Chapter summary
सिह्माचलमाहात्म्यम् Siṃhācala Māhātmyam
The Glory of Siṃhācalam
**The Devotees said:**
O Lord, O embodiment of compassion, O good Guru, O seer of all! We have heard of the principal holy places of Vishnu in the land of Bharata. Now, please enlighten us concerning the various abodes throughout this world of Nṛsiṃha, the supreme creator and the foremost of all Avatāras. (v.1-2)
**The Good Guru said:**
A sacred place without Nṛsiṃha has never been, nor will it ever be; for Lord Nṛsiṃha stands pervading the entire world. Nṛsiṃha is on the earth, Nṛsiṃha is in the heavens; Nṛsiṃha is in the air, Nṛsiṃha is in speech; Nṛsiṃha is in the fire, Nṛsiṃha is in the nectar; Nṛsiṃha is in the realm of space, Nṛsiṃha is in everything. The shadow is Nṛsiṃha, the sacrifice is Nṛsiṃha; the body is Nṛsiṃha, gold is Nṛsiṃha; the forest is Nṛsiṃha, a woman is Nṛsiṃha; whatever exists and whatever does not exist, that is Nṛsiṃha. (v.3-5)
It was Prahlāda, the beloved of the Lord, who, constantly perceiving Nṛsiṃha everywhere, attained auspiciousness in all things. Indeed, from where can misfortune ever come to the servants of Hari? (v.6)
**The Devotees said:**
O King among good Gurus, please narrate the sacred story of Prahlāda, which delights the ears of devotees and enhances devotion to Hari. (v.7)
**The Good Guru said:**
Once, the renowned Kumāras, sons of Brahmā, journeyed to Vishnu's abode, desiring to behold Hari. There, the two doorkeepers playfully obstructed them, and for this, they were cursed by the Kumāras to be born as demons. (v.8)
The younger brother among them, Hiraṇyākṣa, yearned to engage in battle with the Lord Cakrapāṇi [Vishnu, the wielder of the discus] in His supreme Varāha [boar] incarnation. Armed with a mace, he approached the Lord in combat. For the welfare of all beings, the primeval God slew him. (v.9)
Subsequently, that demon king [Hiraṇyakaśipu], having beheld the Creator [Brahmā] and performed a dreadful and arduous penance, prayed for a boon: that he should not meet death from any of Brahmā's creation. Thus, he became swollen with pride. (v.10)
Intoxicated by this boon, the primeval demon subjugated the gods, held them captive, and ruled the entire world with extreme force, tormenting both the common people and those devoted to dharma. (v.11)
One day, the gods, siddhas, vidyādharas, and great sages sought refuge in Mukunda, the giver of shelter. The Lord, ever partial to His devotees, declared, "I shall swiftly slay him for his offense against a devotee." (v.12)
**The Devotees said:**
O great preceptor, who is this exalted devotee mentioned by Vishnu, for whose offense alone Hiraṇyakaśipu was slain? What offense did he commit against this devotee of the Lord who wears a garland of forest flowers? Truly, there is no expiation for the sin of offending a devotee. (v.13-14)
**The Good Guru said:**
A most excellent son named Prahlāda was born to Hiraṇyakaśipu, glorious even in the womb, having been blessed by Vishnu's sight. Hiraṇyakaśipu appointed the two sons of Śukra as teachers and had this all-knowing boy educated alongside other children. (v.15)
However, Prahlāda set aside all other lessons. With reverence, he himself would sing the names of Vishnu, and daily, with unwavering faith, he would inspire the other boys who came to the school to sing along. (v.16)
Hearing of this, the demon king brought his son home and duly questioned him about his lessons. The boy, steeped in the knowledge of Brahman, clearly declared that devotion to Vishnu is the only true essence. (v.17)
Upon hearing this, the lord of demons became enraged and commanded his demon warriors to kill the boy. Those demons then exerted themselves to slay the child, who was steadfast in Brahman, with their tridents. (v.18)
But as Prahlāda meditated with devotion on Vishnu, the primeval God, the excellent tridents shattered upon him. All the demons, struck with wonder, returned and reported their failure to the demon king concerning his son. (v.19)
**The Devotees said:**
Hearing that their effort was fruitless, what did the demon king do then, even after witnessing such strength in a devotee of Vishnu? This is most astonishing indeed—that the tridents, plunged into the tender body of that child, shattered again! (v.20-21)
**The Good Guru said:**
That primeval demon then had Kayādhu give Prahlāda the dreadful poison called Hālāhala to drink. But alas, through the constant remembrance of Vishnu, that poison became nectar for him. (v.22)
He dispatched Kārkoṭaka and other excellent serpents to kill his son. But alas, even when bitten by them, Prahlāda remained cheerful in mind, sustained by the remembrance of Vishnu in everything. (v.23)
