In the previous episode, we had witnessed a quick “rapid-fire” round of questioning of Hiranya Kashibu to little Prahlaada on the whereabouts of the “notorious” Narayana! 🙂 Hiranya Kashibu asks several questions to Prahlaada, and in return, he gets some “riddle-like” answers, which of course, Hiranya Kashibu was far from comprehending! As Prahlaada was a “Mahatma”, his answers contained in-depth meaning in them, which weren’t easily comprehensible for Hiranya Kashibu-type Raakshasas. Hearing all of this, Hiranya Kashibu was puzzled! He was thinking within himself thus, “Oh wow! Is this fellow a great Vedanti? I’m not at all understanding the answers for even a single question that I asked him. Moreover, he is not giving us direct answers as to whether this Narayana exists or not. Now I’m getting confused whether such a person is alive or dead. If a person is existing, either he should be present or absent. How can he be both? How can someone exist, but not exist? How can someone be everywhere at the same time? How can someone be omni-present?” All these questions were running in Hiranya Kashibu’s mind, as he started to feel insecure within himself for the first time ever! Of course, all of us know that this notorious Hiranya Kashibu had performed severe penance and obtained some great boons from Bhagawan Brahma, and has become even more notorious than ever! However, here comes the first checkpoint for Hiranya Kashibu, in the form of none other than his own son, Prahlaada, who is giving all these “riddle-like” answers!
Thinking thus, Hiranya Kashibu asks one final question to Prahlaada – “Oh Prahlaada! So what are you trying to say here? Is Vishnu an existing element or not? Show me one form of him, for me to understand who is this Vishnu and to check if he is more powerful than me or not!” Upon this question, Prahlaada replies back thus, “Oh Father! As I had mentioned earlier, Bhagawan Vishnu is everywhere! That’s all I can say! It is for you to see him and upto you to challenge Him if you want to! I can only say that He is omni-present and can be visualized only with the right attitude and devotion. Else, He wouldn’t appear! Moreover, if at all He exists in just one place, I can tell you the name and address. However, that is not the case here! He’s within you as well as within me! He is in the sky (Aakasha), and in the earth (Bhoomi)!”
This answer from Prahlaada made Hiranya Kashibu more jittery! He is now feeling more and more insecure and wants to teach Prahlaada a lesson. He wants to prove to Prahlaada and to the world that he was the most powerful person on earth, and not anybody else. He thus responds to Prahlaada angrily – “Oh Prahlaada! You’re becoming very notorious of late. You’ve insulted your teachers, and now you’ve got the guts to insult your own father, who is the most powerful person on this earth. You deserve some big punishments for all what you’ve said and done. However, being my son, my love and affection towards you is blocking me from giving you some corporal punishments. I would give you a few more days time. If you’re not going to mend your ways, you’re going to face the music from me!”
Saying thus, he drags Prahlaada along with him and takes him back to Chanda and Amarka for a “repeat” session of the Gurukula! Upon seeing little Prahlaada coming back, Chanda and Amarka were scared to bits. The instruction from Hiranya Kashibu is very clear here – “Use any method – Saama, Dhaana, Bedha or Dhanda to bring Prahlaada on track to chant “Om Hiranyaya Namah!” Giving the instruction thus, Hiranya Kashibu walks back in great fury and frustration. Within himself, a great level of insecurity is now beginning to build up, but he’s somehow trying to cover it up. What’s going to happen next? Is Prahlaada going to mend his ways, or, his devotion towards Bhagawan Vishnu going to increase further? Let’s wait for an absorbing session in the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 