Text 14] Scheduled Incarnations with Specific Functions 359

TEXT 14

Aredeaqel a afteed

FA MATAR STUSIFAT |
SMT TTaAtwTaTATT-

aii fara ean aaa: eyReAAI? VII

trai-pistaporu-bhaya-ha sa nrsimha-riipam

krtvad bhramad-bhrukuti-damstra-karala-vaktram
daityendram dsu gadayabhipatantam

arad iirau nipadtya vidadara nakhaih sphurantam

trai-pistapa—the demigods; uru-bhaya-ha—one who vanquishes great
fears; sah—He, the Personality of Godhead; nrsimha-ripam-—assuming the
incarnation Nrsimha; krtva—doing so; bhramat--by rolling; bhru-kuti—
eyebrows; damstra—teeth; karala—greatly fearful; vaktram--mouth; daitya-
indram—the king of the demons; asu--immediately ; gadaya—with club in
hand; abhipatantam—while falling down; arat—-nearby ; irau—on the thighs;
nipatya—placing on; vidaddra—pierced; nakhaih—by the nails; sphurantam—
while challenging.

TRANSLATION

The Personality of Godhead assumed the incarnation of Narasirnhadeva
in order to vanquish the great fears of the demigods. He killed the king
of the demons [Hiranyakasipu], who challenged the Lord with a club
in his hand, by placing the demon on His thighs and piercing him with His
nails, rolling His eyebrows in anger and showing His fearful teeth and
mouth.

PURPORT

The history of Hiranyakasipu and his great devotee son Prahlada Maha-
raja is narrated in the Seventh Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Hiranyakasipu
became very powerful by material achievements and thought himself to
be immortal by the grace of Brahmaji. Brahmaji declined to award him
the benediction of immortality because he himself is not an
immortal being. But Hiranyakasipu derived Brahmaji’s benediction in a
roundabout way, almost equal to becoming an immortal being. Hiranya-
kasipu was sure that he would not be killed by any man or demigod or by
