakto yaṁ tvaṁ mām anupṛcchasi

Such was the power of that Daitya, O Maitreya, that great-minded devotee of the blessed lord — Prahlada, of whom you have asked me.

Verse 36 (vishnu.1.20.36)

यस् त्व् एतच् चरितं तस्य प्रह्लादस्य महात्मनः । शृणोति तस्य पापानि सद्यो गच्छन्ति संक्षयम्

yas tv etac caritaṁ tasya prahlādasya mahātmanaḥ śṛṇoti tasya pāpāni sadyo gacchanti saṁkṣayam

Whoever hears this story of that great-souled Prahlada — his sins are destroyed at once.

Verse 37 (vishnu.1.20.37)

अहोरात्रकृतं पापं प्रह्लादचरितं नरः । शृण्वन् पठंश् च मैत्रेय व्यपोहति न संशयः

ahorātrakṛtaṁ pāpaṁ prahlādacaritaṁ naraḥ śṛṇvan paṭhaṁś ca maitreya vyapohati na saṁśayaḥ

O Maitreya, whatever sin has been done by day or by night, a man, hearing or reciting this story of Prahlada, without doubt washes away.

Verse 38 (vishnu.1.20.38)

पौर्णमास्याम् अमावास्याम् अष्टम्याम् अथ वा पठन् । द्वादश्यां वा तद् आप्नोति गोप्रदानफलं द्विज

paurṇamāsyām amāvāsyām aṣṭamyām atha vā paṭhan dvādaśyāṁ vā tad āpnoti gopradānaphalaṁ dvija

O twice-born, reciting it on the full moon, the new moon, the eighth, or the twelfth lunar day, a man obtains the fruit of the gift of a cow.

Verse 39 (vishnu.1.20.39)

प्रह्लादं सकलापत्सु यथा रक्षितवान् हरिः । तथा रक्षति यस् तस्य शृणोति चरितं सदा

prahlādaṁ sakalāpatsu yathā rakṣitavān hariḥ tathā rakṣati yas tasya śṛṇoti caritaṁ sadā

As Hari protected Prahlada amid every calamity, so he protects whoever ever hears his story.