Hiranyakasipu and Yamaraja

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02 April 2017 Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.2 Sukadeva Gosvami continued: On the request of Yudhisthira Maharaja, Narada Rsi described the glories of Prahlada Maharaja and his bhakti, as well as how he was born and how he interacted with His demon father, Hiranyakasipu—who was ultimately killed by the Supreme Lord: Hiranyakasipu was enraged at the death of His brother at the hands of Sri Hari. The fire of rage that came from his blazing eyes seemed to scorch the entire universe. The demon was filled with hate for the Lord and wanted revenge. “I will go to His abode and kill Him!” he declared. He reasoned that if he did tapasya he would become able to enter Vaikuntha and destroy Bhagavan. Hiranyakasipu called his demon associates and said, “All of you, hear me! I am determined to uphold my following statement. I will see to the destruction of Visnu! You, O Danavas and Daityas, will assist me. “Hari is supposed to be impartial to all, but it is clear that he sees us as His enemy. He came in the form of a boar and slayed my beloved brother, staining this universe with his blood. Friends, by cutting the root of a tree, a tree is killed. Thus, if we destroy Hari, our sworn foes, the demigods, will be destroyed. “Go now to Earth and bring our wrath on Visnu’s followers. Slaughter those who do dana, punya, austerity, sacrifice, Vedic study, regulative vows, and so on. Visnu’s devotees offer the fruits of sacrifice to Him, having taken His shelter. If He has no more offerings, food, then He will be week. So kill all the followers and perfomers of yajnas.” These statements of Hiranyakasipu perfectly exemplify the nature of demons. Hiranyakasipu continued, “Kill cows, whose milk is dear to Hari. Their milk makes ghee, which is offered in sacrifice to Visnu. We must thus kill all cows and thus stop all offerings to Visnu! Destroy the trees also, for they support the sadhus, those who do bhajana of Visnu, by sheltering them and giving them fruits to eat. Go at once. Don’t delay!” Very happy to receive this order, the demons saluted Hiranyakasipu and carried out the following atrocities on Earth: pura-grāma-vrajodyāna- kṣetrārāmāśramākarān kheṭa-kharvaṭa-ghoṣāṁś ca dadahuḥ pattanāni ca kecit khanitrair bibhiduḥ setu-prākāra-gopurān ājīvyāṁś cicchidur vṛkṣān kecit paraśu-pāṇayaḥ prādahañ śaraṇāny eke prajānāṁ jvalitolmukaiḥ Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.2.14-15 The demons set fire to the cities, villages, pasturing grounds, cowpens, gardens, agricultural fields and natural forests. They burned the hermitages of the saintly persons, the important mines that produced valuable metals, the residential quarters of the agriculturalists, the mountain villages, and the villages of the cow protectors, the cowherd men. They also burned the government capitals. Some of the demons took digging instruments and broke down the bridges, the protective walls and the gates [gopuras] of the cities. Some took axes and began cutting the important trees that produced mango, jackfruit and other sources of food. Some of the demons took firebrands and set fire to the residential quarters of the citizens. As the demons threw the balance of things into chaos, Hiranyakasipu carried out the necessary rituals of sraddha for his brother. Afterwards, he attempted to pacify his nephews, sister-in-law, mother and other relatives. Although he was a ferocious demon, he knew the art of speaking nicely. He said, “My dear relatives, please try to tolerate your pain. Do not think about the deceased hero any longer. Only by the fruits of our action do we meet with each other in this world and then separate.” He spoke to them with learned words about material nature and the soul. He said: uśīnareṣv abhūd rājā suyajña iti viśrutaḥ sapatnair nihato yuddhe jñātayas tam upāsata Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.2.28 Once, in the state of Uśīnara, there was a famous King named Suyajña who was killed in battle by his enemies. At that time, his kinsmen sat around the dead body and began to lament the death of their beloved king. The king’s family started a crying feast, bathing the corpse and their bodies in profuse amounts of tears. The orchestra of their loud crying reached the ears of Yamaraja in his own abode. viśīrṇa-ratna-kavacaṁ vibhraṣṭābharaṇa-srajam śara-nirbhinna-hṛdayaṁ śayānam asṛg-āvilam prakīrṇa-keśaṁ dhvastākṣaṁ rabhasā daṣṭa-dacchadam rajaḥ-kuṇṭha-mukhāmbhojaṁ chinnāyudha-bhujaṁ mṛdhe uśīnarendraṁ vidhinā tathā kṛtaṁ patiṁ mahiṣyaḥ prasamīkṣya duḥkhitāḥ hatāḥ sma nātheti karair uro bhṛśaṁ ghnantyo muhus tat-padayor upāpatan Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.2.29-31 His golden, bejeweled armor smashed, his ornaments and garlands fallen from their places, his hair scattered and his eyes lusterless, the slain King lay on the battlefield, his