In the previous episode, we had witnessed the “poison bid” too ending up in failure, as Hiranya Kashibu is clearly being outsmarted everytime. Little Prahlaada is not going to change an inch from his position. Hiranya Kashibu is clearly running out of options now – He has tried the elephant bid, only for the elephants to worship Prahlaada! He has tried the mountain bid, only for Little Prahlaada to come back unscathed! He has tried the ocean bid, only for Little Prahlaada to come back unscated again! He has tried the snake bid, again, only for Little Prahlaada to be worshipped by Bhagawan Adisesha! Finally, as the poison bid also goes for a toss, Hiranya Kashibu was feeling embarrassed on one hand, and on the other, he decides that the time has now come to take Bhagawan Narayana head on. Hiranya Kashibu’s ego doesn’t allow him to concede defeat, even though he knows that all his bids are being foiled one after the other. There is no point in taking on Little Prahlaada any more. Instead, Hiranya Kashibu decides to take on the “invisible” hand that is making Prahlaada escape every time.
Thinking thus, a firm decision is made here – Hiranya Kashibu calls upon Prahlaada and talks to him thus, “Oh Prahlaada! You’re always talking about this Narayana everytime. You’re chanting only his name all the time, isn’t it? Can you show me where is this Narayana? Where will I be able to see him? I would like to take him on and prove to you that I’m stronger than him!” Upon hearing thus from his father, Little Prahlaada, being a Mahatma, doesn’t know whether to laugh or to cry! He laughs a bit upon seeing the foolishness and ignorance of his father, but cries a bit upon seeing a tragic end to his father in a short while! Thus, with mixed emotions, Prahlaada replies to his father – “Oh father! As I had mentioned earlier too, Bhagawan Narayana is omni-present! He’s there everywhere. It’s upto you to feel and experience His presence. I cannot show a single place where He would be, and where He wouldn’t!”
As Prahlaada answers thus, Hiranya Kashibu wasn’t very satisfied. He decides to probe more and get to the bottom of this mystery. He asks again to Prahlaada thus, “Oh Prahlaada! Don’t give me such ridiculous answers! I’m fed up of all this now. If this Narayana has the guts, let him come in front of him and I shall show who this Hiranya Kashibu is! I shall show him his place. I shall directly seek revenge for what he did to my brother! Ask him to come out of his hiding place, if he’s not a coward! If he has that much strength, why is he using you as a proxy to outsmart me everytime? Why isn’t he coming out in the open, to fight against me?” As Hiranya Kashibu angrily proclaims thus, Prahlaada repeats his answer – “Oh father! Bhagawan Narayana is not a coward as you think. He’s the savior of this world and He would always be. He is not someone who wouldn’t respond if an ardent devotee calls upon Him. He would definitely come if you call Him with Bhakti!”
These words of Prahlaada still irk Hiranya Kashibu more! Meanwhile, Bhagawan Vishnu is also watching all of this carefully. He is now preparing for the final assault of Hiranya Kashibu, as the time is nearing. Bhagawan Vishnu is waiting to honor the little devotee’s words, and is wanting to see where this conversation is leading to. Hiranya Kashibu, after a heated verbal duo with his son, asks one final question thus, “Oh Prahlaada! If that Narayana is present everywhere as per your words, is He present inside this pillar that is standing opposite to us? You’re saying that Narayana is omni-present, isn’t it? So as per your logic, he should be present within this pillar too!” Upon these words, Little Prahlaada too goes all out and proclaims to his father back thus, “Oh father! Without a doubt! Bhagawan Narayana is very much into this pillar as well!” Thus, Hiranya Kashibu has one last go at Prahlaada – “Oh Prahlaada! Now let us have a contest here – I’m going to now blast this pillar with my weapon. If Narayana appears from within this pillar, you win the contest! If he doesn’t appear, you lose the contest and with the same weapon, I’m going to blast you to death!”
This is it!! Bhagawan Vishnu was waiting for something like this to happen! He now has to honour Little Prahlaada’s words that He is present inside this pillar! So He quickly gets ready for the final assault, and enters inside the pillar, as the conversation is going on! Now what is Bhagawan Vishnu’s strategy going to be? How’s he going to take on Hiranya Kashibu? Let’s wait till the next episode to find out! A gripping final assault awaits us! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 