Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 7.8.26
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesFear Before the Lord’s Play
“O Yudhiṣṭhira, O great son of Bharata, when Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva gave Hiraṇyakaśipu a chance to slip from His hand, just as Garuḍa sometimes plays with a snake and lets it slip from his mouth, the demigods, who had lost their abodes and who were hiding behind the clouds for fear of the demon, did not consider that incident very good. Indeed, they were perturbed.”
What the purport teaches
- Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva gave Hiraṇyakaśipu a chance to slip from His hands, just as Garuḍa sometimes plays with a snake.
- The demigods had lost their abodes and were hiding behind the clouds because they feared Hiraṇyakaśipu.
- They feared that if the demon escaped and discovered their pleasure at his approaching death, he would take revenge. Thus the Lord’s allowing him to slip away greatly disturbed them.
Try this today
Write one sentence distinguishing the Lord’s deliberate release of the demon from the demigods’ fearful interpretation.
Ask yourself
How might fear affect my understanding of what the Lord is doing?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.