SB 7.3.35 – Hiranyakasipu’s Desire to Become Immortal

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna my dear devotees, before I read today’s verse, I would like to read the Chapter Summary to get the context for today’s verse.

Chapter Three — “Hiraṇyakaśipu’s Plan to Become Immortal.”

CHAPTER SUMMARY

This chapter describes how Hiraṇyakaśipu performed a severe type of austerity for material benefit, thus causing great distress throughout the universe. Even Lord Brahmā, the chief personality within this universe, became somewhat disturbed and personally went to see why Hiraṇyakaśipu was engaged in such a severe austerity.

Hiraṇyakaśipu wanted to become immortal. He wanted not to be conquered by anyone, not to be attacked by old age and disease, and not to be harassed by any opponent. Thus he wanted to become the absolute ruler of the entire universe. With this desire, he entered the valley of Mandara Mountain and began practicing a severe type of austerity and meditation. Seeing Hiraṇyakaśipu engaged in this austerity, the demigods returned to their respective homes, but while Hiraṇyakaśipu was thus engaged, a kind of fire began blazing from his head, disturbing the entire universe and its inhabitants, including the birds, beasts, and demigods. When all the higher and lower planets became too hot to live on, the demigods, being disturbed, left their abodes in the higher planets and went to see Lord Brahmā, praying to him that he curtail this unnecessary heat. The demigods disclosed to Lord Brahmā Hiraṇyakaśipu’s ambition to become immortal, overcoming his short duration of life, and to be the master of all the planetary systems, even Dhruvaloka.

Upon hearing about the purpose of Hiraṇyakaśipu’s austere meditation, Lord Brahmā, accompanied by the great sage Bhṛgu and great personalities like Dakṣa, went to see Hiraṇyakaśipu. He then sprinkled water from his kamaṇḍalu, a type of waterpot, upon Hiraṇyakaśipu’s head.

Hiraṇyakaśipu, the King of the Daityas, bowed down before Lord Brahmā, the creator of this universe, offering respectful obeisances again and again and offering prayers. When Lord Brahmā agreed to give him benedictions, he prayed not be killed by any living entity, not to be killed in any place, covered or uncovered, not to die in the daytime or at night, not to be killed by any weapon, on land or in the air, and not to be killed by any human being, animal, demigod or any other entity, living or nonliving. He further prayed for supremacy over the entire universe and requested the eight yogic perfections, such as aṇimā and laghimā.

COMMENT

So, the history of Hiraṇyakaśipu is very interesting. The Lord is the origin of everything, janmādy asya yatah. And whatever propensities we have, the Lord also has. And sometimes, the Lord desires to fight. But who can fight with the Lord? No ordinary living entity can do so. And Hiraṇyakaśipu, who was originally a devotee of the Lord, played the part of a demon to fulfill the Lord’s desire to have someone with whom to fight. He was originally one of the two gatekeepers of Vaikuntha, Jaya and Vijaya. And when the Four-Kumaras, saintly sons of Lord Brahma, came to enter Vaikuntha, Jaya and Vijaya stopped them, wrongly considering that they were not fit to enter Vaikuntha.

So, the Four-Kumaras cursed them, and Lord Vishnu himself came to the spot to intervene. And they were cursed to take either seven births as devotees or three births as demons. And they chose to take three births as demons because they wanted to return to their posts as doorkeepers in Vaikuntha as soon as possible. And simultaneously, they wanted to fulfill the Lord’s desire to have a fit opponent with whom to fight. Therefore, Hiraṇyakaśipu asks Lord Brahma for the benediction to become immortal. Lord Brahma said, “I cannot make you immortal because I myself I am not immortal.” Then Hiraṇyakaśipu asked for so many boons, as we just read, which he thought would in effect make him immortal. He would not be killed inside or outside, in the day or night, by any man or beast or demigod. So indirectly, by asking so many boons of Lord Brahma, he thought that in effect he would become immortal.

So, we come to today’s Verse, which is Verse 7.3.35.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

TEXT 35

yadi dāsyasy abhimatān
varān me varadottama
bhūtebhyas tvad-visṛṣṭebhyo
mṛtyur mā bhūn mama prabho

TRANSLATION

O my Lord, O best of the givers of benediction, if you will kindly grant me the benediction I desire, please let me not meet death from any of the living entities created by you.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

After being created from the navel of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, Lord Brahmā, the original created living being within the universe, created many other different types of living entities to reside in this universe. Therefore, from the beginning of creation, the living entities were born of a superior living entity. Ultimately, Kṛṣṇa is the supreme living being, the father of all others. Ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā: He is the seed-giving father of all living entities.

