Text 7] Prahlada, the Saintly Son of Hiranyakasipu 225

samyag vidharyatarm balo
guru-gehe dvi-jatibhih

visnu-paksaih praticchannair
na bhidyetasya dhir yatha

samyak—completely; vidhdryatam—let him _ be __ protected;
balah—this boy of tender age; guru-gehe—in the guru-kula, the place
where children are sent to be instructed by the guru; dvi-jatibhih—by
brahmanas; visnu-paksaih—who are on the side of Visnu;
praticchannaih—disguised in different dresses; na bhidyeta—may not
be influenced; asya—of him; dhih—the intelligence; yathad—so that.

TRANSLATION

Hiranyakasipu advised his assistants: My dear demons, give
complete protection to this boy at the guru-kula where he is in-
structed, so that his intelligence will not be further influenced by
Vaisnavas who may go there in disguise.

PURPORT

In our Krsna consciousness movement, the tactic of dressing oneself
like an ordinary karmi is necessary because everyone in the demoniac
kingdom is against the Vaisnava teachings. Krsna consciousness is not at
all to the liking of the demons of the present age. As soon as they see a
Vaisnava dressed in saffron garments with beads on his neck and tilaka
on his forehead, they are immediately irritated. They criticize the
Vaisnavas by sarcastically saying Hare Krsna, and some people also chant
Hare Krsna sincerely. In either case, since Hare Krsna is absolute,
whether one chants it jokingly or sincerely, it will have its effect. The
Vaisnavas are pleased when the demons chant Hare Krsna because this
shows that the Hare Krsna movement is taking ground. The greater
demons, like Hiranyakasipu, are always prepared to chastise the
Vaisnavas, and they try to make arrangements so that Vaisnavas will not
come to sell their books and preach Krsna consciousness. Thus what was
done by Hiranyakasipu long, long ago is still being done. That is the way
of materialistic life. Demons or materialists do not at all like the advance-
ment of Krsna consciousness, and they try to hinder it in many ways. Yet
