SB 7.5.44 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

दिग्गजैर्दन्दशूकेन्द्रैरभिचारावपातनै: । मायाभि: सन्निरोधैश्च गरदानैरभोजनै: । हिमवाय्वग्निसलिलै: पर्वताक्रमणैरपि ॥ ४३ ॥ न शशाक यदा हन्तुमपापमसुर: सुतम् । चिन्तां दीर्घतमां प्राप्तस्तत्कर्तुं नाभ्यपद्यत ॥ ४४ ॥

Verse text

dig-gajair dandaśūkendrair abhicārāvapātanaiḥ māyābhiḥ sannirodhaiś ca gara-dānair abhojanaiḥ hima-vāyv-agni-salilaiḥ parvatākramaṇair api na śaśāka yadā hantum apāpam asuraḥ sutam cintāṁ dīrghatamāṁ prāptas tat-kartuṁ nābhyapadyata

Synonyms

dik — gajaiḥ — by big elephants trained to smash anything under their feet ; danda — śūka — indraiḥ — by the biting of the King’s poisonous snakes ; abhicāra — by destructive spells ; avapātanaiḥ — by causing to fall from the top of a mountain ; māyābhiḥ — by conjuring tricks ; sannirodhaiḥ — by imprisonment ; ca — as well as ; gara — dānaiḥ — by administering poison ; abhojanaiḥ — by starving ; hima — by cold ; vāyu — wind ; agni — fire ; salilaiḥ — and water ; parvata — ākramaṇaiḥ — by crushing with big stones and hills ; api — and also ; na śaśāka — was not able ; yadā — when ; hantum — to kill ; apāpam — who was not at all sinful ; asuraḥ — the demon (Hiraṇyakaśipu) ; sutam — his son ; cintām — anxiety ; dīrgha — tamām — long-standing ; prāptaḥ — obtained ; tat — kartum — to do that ; na — not ; abhyapadyata — achieved .

Translation

Hiraṇyakaśipu could not kill his son by throwing him beneath the feet of big elephants, throwing him among huge, fearful snakes, employing destructive spells, hurling him from the top of a hill, conjuring up illusory tricks, administering poison, starving him, exposing him to severe cold, winds, fire and water, or throwing heavy stones to crush him. When Hiraṇyakaśipu found that he could not in any way harm Prahlāda, who was completely sinless, he was in great anxiety about what to do next.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

When Hiraṇyakaśipu could not kill his innocent son by throwing him beneath the feet of big elephants, throwing him among huge snakes, employing destructive spells, hurling him from the tops of hills, conjuring up illusory tricks, imprisoning him, administering poison, starving him, exposing him to severe cold, winds, fire and water, or throwing heavy stones on him to crush him, he began to contemplate the situation deeply. He did not succeed in killing him. He tried black magic (abhicāraiḥ), throwing him from high places (avapātanaiḥ), imprisoning him a hole and other places (sannirodaiḥ). The plural case indicates that he tried each method many times. Tat-kartuṁ nābhyapadyata means that he could not kill him.