Thus far, Hiraṇyakaśipu has adored Lord Brahmā as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and has expected to become immortal by the benediction of Lord Brahmā. Now, however, having come to understand that even Lord Brahmā is not immortal because at the end of the millennium Lord Brahmā will also die, Hiraṇyakaśipu is very carefully asking him for benedictions that will be almost as good as immortality. His first proposal is that he not be killed by any of the different forms of living entities created by Lord Brahmā within this material world.

COMMENT

First of all, he asked Lord Brahma to protect him from becoming a victim of any of the created beings. And then Hiraṇyakaśipu went on to ask for other benedictions, which he thought indirectly would make him immortal. And just to complete the discussion, I will read the translations of the next verses:

TEXT 36

Grant me that I not die within any residence or outside any residence, during the daytime or at night, nor on the ground or in the sky. Grant me that my death not be brought by any being other than those created by you, nor by any weapon, nor by any human being or animal.

TEXT 37–38

Grant me that I not meet death from any entity, living or nonliving. Grant me, further, that I not be killed by any demigod or demon or by any great snake from the lower planets. Since no one can kill you in the battlefield, you have no competitor. Therefore, grant me the benediction that I too may have no rival. Give me sole lordship over all the living entities and presiding deities, and give me all the glories obtained by that position. Furthermore, give me all the mystic powers attained by long austerities and the practice of yoga, for these cannot be lost at any time.

COMMENT

So although Hiraṇyakaśipu placed so many conditions to become, in effect, immortal, the Lord is so intelligent. As Nṛsiṁhadeva, He kept all the benedictions of Lord Brahma intact, and still, He killed Hiraṇyakaśipu. Srila Prabhupada gave the example that when Mother Yasoda tried to bind Lord Krishna, the length of the ropes was always two fingers too short. And similarly, however we try to outsmart the Lord, we will always fall short. And indeed, Hiraṇyakaśipu did fall short. As Srila Prabhupada said, Hiraṇyakaśipu thought he could be killed only by the atomic bomb. He did not think that he could be killed by the nails.

So, how did Nṛsiṁhadeva keep all of the benedictions intact and still kill Hiraṇyakaśipu? He prayed; Hiraṇyakaśipu prayed to Lord Brahma, “Grant me that I not die within any residence or outside any residence.” So Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva killed him just on the threshold of the palace, not inside or outside. “Bless me that they could not kill me, neither day nor night.” And Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva killed Hiraṇyakaśipu in the twilight. “Grant me that I not die on the ground or in the sky.” So he died on the lap of the Lord. “Grant me that my death not be brought by any being other than those created by you, nor by any weapon, nor by any human being or animal.” He was not killed by any weapon; he was killed by the Lord’s nails. He was not killed by any human being or animal, but he was killed by the Lord who appeared to be half-human and half-animal. So Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, He kept all the benedictions of Lord Brahma intact, and still He killed Hiraṇyakaśipu, which was a great relief to Prahlada Maharaja and to all the residents of the universe, including the demigods.

But even after Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva killed Hiraṇyakaśipu, His anger did not subside. What is the reason? So although Hiraṇyakaśipu was inimical to Prahlada, because Prahlada was a devotee of Vishnu, who he considered to be his enemy, but still he was Prahlada’s father. Nṛsiṁhadeva was concerned that Prahlada might have been upset with Him for killing his father. But Prahlada replied that even a saintly person, sadhu, rejoices when a snake or a scorpion is killed. And Srila Prabhupada quoted this verse to us in relation to the struggles in Juhu when Mr. Nyer died. I was walking near Dhobi Talava in Bombay, and there were vendors of newspapers and magazines on the sidewalk, on the footpath, and I saw a front page headline, “A.B. Nyer is dead.” And I felt very happy. But then I thought, is this the right attitude for someone who is trying to be a sadhu, to have about the death of someone?

It is a long story, but we phoned Srila Prabhupada, who was in New Zealand, and informed him of the news that Nyer was dead. And Srila Prabhupada wrote a letter to me and some of his other supporters in Juhu, different friends of ours. And he wrote that “I received one telephonic message that Nyer is dead. If this is true, this is very good news.” And then he quoted the verse, “Even a saintly person takes pleasure when the snake or scorpion is killed.” And he said, “Nyer was a big snake.” So Krishna has all the sentiments of any living entity. And we also, as devotees of Krishna, or aspiring devotees of Krishna, also have all the sentiments of Him and of any living being. Srila Prabhupada also related that once he was visiting his guru Maharaja in Mayapur. And his guru Maharaja came out on the balcony upstairs and he saw there was a snake in the garden. And his guru Maharaja ordered that his disciples should kill the snake. And Srila Prabhupada was very surprised, that guru Maharaja ordered that the snake should be killed. But then he came across this verse that even a saintly person takes pleasure when a snake or a scorpion is killed. Then he concluded that yes, what his guru Maharaja ordered was right.

