The story of Prahlada

OM! Glory to Vasudeva! Victory be to you, Pundarikaksha; adoration be to you, Vishvabhavana; glory be to you, Hrishikesha, Mahapurusha, and Purvaja.

Maitreya said,

“Venerable Muni, you have described to me the races of human beings, and the eternal Vishnu, the cause of this world; but who was this mighty Prahlada, of whom you have last spoken; whom fire could not burn; who died not, when pierced by weapons; at whose presence in the waters earth trembled, shaken by his movements, even though in bonds; and who, overwhelmed with rocks, remained unhurt. I am desirous to hear an account of the unequalled might of that sage worshipper of Vishnu, to whose marvellous history you have alluded. Why was he assailed by the weapons of the sons of Diti? why was so righteous a person thrown into the sea? wherefore was he overwhelmed with rocks? why bitten by venomous snakes? why hurled from the mountain crest? why cast into the flames? why was he made a mark for the tusks of the elephants of the spheres? wherefore was the blast of death directed against him by the enemies of the gods? why did the priests of the Daityas practise ceremonies for his destruction? why were the thousand illusions of Shambara exercised upon him? and for what purpose was deadly poison administered to him by the servants of the king, but which was innocuous as food to his sagacious son? All this I am anxious to hear: the history of the magnanimous Prahlada; a legend of great marvels. Not that it is a wonder that he should have been uninjured by the Daityas; for who can injure the man that fixes his whole heart on Vishnu? but it is strange that such inveterate hatred should have been shewn, by his own kin, to one so virtuous, so unweariedly occupied in worshipping Vishnu. You can explain to me for what reason the sons of Diti offered violence to one so pious, so illustrious, so attached to Vishnu, so free from guile. Generous enemies wage no war with such as he was, full of sanctity and every excellence; how should his own father thus behave towards him? Tell me therefore, most illustrious Muni, the whole story in detail: I wish to hear the entire narrative of the sovereign of the Daitya race.”

Parashara said,

“Listen, Maitreya, to the story of the wise and magnanimous Prahlada, whose adventures are ever interesting and instructive. Hiranyakashipu, the son of Diti, had formerly brought the three worlds under his authority, confiding in a boon bestowed upon him by Brahma. He had usurped the sovereignty of Indra, and exercised of himself the functions of the sun, of air, of the lord of waters, of fire, and of the moon. He himself was the god of riches; he was the judge of the dead; and he appropriated to himself, without reserve, all that was offered in sacrifice to the gods. The deities therefore, flying from their seats in heaven, wandered, through fear of the Daitya, upon the earth, disguised in mortal shapes. Having conquered the three worlds, he was inflated with pride, and, eulogized by the Gandharvas, enjoyed whatever he desired. The Gandharvas, the Siddhas, and the snake-gods all attended upon the mighty Hiranyakashipu, as he sat at the banquet. The Siddhas delighted stood before him, some playing on musical instruments, some singing songs in his praise, and others shouting cries of victory; While the nymphs of heaven danced gracefully in the crystal palace, where the Asura with pleasure quaffed the inebriating cup.

The illustrious son of the Daitya king, Prahlada, being yet a boy, resided in the dwelling of his preceptor, where he read such writings as are studied in early years. On one occasion he came, accompanied by his teacher, to the court of his father, and bowed before his feet as he was drinking. Hiranyakashipu desired his prostrate son to rise, and said to him,

"Repeat, boy, in substance, and agreeably, what during the period of your studies you have acquired."

Prahlada replied,

"Hear, sire, what in obedience to your commands I will repeat, the substance of all I have learned: listen attentively to that which wholly occupies my thoughts. I have learned to adore him who is without beginning, middle, or end, increase or diminution; the imperishable lord of the world, the universal cause of causes."

On hearing these words, the sovereign of the Daityas, his eyes red with wrath, and lip swollen with indignation, turned to the preceptor of his son, and said,

"Vile Brahman, what is this preposterous commendation of my foe, that, in disrespect to me, you have taught this boy to utter?"

The Guru replied,

"King of the Daityas, it is not worthy of you to give way to passion: that which your son has uttered, he has not been taught by me."

Hiranyakashipu asked the lad,

"By whom then, has this lesson, boy, been taught you? your teacher denies that it proceeds from him."

