138 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 7, Ch. 8
my Lord is present everywhere.” Therefore, to convince Hiranyakasipu
that the statement of Prahlada Maharaja was unmistakably true, the Lord
appeared from the pillar. The Lord appeared as half lion and half man so
that Hiranyakasipu could not understand whether the great giant was a
lion or a human being. To substantiate Prahlada’s statement, the Lord
proved that His devotee, as declared in Bhagavad-gitd, is never van-
quished (kaunteya pratijanihi na me bhaktah pranasyati). Prahlada
Maharaja’s demoniac father had repeatedly threatened to kill Prahlada,
but Prahlada was confident that he could not be killed, since he was pro-
tected by the Supreme Lord. By appearing from the pillar, the Lord en-
couraged His devotee, saying in effect, “Don’t worry. I am present
here.” By manifesting His form as Nrsitnhadeva, the Lord also preserved
the truth of Lord Brahma’s promise that Hiranyakasipu was not to be
killed by any animal or any man. The Lord appeared in a form that could
not be said to be fully a man or a lion.
TEXT 18
aaa ott frag
wr aeIMaareray |
ad am aft aa faraa-
Re | PRAT AAEREIT RCI
sa sattvam enam parito vipasyan
stambhasya madhydad anunirjihanam
nayam mrgo napi naro vicitram
aho kim etan nr-mrgendra-riipam

sah—he (Hiranyakasipu, the King of the Daityas); sattvam—living
being; enam—that; paritah—all around; vipasyan—looking;
stambhasya—of the pillar; © madhyat—from the _ midst;
anuninihdnam—having come out; na—not; ayam—this; mrgah—
animal; na—not; api—indeed; narah—human being; vicitram—very
wonderful; aho—alas; kim—what; etat—this; nr-mrga-indra-ripam—
the form of both a man and the king of the beasts, the lion.
