Govindāya namah

Hiranyakaśipu continued, “Yama, who had disguised as a small boy, now said to the wives of King Suyajna, ‘O foolish women! Even if you continue to cry for another 100 years, this man will not be revived, while your lifespan gets exhausted. Why then are you grieving? God neither protects nor punishes. Based on the destiny, which arises from one’s past fruitive actions, living entities continue their journey’.”

We have discussed earlier that just as a house owner maintains an existence different from the house, the Self maintains an existence, different from the body, senses, and everything it pervades.

Hiranyakaśipu continued, “Hearing these words uttered by the small boy, who was none other than Yama in disguise, the wives of King Suyajna were wonder-struck. The truth about the illusionary nature of this world and of its fleeting existence dawned upon them. Having said this, the boy vanished even as they were watching. Thereafter the relatives of Suyajna conducted the necessary rituals to ensure that King Suyajna reached higher planes”.

Therefore, my dear mother, sister-in-law and other relatives, please do not grieve for yourself and for others. It is of no use”.

Swamiji explains: From this the depth of knowledge Hiraṇyakaśipu possessed is evident. He was struggling to get back to higher planes. After all he was one among the Jaya-Vijaya brothers and had lived along with the Supreme Lord. Even though they had fallen far away from Him, their link still existed. That is why he could explain such good essence. As the story progresses we will understand the reason behind this philosophy explained by him. The levels of dispassion explained by him are amazing. Perhaps due to this a gem called Prahlada was born to him. Poet Purandaradasa states that Narasimha tore Hiraṇyakaśipu’s stomach not to kill him but to check if he had retained any more gems like Prahlada in it.