Prahlada answered,

"Vishnu, father, is the instructor of the whole world: what else should any one teach or learn, save him the supreme spirit?"

"Blockhead," exclaimed the king,

"who is this Vishnu, whose name you thus reiterate so impertinently before me, who am the sovereign of the three worlds?"

Prahlada replied,

"The glory of Vishnu is to be meditated upon by the devout; it cannot be described: he is the supreme lord, who is all things, and from whom all things proceed."

To this the king rejoined,

"Are you desirous of death, fool, that you give the title of supreme lord to any one while I survive?"

Prahlada said,

"Vishnu, who is Brahma, is the creator and protector, not of me alone, but of all human beings, and even, father, of you: he is the supreme lord of all. Why should you, sire, be offended?"

Hiranyakashipu then exclaimed,

"What evil spirit has entered into the breast of this silly boy, that thus, like one possessed, he utters such profanity?"

Prahlada said,

"Not into my heart alone, has Vishnu entered, but he pervades all the regions of the universe, and by his omnipresence influences the conduct of all beings, mine, father, and your."

The king cried,

"Away with the wretch! take him to his preceptor's mansion. By whom could he have been instigated to repeat the lying praises of my foe?"

According to the commands of his father, Prahlada was conducted by the Daityas back to the house of his Guru; where, assiduous in attendance on his preceptor, he constantly improved in wisdom. After a considerable time had elapsed, the sovereign of the Asuras sent for him again; and on his arrival in his presence, desired him to recite some poetical composition. Prahlada immediately began,

"May he from whom matter and soul originate, from whom all that moves or is unconscious proceeds, he who is the cause of all this creation, Vishnu, be favourable unto us!"

On hearing which, Hiranyakashipu exclaimed,

"Kill the wretch! he is not fit to live, who is a traitor to his friends, a burning brand to his own race!"

And his attendants, obedient to his orders, snatched up their weapons, and rushed in crowds upon Prahlada, to destroy him. The prince calmly looked upon them, and said,

"Daityas, as truly as Vishnu is present in your weapons and in my body, so truly shall those weapons fail to harm me."

And accordingly, although struck heavily and repeatedly by hundreds of the Daityas, the prince felt not the least pain, and his strength was ever renewed. His father then endeavoured to persuade him to refrain from glorifying his enemy, and promised him immunity if the would not be so foolish as to persevere but Prahlada replied, that he felt no fear as long as his immortal guardian against all dangers was present in his mind, the recollection of whom was alone sufficient to dissipate all the perils consequent upon birth or human infirmities.

Hiranyakashipu, highly exasperated, commanded the serpents to fall upon his disobedient and insane son, and bite him to death with their envenomed fangs: and thereupon the great snakes Kuhaka, Takshaka, and Andhaka, charged with fatal poison, bit the prince in every part of his body; but he, with thoughts immovably fixed on Krishna, felt no pain from their wounds, being immersed in rapturous recollections of that divinity. Then the snakes cried to the king, and said,

"Our fangs are broken; our jewelled crests are burst; there is fever in our, hoods, and fear in our hearts; but the skin of the youth is still unscathed: have recourse, monarch of the Daityas, to some other expedient."

The demon exclaimed,

"Ho, elephants of the skies! unite your tusks, and destroy this deserter from his father, and conspirer with my foes. It is thus that often our progeny are our destruction, as fire consumes the wood from which it springs."

The young prince was then assailed by the elephants of the skies, as vast as mountain peaks; cast down upon the earth, and trampled on, and gored by their tusks: but he continued to call to mind Govinda, and the tusks of the elephants were blunted against his breast. He said to his father,

"Behold, the tusks of the elephants, as hard as adamant, are blunted; but this is not by any strength of mine: calling upon Janardana is my defence against such fearful affliction."

Then said the king to his attendants,

"Dismiss the elephants, and let fire consume him; and do you, deity of the winds, blow up the fire, that this wicked wretch may be consumed."

And the Danavas piled a mighty heap of wood around the prince, and kindled a fire, to burn him, as their master had commanded. But Prahlada cried,

"Father, this fire, though blown up by the winds, burns me not; and all around I behold the face of the skies, cool and fragrant, with beds of lotus flowers."