So, my dear devotees, thank you for listening so patiently and attentively. And if any of you have any questions or comments, you can raise your hand.

Devotee: I have a question. I heard the opinion that scorpions and snakes should to be killed because they are very envious, jealous, and they cannot independently progress into higher forms of life, so they should be killed. Is that correct? Does it mean that we aspiring devotees cannot able to get rid of envious nature and someone has to kill us? Someone not to kill us, but to kill that envious nature.

Giriraj Swami: Well, yes, there is a beautiful prayer by Prahlada Maharaja to Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, in which he prays, that please kill my demonic propensities from within my heart.

Translator: We heard the prayer by Prahlada Maharaja to Nṛsiṁhadeva that, please kill my demoniac propensities in my heart.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, we can pray like that.

Devotee: What about my first part of the question, is it true that scorpions and snakes are not able to progress independently without being killed by someone?

Giriraj Swami: I don’t know that it is true, but I guess their progress happens faster if they are killed by someone.

Devotee: Hare Krishna your Holiness. Recently, we had a lecture on Īśopaniṣad. And in that particular lecture and in various places, I while listening to the memories, I noticed that Srila Prabhupada never could get mad with someone, would get angry, but he never hates anyone. Could you please clarify how can one be mad at someone but not hate those people? Is this some kind of propensity which is common for all saintly persons?

Giriraj Swami: As I mentioned, pure devotees have all the sentiments of anyone else, but the center is Krishna, not their false egos or their sense gratification. So Srila Prabhupada could get angry at someone. He did get angry at people, but he still loved them. His anger was meant to remove some obstacle in their spiritual lives. Oh yes, he still loved them, but he was also angry at them. The anger was meant to remove any obstacles to their spiritual progress.

Devotee: Hare Krishna guru Maharaja, please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to you, all glories to Srila Prabhupada. Thank you very much for your time, despite your cardiac and not the best health. Sometimes I study my heart, although I understand that the process will help, at the same time, it is like if there was some specific road, the segment of process that was particularly focused on addressing the envy in the heart, is it helpful? Just asking you if you would kindly guide us on this.

Giriraj Swami: Once I asked Srila Prabhupada about envy. I considered the topic deeply, and I concluded there was no reason to be envious of anyone because Krishna is unlimited, and His service is unlimited. So if some devotee has some service, it doesn’t mean there is less chance for me to have service. It doesn’t mean that my chances of service are less. So why should I be envious? I also considered that being envious disturbed my relationships with other devotees. I wanted to get rid of the envy. There was no reason to be envious and there was no benefit. So in Surat, I asked Srila Prabhupada about envy. And Srila Prabhupada first responded, “Can you think of any reasons not to be envious?” And I had, so I replied, “Yes.” Then Srila Prabhupada said, “So being envious means you don’t like someone. That not liking should not be directed towards devotees. But that not liking should be directed towards demons who are always disturbing devotees and creating so much havoc in the world.” And there is a beautiful purport in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.5.12, in which Srila Prabhupada writes, “Everyone should be friendly for the service of the Lord. One should appreciate the service of others and not be proud of one’s own service. That is the way of Vaishnava thinking, Vaikuntha thinking.” So, yes, I would read that purport 7.5.12 and adopt that attitude in your relationships with other devotees.

Devotee: I was saying that we mentioned in the class how the Lord had a desire to fight, down here in the material world as demons. So, and we also hear that there are demons in the kṛṣṇa-līlā in Vrindavan, but there are no demons in the whole of Vrindavan. So, does it happen that there are some elements in the material world which satisfy Krishna and they are not there in the spiritual world? But we hear that everything we have sources from the spiritual world. So, how do we understand this. At the same time, we know that everything we have is in the spiritual world. How can we understand it?”

Giriraj Swami: Actually, there is some elements of kṛṣṇa-līlā in a Bhauma Vrindavan that are not there in Goloka Vrindavan. Once we had a discussion about it in Juhu, and Tamal Krishna Goswami and I reported about our discussion to Srila Prabhupada that there are some elements of kṛṣṇa-līlā in Vrindavan on earth that are more relishable than a kṛṣṇa-līlā in Goloka Vrindavan. And Srila Prabhupada agreed. He was glad that we were having such nice philosophical discussions. So it is said that there are no demons in Goloka Vrindavan. But there are rumors about demons. And those rumors of demons create that mood of fear and dependence on Krishna’s merciful protection.

Devotee: Thank you very much, dear Maharaja. We will stop here, taking into account that your health condition is not the best today. Thank you so much. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: So if we are going to conclude now, I suggest we end with Vaishnava praṇāma.

vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca 

patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ

Ananta-koṭi-vaiṣṇava-vṛnda kī jaya!

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!