Text 16] HiranyakasSipu’s Plan to Become Immortal 143

mémsa—the flesh; sonitam—and blood; tapantam—heating; tapasa—
by a severe type of penance; lokdn—all the three worlds; yatha—just
as; abhra—by clouds; apihitam—covered; ravim—the sun; vilaksya—
seeing; vismitah—struck with wonder; praha—said; hasan—smiling;
tam—to him; hamsa-vahanah—Lord Brahma, who rides a swan
airplane.

TRANSLATION

Lord Brahma, who is carried by a swan airplane, at first could
not see where HiranyakaSipu was, for Hiranyakasipu’s body was
covered by an anthill and by grass and bamboo sticks. Because
Hiranyakasipu had been there for a long time, the ants had
devoured his skin, fat, flesh and blood. Then Lord Brahma and the
demigods spotted him, resembling a cloud-covered sun, heating
all the world by his austerity. Struck with wonder, Lord Brahma
began to smile and then addressed him as follows.

PURPORT

The living entity can live merely by his own power, without the help
of skin, marrow, bone, blood and so on, because it is said, asarigo yam
purusah—the living entity has nothing to do with the material covering.
Hiranyakasipu performed a severe type of tapasya, austerity, for many
long years. Indeed, it is said that he performed the tapasya for one
hundred heavenly years. Since one day of the demigods equals six of our
months, certainly this was a very long time. By nature’s own way, his
body had been almost consumed by earthworms, ants and other parasites,
and therefore even Brahma was at first unable to see him. Later,
however, Brahma could ascertain where Hiranyakasipu was, and Brahma
was struck with wonder to see Hiranyakasipu’s extraordinary power to
execute tapasya. Anyone would conclude that Hiranyakasipu was dead
because his body was covered in so many ways, but Lord Brahma, the
supreme living being in this universe, could understand that
Hiranyakasipu was alive but covered by material elements.

It is also to be noted that although Hiranyakasipu performed this
austerity for a long, long time, he was nonetheless known as a Daitya and
Raksasa. It will be seen from verses to follow that even great saintly per-
sons could not perform such a severe type of austerity. Why then was he
