Study a Verse

• Śukrācārya became the priest of the atheists, especially Hiraṇyakaśipu, and thus his two sons, Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, resided near Hiraṇyakaśipu’s residence.
• Śukrācārya should not have become the priest of Hiraṇyakaśipu because Hiraṇyakaśipu and his followers were all atheists.
• A real brāhmaṇa would not become a priest for atheistic men.

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

Threat → Steady faith. A vulnerable child remains inwardly unshaken.

Chapters 5–7 of Canto 7: Prahlāda refuses to abandon his devotion. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 5: Prahlāda Mahārāja, the Saintly Son of Hiraṇyakaśipu

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Hiraṇyakaśipu’s spiritual master, Śukrācārya, had two sons named Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, to whom Prahlāda Mahārāja was entrusted for education. Although the teachers tried to educate the boy Prahlāda in politics, economics and other material activities, he did not care for their instructions.