Study a Verse

• Otherwise, if the Supreme Lord does not give one protection, one must suffer in spite of the presence of his father and mother.
• Kali-yuga, however, is so degraded that a father and mother even kill their children in the womb on the plea of their scientific knowledge that within the womb the child has no life.
• Prestigious medical practitioners give this opinion, and therefore the father and mother of this day kill their children within the womb.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Pride and rage → Oppression. The ruler's power intensifies his insecurity.

Chapters 1–4 of Canto 7: Hiraṇyakaśipu's ascent and intimidation. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 2: Hiraṇyakaśipu, King of the Demons

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

By narrating these stories, Hiraṇyakaśipu pacified his nephews and other relatives and relieved them of lamentation. Thus having been pacified, Diti and Ruṣābhānu, Hiraṇyakaśipu’s mother and sister-in-law, engaged their minds in spiritual understanding.