Then the Brahmans who were the sons of Bhargava, illustrious priests, and reciters of the Sama-Veda, said to the king of the Daityas,

"Sire, restrain your wrath against your own son. How should anger succeed in finding a place in heavenly mansions? As for this lad, we will be his instructors, and teach him obediently to labour for the destruction of your foes. Youth is the season, king, of many errors; and you should not therefore be relentlessly offended with a child. If he will not listen to us, and abandon the cause of Hari, we will adopt infallible measures to work his death."

The king of the Daityas, thus solicited by the priests, commanded the prince to be liberated from the midst of the flames. Again established in the dwelling of his preceptor, Prahlada gave lessons himself to the sons of the demons, in the intervals of his leisure. He was accustomed to say to them,

"Sons of the offspring of Diti, hear from me the supreme truth; nothing else is fit to be regarded; nothing, else here is an object to be coveted. Birth, infancy, and youth are the portion of all creatures; and then succeeds gradual and inevitable decay, terminating with all beings, children of the Daityas, in death: this is manifestly visible to all; to you as it is to me. That the dead are born again, and that it cannot be otherwise, the sacred texts are warrant: but production cannot be without a material cause; and as long as conception and parturition are the material causes of repeated birth, so long, be sure, is pain inseparable from every period of existence. The simpleton, in his inexperience, fancies that the alleviation of hunger, thirst, cold, and the like is pleasure; but of a truth it is pain; for suffering gives delight to those whose vision is darkened by delusion, as fatigue would be enjoyment to limbs that are incapable of motion 3. This vile body is a compound of phlegm and other humours. Where are its beauty, grace, fragrance, or other estimable qualities? The fool that is fond of a body composed of flesh, blood, matter, ordure, urine, membrane, marrow, and bones, will be enamoured of hell. The agreeableness of fire is caused by cold; of water, by thirst; of food, by hunger: by other circumstances their contraries are equally agreeable. The child of the Daitya who takes to himself a wife introduces only so much misery into his bosom; for as many as are the cherished affections of a living creature, so many are the thorns of anxiety implanted in his heart; and he who has large possessions in his house is haunted, wherever he goes, with the apprehension that they may be lost or burnt or stolen. Thus there is great pain in being born: for the dying man there are the tortures of the judge of the deceased, and of passing again into the womb. If you conclude that there is little enjoyment in the embryo state, you must then admit that the world is made up of pain.

Verily I say unto you, that in this ocean of the world, this sea of many sorrows, Vishnu is your only hope. If you say, you know nothing of this; “we are children; embodied spirit in bodies is eternal; birth, youth, decay, are the properties of the body, not of the soul.” But it is in this way that we deceive ourselves. “I am yet a child; but it is my purpose to exert myself when I am a youth. I am yet a youth; but when I become old I will do what is needful for the good of my soul. I am now old, and all my duties are to be fulfilled. How shall I, now that my faculties fail me, do what was left undone when my strength was unimpaired?” In this manner do men, while their minds are distracted by sensual pleasures, ever propose, and never attain final beatitude: they die thirsting. Devoted in childhood to play, and in youth to pleasure, ignorant and impotent they find that old age is come upon them. Therefore even in childhood let the embodied soul acquire discriminative wisdom, and, independent of the conditions of infancy, youth, or age, strive incessantly to be freed.

This, then, is what I declare unto you; and since you know that it is not untrue, do you, out of regard to me, call to your minds Vishnu, the liberator from all bondage. What difficulty is there in thinking upon him, who, when remembered, bestows prosperity; and by recalling whom to memory, day and night, all sin is cleansed away? Let all your thoughts and affections be fixed on him, who is present in all beings, and you shall laugh at every care. The whole world is suffering under a triple affliction. What wise man would feel hatred towards beings who are objects of compassion? If fortune be propitious to them, and I am unable to partake of the like enjoyments, yet wherefore should I cherish malignity towards those who are more prosperous than myself: I should rather sympathise with their happiness; for the suppression of malignant feelings is of itself a reward.

