Text 33] The Killing of the Demon Hiranyaksa 747
just a plaything. This has been narrated by me as | heard it from my
predecessor spiritual master.

PURPORT

Here the sage Maitreya admits that he explained the incident of the
killing of Hiranyaksa by the Supreme Personality of Godhead as a straight
narration; he did not manufacture anything or add interpretation, but
explained whatever he had heard from his spiritual master. Thus he ac-
cepted as bona fide the system of parampara, or receiving the transcenden-
tal message in disciplic succession. Unless received by this bona fide
process of hearing from a spiritual master, the statement of an acarya or
preceptor cannot be valid.

It is also stated here that although the demon Hiranyakga was unlimited
in prowess, he was just like a doll for the Lord. A child breaks so many
dolls without real endeavor. Similarly, although a demon may be very
powerful and extraordinary in the eyes of an ordinary man in the
material world, to the Lord, killing such a demon is no difficulty. He can
kill millions of demons as simply as a child plays with dolls and breaks
them.

TEXT 33
sft BTARSTATAMT ATTRA |
AMssae SH REMTTAAT fA MRA
siita uvaca
iti kausaravakhyatam
asrutya bhagavat-katham
ksattanandam param
lebhe maha-bhagavato dvija

sitah—Suta Gosvami; uvdca—said; iti-thus; kausdrava—from Maitreya
(son of Kusaru);akhyatam—told; asrutya—having heard; bhagavat-katham—
the narration about the Lord; ksatta—Vidura; dnandam—bliss; param—
transcendental; lebhe—achieved; maha-bidgavatah—the great devotee; dvija
—O brahmana (Saunaka).

TRANSLATION

Sri Sata Gosvami continued: My dear brahmana, Ksatta [ Vidura], the

great devotee of the Lord, achieved transcendental bliss by hearing the