He sent intoxicated elephants, whose tusks were like the tips of thunderbolts, to kill his son. But alas, the boy did not experience the slightest affliction, protected by the remembrance of Vishnu in everything. (v.24)
That dull-witted demon had him thrown from a mountaintop to the ground below. But alas, he was protected directly by the Earth herself, by the remembrance of Vishnu in everything. (v.25)
**The Devotees said:**
Even after witnessing Prahlāda's greatness firsthand in this manner, did the demon king attain devotion to Keśava, or at least affection for his own son? For gods, demons, sages, and humans alike, an equal-minded disposition towards all and unwavering devotion to Vishnu are exceedingly difficult to obtain. (v.26-27)
**The Good Guru said:**
"Where is this Vishnu, the lord of all worlds? Show him! If he is everywhere, why is he not seen before me? Does he reside even in this pillar? Show me!" Asking his son thus with fury, the villain then struck the pillar with his fist. (v.28)
To make the words of the boy true, there suddenly appeared from the middle of the pillar that which is the very existence and cause of all worlds, the eternal Brahman, the manifest and unmanifest, the supreme, immortal form of Narasiṃha. (v.29)
When the foremost of Diti's sons [Hiraṇyakaśipu] came forward, holding a sword, the Lord seized him. At twilight, placing him on the throne of His lap and tearing his dreadful omentum with the nails of His hands, He became terrifying, His great mane reddened with the demon's blood. (v.30)
Hearing the terrible roar of Vishnu's Narahari form, Brahmā, Rudra, and the hosts of gods fled, utterly terrified. All were frightened. Ramā [Lakshmi], filled with apprehension, stayed at a distance. But that boy, Prahlāda, approached Narahari with folded hands. (v.31)
Seeing Prahlāda's supreme humility, Vishnu was instantly pleased. Lifting him up like a beloved son and placing him on His lap, He, overcome with affection, kindly inquired about his welfare. With tears of love and his body thrilled with joy, Prahlāda duly praised Vishnu. (v.32)
**Prahlāda said:**
Obeisance to You, Lord Vishnu, who pervades the universe, and who, out of sheer affection for me, manifested from the pillar. O Mādhava, You have appeared in the form of Nṛsiṃha from the pillar for the welfare of the worlds and for the protection of Your devotees. (v.33-34)
O Mādhava, O sole ocean of compassion, O Lord! While I was yet in the womb, You granted me the company of saints and, making me devoted to the worship of Your lotus feet, You created me. The virtuous indeed declare me to be Your beloved one. (v.35)
The Hālāhala poison became nectar, and fire became cool; the surface of the earth became soft. O Lord, would not this change of nature happen even to my father, if it were Your wish? (v.36)
My father was slain by the sharp nails of Your hands. O merciful one, this was indeed fitting for him, who was an offender to Your devotee. O ocean of grace, this method was surely employed by You with the further intention of releasing him from his curse. (v.37)
My father too, having obtained boons from the mouth of Brahmā, and desiring his own death by Your hands, fell like a moth into the flame of a lamp, O Lord. Burnt to ashes, he attained heaven, freed from sin. (v.38)
I know Your world-renowned grace upon me, and also Your hidden compassion for my father. For You, the Self of all, who sees all equally, there is no thought of difference, for You are fond of Your devotees and possess the nature of a wish-fulfilling tree. (v.39)
O Lord, in whichever of the thousands of wombs I may go, in each of them may I have unshakable and constant devotion to You always. That unwavering love which the unwise have for the objects of the senses—may that love, for me who remembers You, never depart from my heart. (v.40-41)
**The Good Guru said:**
The gracious Lord Vishnu, the bestower of boons to Prahlāda, the master, worshipped by all the gods, immediately disappeared. (v.42)
May that gracious Lord Nṛhari, with a pleasant face, who first appeared from the pillar, tore the demon king with His nails at Aho Bilam [a sacred site in the Nallamala Hills], and then, coming to purify Himself, washed off the blood, thereby creating a sacred ford that destroys the sins of the three worlds—may He, who is now situated in Siṃhācalam, protect us. (v.43)
Thus ends the Thirty-second Chapter, entitled "The Glory of Siṃhācalam," in the First Part of the Divyadeśavaibhavam, composed by Śrī Kṛṣṇapremi Mahāprabhu.