If beings are hostile, and indulge in hatred, they are objects of pity to the wise, as encompassed by profound delusion. These are the reasons for repressing hate, which are adapted to the capacities of those who see the deity distinct from his creatures. Hear, briefly, what influences those who have approached the truth. This whole world is but a manifestation of Vishnu, who is identical with all things; and it is therefore to be regarded by the wise as not differing from, but as the same with themselves. Let us therefore lay aside the angry passions of our race, and so strive that we obtain that perfect, pure, and eternal happiness, which shall be beyond the power of the elements or their deities, of fire, of the sun, of the moon, of wind, of Indra, of the regent of the sea; which shall be unmolested by spirits of air or earth; by Yakshas, Daityas, or their chiefs; by the serpent-gods or monstrous demigods of Swarga; which shall be uninterrupted by men or beasts, or by the infirmities of human nature; by bodily sickness and disease, or hatred, envy, malice, passion, or desire; which nothing shall molest, and which every one who fixes his whole heart on Keshava shall enjoy.

Verily I say unto you, that you shall have no satisfaction in various revolutions through this treacherous world, but that you will obtain placidity for ever by propitiating Vishnu, whose adoration is perfect calm. What here is difficult of attainment, when he is pleased? Wealth, pleasure, virtue, are things of little moment. Precious is the fruit that you shall gather, be assured, from the exhaustless store of the tree of true wisdom."

The Danavas, observing the conduct of Prahlada, reported it to the king, lest they should incur his displeasure. He sent for his cooks, and said to them,

"My vile and unprincipled son is now teaching others his impious doctrines: be quick, and put an end to him. Let deadly poison be mixed up with all his viands, without his knowledge. Hesitate not, but destroy the wretch without delay."

Accordingly they did so, and administered poison to the virtuous Prahlada, as his father had commanded them. Prahlada, repeating the name of the imperishable, ate and digested the food in which the deadly poison had been infused, and suffered no harm from it, either in body or mind, for it had been rendered innocuous by the name of the eternal. Beholding the strong poison digested, those who had prepared the food were filled with dismay, and hastened to the king, and fell down before him, and said,

"King of the Daityas, the fearful poison given by us to your son has been digested by him along with his food, as if it were innocent.”

Hiranyakashipu, on hearing this, exclaimed,

"Hasten, hasten, ministrant priests of the Daitya race! instantly perform the rites that will effect his destruction!"

Then the priests went to Prahlada, and, having repeated the hymns of the Sama-Veda, said to him, as he respectfully hearkened,

"You have been born, prince, in the family of Brahma, celebrated in the three worlds, the son of Hiranyakashipu, the king of the Daityas; why should you acknowledge dependence upon the gods? why upon the eternal? Your father is the stay of all the worlds, as you yourself in turn shall be. Desist, then, from celebrating the praises of an enemy; and remember, that of all venerable preceptors, a father is most venerable."

Prahlada replied to them,

"Illustrious Brahmans, it is true that the family of Marichi is renowned in the three worlds; this cannot be denied: and I also admit, what is equally indisputable, that my father is mighty over the universe. There is no error, not the least, in what you have said, “that a father is the most venerable of all holy teachers” he is a venerable instructor, no doubt, and is ever to be devoutly reverenced. To all these things I have nothing to object; they find a ready assent in my mind: but when you say, “Why should I depend upon the eternal?” who can give assent to this as right? the words are void of meaning."

Having said thus much, he was silent a while, being restrained by respect to their sacred functions; but he was unable to repress his smiles, and again said,

"What need is there of the eternal? excellent! What need of the eternal? admirable! most worthy of you who are my venerable preceptors! Hear what need there is of the eternal, if to hearken will not give you pain. The fourfold objects of men are said to be virtue, desire, wealth, final emancipation. Is he who is the source of all these of no avail? Virtue was derived from the eternal by Daksha, Marichi, and other patriarchs; wealth has been obtained front him by others; and by others, the enjoyment of their desires: While those who, through true. wisdom and holy contemplation, have come to know his essence, have been released from their bondage, and have attained freedom from existence for ever. The glorification of Hari, attainable by unity, is the root of all riches, dignity, renown, wisdom, progeny, righteousness, and liberation. Virtue, wealth, desire, and even final freedom, Brahmans, are fruits bestowed by him. How then can it be said, “What need is there of the eternal?” But enough of this: what occasion is there to say more? You are my venerable preceptors, and, speak you good or evil, it is not for my weak judgment to decide."