entire body smeared with blood, his heart pierced by the arrows of the enemy. When he died he had wanted to show his prowess, and thus he had bitten his lips, and his teeth remained in that position. His beautiful lotuslike face was now black and covered with dust from the battlefield. His arms, with his sword and other weapons, were cut and broken. When the queens of the King of Uśīnara saw their husband lying in that position, they began crying, "O lord, now that you have been killed, we also have been killed." Repeating these words again and again, they fell down, pounding their breasts, at the feet of the dead king. We see that people in the Western countries decorate the deceased with nice clothing, cosmetics, jewelry, and they also give them many gifts or things they were particularly fond of in their past. They think the body and the self is the same. Because they are attached to their material conception of a person, they are completely bewildered and follow concocted rituals out of sentimentalism. The wives of the king caught his cold feet and the red kunkum from their bosoms that were soaked by their tears made those feet reddish. “Alas!” they cried. “O lord, let us also die now!” Although, it was growing late, and the time to cremate the king’s body was at hand, the women would not allow the body to be taken. Hearing the loud cries of the women since morning, Yamaraja assumed the from of a small boy and approached the grief-stricken group. He said, “All of you are older than myself, but are not acting like experienced elders. Even I, a small child, know that every day so many die. Where that person came from and where he is destined to go—that is out of our control. As arranged by God, that is in accordance to his karma. I am a child, and I know this much, but I think you have lost your intelligence.” aho vayaṁ dhanyatamā yad atra tyaktāḥ pitṛbhyāṁ na vicintayāmaḥ abhakṣyamāṇā abalā vṛkādibhiḥ sa rakṣitā rakṣati yo hi garbhe Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.2.38 I am filled with wonder to find that these grown women do not have a higher sense of life than I do. Indeed, I am most fortunate, for although I am a child and have been left to struggle in the material world without the protection of a father or mother, and although I am quite weak, I have not been killed or devoured by tigers or any kind of ferocious animal. I thus have strong faith that the Supreme Lord, who has given me protection even in the womb of the mother, will protect me everywhere. Yamaraja in the form of a boy continued, “O women, the creation, maintenance, and destruction of this world is the business of Paramesvara. You cannot harm or save anyone in this world; so why are you crying? Do not be foolish. You think that the king’s body was his self. But the person is not even present in this body before you anymore. Really, who is it that you knew? And who has left this body? You actually never knew this person, for the soul, not the body, is the true self. You could not see his soul; thus, you have no idea of his true shape, size, or color. vitathābhiniveśo 'yaṁ yad guṇeṣv artha-dṛg-vacaḥ yathā manorathaḥ svapnaḥ sarvam aindriyakaṁ mṛṣā Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.2.48 It is fruitless to see and talk of the material modes of nature and their resultant so-called happiness and distress as if they were factual. When the mind wanders during the day and a man begins to think himself extremely important, or when he dreams at night and sees a beautiful woman enjoying with him, these are merely false dreams. Similarly, the happiness and distress caused by the material senses should be understood to be meaningless. “There was once a hunter who used to cunningly catch birds in his nets. One day, noting a bird couple nearby, he set up his trap and waited. Of the two birds, the female was lured into the net and began to cry bitterly when captured. The husband of the she-bird began to lament greatly about how he could not save his wife and how his small children would now surely parish. He lamented bitterly and the hunter took advantage of his stunned and morose state to shoot him with an arrow. “Therefore, it is foolish to lament about death. Death is assured for everyone possessed of a material body. There is no way around this. Even if you cry for hundreds of years, you cannot change the laws of death. Therefore, don’t waste time. Follow the proper injunctions and burn Suyajña’s body.” Hiranyakasipu said: bāla evaṁ pravadati sarve vismita-cetasaḥ jñātayo menire sarvam anityam ayathotthitam Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.2.58 While Yamarāja, in the form of a small boy, was instructing all the relatives surrounding the dead body of Suyajña, everyone was struck with wonder by his philosophical words. They could understand that everything material is temporary. Hiranyakasipu thus pacified his mother and relatives.