138
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 7, Ch. 8]
my Lord is present everywhere.” Therefore, to convince Hiraṇyakaśipu that the statement of Prahlāda Mahārāja was unmistakably true, the Lord appeared from the pillar. The Lord appeared as half lion and half man so that Hiraṇyakaśipu could not understand whether the great giant was a lion or a human being. To substantiate Prahlāda’s statement, the Lord proved that His devotee, as declared in  Bhagavad-gītā , is never vanquished ( kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati ). Prahlāda Mahārāja’s demoniac father had repeatedly threatened to kill Prahlāda, but Prahlāda was confident that he could not be killed, since he was protected by the Supreme Lord. By appearing from the pillar, the Lord encouraged His devotee, saying in effect, “Don’t worry. I am present here.” By manifesting His form as Nṛsiṁhadeva, the Lord also preserved the truth of Lord Brahmā’s promise that Hiraṇyakaśipu was not to be killed by any animal or any man. The Lord appeared in a form that could not be said to be fully a man or a lion.
TEXT 18
स सत्त्वमेनं परितो विपश्यन् 
  स्तम्भस्य मध्यादनुनिर्जिहानम् । 
  नायं मृगो नापि नरो विचित्र- 
  महो किमेतन्नृमृगेन्द्ररूपम् ॥१८॥
sa sattvam enam parito vipaśyan 
  stambhasya madhyād anunirjihānam 
  nāyam mṛgo nāpi naro vicitram 
  aho kim etan nṛ-mṛgendra-rūpam
saḥ—he (Hiraṇyakaśipu, the King of the Daityas); sattvam—living being; enam—that; paritaḥ—all around; vipaśyan—looking; stambhasya—of the pillar; madhyāt—from the midst; anunirjihānam—having come out; na—not; ayam—this; mṛgaḥ—animal; na—not; api—indeed; naraḥ—human being; vicitram—very wonderful; aho—alas; kim—what; etat—this; nṛ-mṛga-indra-rūpam—the form of both a man and the king of the beasts, the lion.