The priests said to him,

"We preserved you, boy, when you were about to be consumed by fire, confiding that you would no longer eulogize your father's foes: we knew not how unwise you were: but if you will not desist from this infatuation at our advice, we shall even proceed to perform the rites that will inevitably destroy you."

To this menace, Prahlada answered,

"What living creature slays, or is slain? what living creature preserves, or is preserved? Each is his own destroyer or preserver, as he follows evil or good."

Thus spoken to by the youth, the priests of the Daitya sovereign were incensed, and instantly had recourse to magic incantations, by which a female form, enwreathed with fiery flame, was engendered: she was of fearful aspect, and the earth was parched beneath her tread, as she approached Prahlada, and smote him with a fiery trident on the breast. In vain! for the weapon fell, broken into a hundred pieces, upon the ground. Against the breast in which the imperishable Hari resides the thunderbolt would be shivered, much more should such a weapon be split in pieces. The magic being, then directed against the virtuous prince by the wicked priest, turned upon them, and, having quickly destroyed them, disappeared. But Prahlada, beholding them perish, hastily appealed to Krishna, the eternal, for succour, and said,

"Oh Janardana! who are every where, the creator and substance of the world, preserve these Brahmans from this magical and insupportable fire. As you are Vishnu, present in all creatures, and the protector of the world, so let these priests be restored to life. If, while devoted to the omnipresent Vishnu, I think no sinful resentment against my foes, let these priests be restored to life. If those who have come to slay me, those by whom poison was given me, the fire that would have burned, the elephants that would have crushed, and snakes that would have stung me, have been regarded by me as friends; if I have been unshaken in soul, and am without fault in your sight; then, I implore you, let these, the priests of the Asuras, be now restored to life."

Thus having prayed, the Brahmans immediately rose up, uninjured and rejoicing; and bowing respectfully to Prahlada, they blessed him, and said,

"Excellent prince, may your days be many; irresistible be your prowess; and power and wealth and posterity be Your."

Having thus spoken, they withdrew, and went and told the king of the Daityas all that had passed. When Hiranyakashipu heard that the powerful incantations of his priests had been defeated, he sent for his son, and demanded of him the secret of his extraordinary might. He said,

"Prahlada, you are possessed of marvellous powers; whence are they derived? are they the result of magic rites? or have they accompanied you from birth?"

Prahlada, thus interrogated, bowed down to his father's feet, and replied,

"Whatever power I possess, father, is neither the result of magic rites, nor is it inseparable from my nature; it is no more than that which is possessed by all in whose hearts Achyuta abides. He who meditates not of wrong to others, but considers them as himself, is free from the effects of sin, inasmuch as the cause does not exist; but he who inflicts pain upon others, in act, thought, or speech, sows the seed of future birth, and the fruit that awaits him after birth is pain. I wish no evil to any, and do and speak no offence; for I behold Keshava in all beings, as in my own soul. Whence should corporeal or mental suffering or pain, inflicted by elements or the gods, affect me, whose heart is thoroughly purified by him? Love, then, for all creatures will be assiduously cherished by all those who are wise in the knowledge that Hari is all things."

When he had thus spoken, the Daitya monarch, his face darkened with fury, commanded his attendants to cast his son from the summit of the palace where he was sitting, and which was many Yojanas in height, down upon the tops of the mountains, where his body should be dashed to pieces against the rocks. Accordingly the Daityas hurled the boy down, and he fell cherishing Hari in his heart, and Earth, the nurse of all creatures, received him gently on her lap, thus entirely devoted to Keshava, the protector of the world. Beholding him uninjured by the fall, and sound in every bone, Hiranyakashipu addressed himself to Shambara, the mightiest of enchanters, and said to him,

"This perverse boy is not to be destroyed by us: do you, who are potent in the arts of delusion, contrive some device for his destruction."

Shambara replied,

"I will destroy him: you shall behold, king of the Daityas, the power of delusion, the thousand and the myriad artifices that it can employ."

