Text 11] Hiranyakasipu, King of the Demons 71
TEXT 11
Reuftatrarga ast aaa: garg |
aa wa sy TTITTN II
visnur dvija-kriya-miilo
yajno dharmamayah puman
devarsi-pitr-bhiitanam
dharmasya ca paréyanam

visnuh—Lord Visnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; dvija—of
the brahmanas and ksatriyas; kriya-miilah—whose root is the perfor-
mance of yajfa and the ritualistic ceremonies mentioned in the Vedas;
yajnah—personified yajna (Lord Visnu, who is known as the yajna-
purusa); dharma-mayah—full of religious principles; pumaén—the
Supreme Person; deva-rsi—of the demigods and great rsis like
Vyasadeva and Narada; pitr—of the forefathers; bhiittanam—and of all
other living entities; dharmasya—of the religious principles; ca—also;
pardyanam—the shelter.

TRANSLATION

The basic principle of brahminical culture is to satisfy Lord
Visnu, the personification of sacrificial and ritualistic ceremonies.
Lord Visnu is the personified reservoir of all religious principles,
and He is the shelter of all the demigods, the great pitas, and the
people in general. When the brahmanas are killed, no one will ex-
ist to encourage the ksatriyas to perform yajiias, and thus the
demigods, not being appeased by yajiia, will automatically die.

PURPORT

Since Visnu is the central point of brahminical culture,
Hiranyakasipu’s plan was to kill Visnu, for if Visnu were killed,
naturally the brahminical culture would also be lost. With brahminical
culture lost, yajfia would no longer be performed, and for want of yajna
the regular distribution of rainfall would cease (yajidd bhavati par-
janyah). Thus there would be disturbances all over the world, and
