Text 18] Prahlāda, the Saintly Son of Hiraṇyakaśipu
241
prahrādaṁ grāhayām āsa tri-vargasyopapādanam
iti —in this way;  tam —him (Prahlāda Mahārāja);  vividha-upāyaiḥ —by various means;  bhīṣayan —threatening;  tarjana-ādibhiḥ —by chastisement, threats, etc.;  prahrādam —unto Prahlāda Mahārāja;  grāhayām āsa —taught;  tri-vargasya —the three goals of life (the paths of religion, economic development and sense gratification);  upapādanam —scripture that presents.
TRANSLATION
Saṇḍa and Amarka, the teachers of Prahlāda Mahārāja, chastised and threatened their disciple in various ways and began teaching him about the paths of religion, economic development and sense gratification. This is the way they educated him.
PURPORT
In this verse the words  prahrādaṁ grāhayām āsa  are important. The words  grāhayām āsa  literally mean that they tried to induce Prahlāda Mahārāja to accept the paths of  dharma ,  artha  and  kāma  (religion, economic development and sense gratification). People are generally preoccupied with these three concerns, without interest in the path of liberation. Hiraṇyakaśipu, the father of Prahlāda Mahārāja, was simply interested in gold and sense enjoyment. The word  hiraṇya  means “gold,” and  kaśipu  refers to soft cushions and bedding on which people enjoy sense gratification. The word  prahlāda , however, refers to one who is always joyful in understanding Brahman ( brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā ).  Prahlāda  means  prasannātmā , always joyful. Prahlāda was always joyful in worshiping the Lord, but in accordance with the instructions of Hiraṇyakaśipu, the teachers were interested in teaching him about material things. Materialistic persons think that the path of religion is meant for improving their material conditions. The materialist goes to a temple to worship many varieties of demigods just to receive some benediction to improve his material life. He goes to a  sādhu  or so-called  svāmī  to take advantage of an easy method for achieving material opulence. In the name of religion, the so-called  sādhus  try to satisfy the