Then the ignorant Asura Shambara practised subtle wiles for the extermination of the firm-minded Prahlada: but he, with a tranquil heart, and void of malice towards Shambara, directed his thoughts uninterruptedly to the destroyer of Madhu; by whom the excellent discus, the flaming Sudarshana, was dispatched to defend the youth; and the thousand devices of the evil-destinied Shambara were every one foiled by this defender of the prince. The king of the Daityas then commanded the withering wind to breathe its blighting blast upon his son: and, thus commanded, the wind immediately penetrated into his frame, cold, cutting, drying, and insufferable. Knowing that the wind had entered into his body, the Daitya boy applied his whole heart to the mighty upholder of the earth; and Janardana, seated in his heart, waxed wroth, and drank up the fearful wind, which had thus hastened to its own annihilation.

When the devices of Shambara were all frustrated, and the blighting wind had perished, the prudent prince repaired to the residence of his preceptor. His teacher instructed him daily in the science of polity, as essential to the administration of government, and invented by Ushanas for the benefit of kings; and when he thought that the modest prince was well grounded in the principles of the science, he told the king that Prahlada was thoroughly conversant with the rules of government as laid down by the descendant of Bhrigu. Hiranyakashipu therefore summoned the prince to his presence, and desired him to repeat what he had learned; how a king should conduct himself towards friends or foes; what measures he should adopt at the three periods (of advance, retrogression, or stagnation); how he should treat his councillors, his ministers, the officers of his government and of his household, his emissaries, his subjects, those of doubtful allegiance, and his foes; with whom should he contract alliance; with whom engage in war; what sort of fortress he should construct; how forest and mountain tribes should be reduced; how internal grievances should be rooted out: all this, and what else he had studied, the youth was commanded by his father to explain. To this, Prahlada having bowed affectionately and reverentially to the feet of the king, touched his forehead, and thus replied:

"It is true that I have been instructed in all these matters by my venerable preceptor, and I have learnt them, but I cannot in all approve them. It is said that conciliation, gifts, punishment, and sowing dissension are the means of securing friends (or overcoming foes); but I, father, be not angry, know neither friends nor foes; and where no object is to be accomplished, the means of effecting it are superfluous. It were idle to talk of friend or foe in Govinda, who is the supreme soul, lord of the world, consisting of the world, and who is identical with all beings. The divine Vishnu is in you, father, in me, and in all every where else; and hence how can I speak of friend or foe, as distinct from myself? It is therefore waste of time to cultivate such tedious and unprofitable sciences, which are but false knowledge, and all our energies should be dedicated to the acquirement of true wisdom. The notion that ignorance is knowledge arises, father, from ignorance. Does not the child, king of the Asuras, imagine the fire-fly to be a spark of fire. That is active duty, which is not for our bondage; that is knowledge, which is for our liberation: all other duty is good only unto weariness; all other knowledge is only the cleverness of an artist.

Knowing this, I look upon all such acquirement as profitless. That which is really profitable hear me, Oh mighty monarch, thus prostrate before you, proclaim. He who cares not for dominion, he who cares not for wealth, shall assuredly obtain both in a life to come. All men, illustrious prince, are toiling to be great; but the destinies of men, and not their own exertions, are the cause of greatness. Kingdoms are the gifts of fate, and are bestowed upon the stupid, the ignorant, the cowardly, and those to whom the science of government is unknown. Let him therefore who covets the goods of fortune be assiduous in the practice of virtue: let him who hopes for final liberation learn to look upon all things as equal and the same. Gods, men, animals, birds, reptiles, all are but forms of one eternal Vishnu, existing as it were detached from himself. By him who knows this, all the existing world, fixed or movable, is to be regarded as identical with himself, as proceeding alike from Vishnu, assuming a universal form. When this is known, the glorious god of all, who is without beginning or end, is pleased; and when he is pleased, there is an end of affliction."

On hearing this, Hiranyakashipu started up from his throne in a fury, and spurned his son on the breast with his foot. Burning with rage, he wrung his hands, and exclaimed,

"Ho Viprachitti! ho Rahu! ho Bali! bind him with strong bands, and cast him into the ocean, or all the regions, the Daityas and Danavas, will become converts to the doctrines of this silly wretch. Repeatedly prohibited by us, he still persists in the praise of our enemies. Death is the just retribution of the disobedient."

