Devanagari
गुणैरलमसङ्ख्येयैर्माहात्म्यं तस्य सूच्यते ।
वासुदेवे भगवति यस्य नैसर्गिकी रति: ॥ ३६ ॥
Verse text
guṇair alam asaṅkhyeyair
māhātmyaṁ tasya sūcyate
vāsudeve bhagavati
yasya naisargikī ratiḥ
Synonyms
guṇaiḥ
—
with spiritual qualities
;
alam
—
what need
;
asaṅkhyeyaiḥ
—
which are innumerable
;
māhātmyam
—
the greatness
;
tasya
—
of him (Prahlāda Mahārāja)
;
sūcyate
—
is indicated
;
vāsudeve
—
to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the son of Vasudeva
;
bhagavati
—
the Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
yasya
—
of whom
;
naisargikī
—
natural
;
ratiḥ
—
attachment .
Translation
Who could list the innumerable transcendental qualities of Prahlāda Mahārāja? He had unflinching faith in Vāsudeva, Lord Kṛṣṇa [the son of Vasudeva], and unalloyed devotion to Him. His attachment to Lord Kṛṣṇa was natural because of his previous devotional service. Although his good qualities cannot be enumerated, they prove that he was a great soul [mahātmā].
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Who can list the innumerable qualities of Prahlāda Mahārāja! It is accurately said that his greatness was his natural attraction for Vāsudeva.
The number of qualities cannot be counted. Thus who can say enough? Who else could be so excellent? Let others have good qualities, but the cause of Prahlāda’s qualities was something else. What was that? They speak well of his greatness. What was that greatness? He had natural attraction for Vāsudeva. Or another meaning is “The greatness of Prahlāda who had natural attraction for Vāsudeva can only be slightly indicated since it is impossible to define fully.” The next verse says kṛṣṇa-graha-gṛhītātmā: he was as if haunted by Kṛṣṇa. Some say Vāsudeva means Nṛsiṁḥa. Others say Vāsudeva refers to Kṛṣṇa because in Prahlāda’s prayers in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa it is said āvirbabhūva bhagavān pītāmbaradharo hariḥ: the Lord wearing yellow cloth appeared. The next verse mentions Kṛṣṇa also: kṛṣṇa-graha-gṛhītātma. And also it is said later govinda-parirambhitaḥ: Prahlāda was embraced by Govinda. (SB 7.4.38) Others say that Prahlāda first had attraction for Vāsudeva and then later for Nṛsiṁha (when he appeared). It is mentioned in this verse that he had a natural attraction for Vāsudeva. His attraction did not develop by sādhana over many births as is the case with others.
Purport
In his prayers to the ten incarnations, Jayadeva Gosvāmī says,
keśava dhṛta-narahari-rūpa jaya jagad-īśa hare.
Prahlāda Mahārāja was a devotee of Lord Nṛsiṁha, who is Keśava, Kṛṣṇa Himself. Therefore when this verse says
vāsudeve bhagavati,
one should understand that Prahlāda Mahārāja’s attachment for Nṛsiṁhadeva was attachment for Kṛṣṇa, Vāsudeva, the son of Vasudeva. Prahlāda Mahārāja, therefore, is described as a great
mahātmā.
As the Lord Himself confirms in
Bhagavad-gītā
(7.19)
:
bahūnāṁ janmanām ante
jṣānavān māṁ prapadyate
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ
“After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.” A great devotee of Kṛṣṇa, the son of Vasudeva, is a great soul very rarely to be found. Prahlāda Mahārāja’s attachment for Kṛṣṇa will be explained in the next verse.
Kṛṣṇa-graha-gṛhītātmā
. Prahlāda Mahārāja’s heart was always filled with thoughts of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja is the ideal devotee in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.