The Daityas accordingly bound the prince with strong bands, as their lord had commanded, and threw him into the sea. As he floated on the waters, the ocean was convulsed throughout its whole extent, and rose in mighty undulations, threatening to submerge the earth. This when Hiranyakashipu observed, he commanded the Daityas to hurl rocks into the sea, and pile them closely on one another, burying beneath their incumbent mass him whom fire would not burn, nor weapons pierce, nor serpents bite; whom the pestilential gale could not blast, nor poison nor magic spirits nor incantations destroy; who fell from the loftiest heights unhurt; who foiled the elephants of the spheres: a son of depraved heart, whose life was a perpetual curse. He cried,

"Here, since he cannot die, here let him live for thousands of years at the bottom of the ocean, overwhelmed by mountains.”

Accordingly the Daityas and Danavas hurled upon Prahlada, While in the great ocean, ponderous rocks, and piled them over him for many thousand miles: but he, still with mind undisturbed, thus offered daily praise to Vishnu, lying at the bottom of the sea, under the mountain heap.

"Glory to you, god of the lotus eye: glory to you, most excellent of spiritual things: glory to you, soul of all worlds: glory to you, wielder of the sharp discus: glory to the best of Brahmans; to the friend of Brahmans and of kine; to Krishna, the preserver of the world: to Govinda be glory. To him who, as Brahma, creates the universe; who in its existence is its preserver; be praise. To you, who at the end of the Kalpa takes the form of Rudra; to you, who are triform; be adoration. You, Achyuta, are the gods, Yakshas, demons, saints, serpents, choristers and dancers of heaven, goblins, evil spirits, men, animals, birds, insects, reptiles, plants, and stones, earth, water, fire, sky, wind, sound, touch, taste, colour, flavour, mind, intellect, soul, time, and the qualities of nature: you are all these, and the chief object of them all. You are knowledge and ignorance, truth and falsehood, poison and ambrosia. You are the performance and discontinuance of acts 4: you are the acts which the Vedas enjoin: you are the enjoyer of the fruit of all acts, and the means by which they are accomplished. You, Vishnu, who are the soul of all, are the fruit of all acts of piety. Your universal diffusion, indicating might and goodness, is in me, in others, in all creatures, in all worlds. Holy ascetics meditate on you: pious priests sacrifice to you. You alone, identical with the gods and the fathers of mankind, receive burnt-offerings and oblations. The universe is your intellectual form; whence proceeded your subtle form, this world: thence are you all subtle elements and elementary beings, and the subtle principle, that is called soul, within them. Hence the supreme soul of all objects, distinguished as subtle or gross, which is imperceptible, and which cannot be conceived, is even a form of you. Glory be to you, Purushottama; and glory to that imperishable form which, soul of all, is another manifestation of your might, the asylum of all qualities, existing in all creatures. I salute her, the supreme goddess, who is beyond the senses; whom the mind, the tongue, cannot define; who is to be distinguished alone by the wisdom of the truly wise.

Om! salutation to Vasudeva: to him who is the eternal lord; he from whom nothing is distinct; he who is distinct from all. Glory be to the great spirit again and again: to him who is without name or shape; who sole is to be known by adoration; whom, in the forms manifested in his descents upon earth, the dwellers in heaven adore; for they behold not his inscrutable nature. I glorify the supreme deity Vishnu, the universal witness, who seated internally, beholds the good and ill of all. Glory to that Vishnu from whom this world is not distinct. May he, ever to be meditated upon as the beginning of the universe, have compassion upon me: may he, the supporter of all, in whom every thing is warped and woven, undecaying, imperishable, have compassion upon me. Glory, again and again, to that being to whom all returns, from whom all proceeds; who is all, and in whom all things are: to him whom I also am; for he is every where; and through whom all things are from me. I am all things: all things are in me, who am everlasting. I am undecayable, ever enduring, the receptacle of the spirit of the supreme. Brahma is my name; the supreme soul, that is before all things, that is after the end of all.”

Thus meditating upon Vishnu, as identical with his own spirit, Prahlada became as one with him, and finally regarded himself as the divinity: he forgot entirely his own individuality, and was conscious of nothing else than his being the inexhaustible, eternal, supreme soul; and in consequence of the efficacy of this conviction of identity, the imperishable Vishnu, whose essence is wisdom, became present in his heart, which was wholly purified from sin. As soon as, through the force of his contemplation, Prahlada had become one with Vishnu, the bonds with which he was bound burst instantly asunder; the ocean was violently uplifted; and the monsters of the deep were alarmed; earth with all her forests and mountains trembled; and the prince, putting aside the rocks which the demons had piled Upon him, came forth from out the main. When he beheld the outer world again, and contemplated earth and heaven, he remembered who he was, and recognised himself to be Prahlada; and again he hymned Purushottama, who is without beginning or end; his mind being steadily and undeviatingly addressed to the object of his prayers, and his speech, thoughts, and acts being firmly under control.

"Om! glory to the end of all: to you, lord, who are subtle and substantial; mutable and immutable; perceptible and imperceptible; divisible and indivisible; indefinable and definable; the subject of attributes, and void of attributes; abiding in qualities, though they abide not in you; morphous and amorphous; minute and vast; visible and invisible; hideousness and beauty; ignorance and wisdom; cause and effect; existence and non-existence; comprehending all that is good and evil; essence of perishable and imperishable elements; asylum of undeveloped rudiments. Oh you who are both one and many, Vasudeva, first cause of all; glory be unto you. Oh you who are large and small, manifest and hidden; who are all beings, and are not all beings; and from whom, although distinct from universal cause, the universe proceeds: to you, Purushottama, be all glory."

While with mind intent on Vishnu, he thus pronounced his praises, the divinity, clad in yellow robes, suddenly appeared before him. Startled at the sight, with hesitating speech Prahlada pronounced repeated salutations to Vishnu, and said,

"Oh you who removes all worldly grief, Keshava, be propitious unto me; again sanctify me, Achyuta, by your sight."

The deity replied,

"I am pleased with the faithful attachment you have shown to me: demand from me, Prahlada, whatever you desire."

Prahlada replied,

"In all the thousand births through which I may be doomed to pass, may my faith in you, Achyuta, never know decay; may passion, as fixed as that which the worldly-minded feel for sensual pleasures, ever animate my heart, always devoted unto you."

Bhagavan answered,

"You have already devotion unto me, and ever shall have it: now choose some boon, whatever is in your wish."

Prahlada then said,

"I have been hated, for that I assiduously proclaimed your praise: do you, Oh lord, pardon in my father this sin that he Bath committed. Weapons have been hurled against me; I have been thrown into the flames; I have been bitten by venomous snakes; and poison has been mixed with my food; I have been bound and cast into the sea; and heavy rocks have been heaped upon me: but all this, and whatever ill beside has been wrought against me; whatever wickedness has been done to me, because I put my faith in you; all, through your mercy, has been suffered by me unharmed: and do you therefore free my father from this iniquity."

To this application Vishnu replied,

"All this shall be unto you, through my favour: but I give you another boon: demand it, son of the Asura."

Prahlada answered and said,

"All my desires, Oh lord, have been fulfilled by the boon that you have granted, that my faith in you shall never know decay. Wealth, virtue, love, are as nothing; for even liberation is in his reach whose faith is firm in you, root of the universal world."

Vishnu said,

"Since your heart is filled immovably with trust in me, you shall, through my blessing, attain freedom from existence."

Thus saying, Vishnu vanished from his sight; and Prahlada repaired to his father, and bowed down before him. His father kissed him on the forehead, and embraced him, and shed tears, and said, "Do you live, my son?" And the great Asura repented of his former cruelty, and treated him with kindness: and Prahlada, fulfilling his duties like any other youth, continued diligent in the service of his preceptor and his father. After his father had been put to death by Vishnu in the form of the man-lion, Prahlada became the sovereign of the Daityas; and possessing the splendours of royalty consequent upon his piety, exercised extensive sway, and was blessed with a numerous progeny. At the expiration of an authority which was the reward of his meritorious acts, he was freed from the consequences of moral merit or demerit, and obtained, through meditation on the deity, final exemption from existence.

Such, Maitreya, was the Daitya Prahlada, the wise and faithful worshipper of Vishnu, of whom you wished to hear; and such was his miraculous power. Whoever listens to the history of Prahlada is immediately cleansed from his sins: the iniquities that he commits, by night or by day, shall be expiated by once hearing, or once reading, the history of Prahlada. The perusal of this history on the day of full moon, of new moon, or on the eighth or twelfth day of the lunation shall yield fruit equal to the donation of a cow. As Vishnu protected Prahlada in all the calamities to which he was exposed, so shall the deity protect him who listens constantly to the tale.