Devanagari
सत्यं विधातुं निजभृत्यभाषितं
व्याप्तिं च भूतेष्वखिलेषु चात्मन: ।
अदृश्यतात्यद्भुतरूपमुद्वहन्
स्तम्भे सभायां न मृगं न मानुषम् ॥ १७ ॥
Verse text
satyaṁ vidhātuṁ nija-bhṛtya-bhāṣitaṁ
vyāptiṁ ca bhūteṣv akhileṣu cātmanaḥ
adṛśyatātyadbhuta-rūpam udvahan
stambhe sabhāyāṁ na mṛgaṁ na mānuṣam
Synonyms
satyam
—
true
;
vidhātum
—
to prove
;
nija
—
bhṛtya — bhāṣitam — the words of His own servant (Prahlāda Mahārāja, who had said that his Lord is present everywhere)
;
vyāptim
—
the pervasion
;
ca
—
and
;
bhūteṣu
—
among the living entities and elements
;
akhileṣu
—
all
;
ca
—
also
;
ātmanaḥ
—
of Himself
;
adṛśyata
—
was seen
;
ati
—
very
;
adbhuta
—
wonderful
;
rūpam
—
form
;
udvahan
—
taking
;
stambhe
—
in the pillar
;
sabhāyām
—
within the assembly
;
na
—
not
;
mṛgam
—
an animal
;
na
—
nor
;
mānuṣam
—
a human being .
Translation
To prove that the statement of His servant Prahlāda Mahārāja was substantial — in other words, to prove that the Supreme Lord is present everywhere, even within the pillar of an assembly hall — the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, exhibited a wonderful form never before seen. The form was neither that of a man nor that of a lion. Thus the Lord appeared in His wonderful form in the assembly hall.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
To prove the words of his servant--that he is present in all objects--to be true, the Lord showed an astonishing form which was neither animal nor human to the assembly.
Prahlāda had said that the Lord was present in the pillar. To prove those words of his servant true, to make that truth visible, the Lord appeared. And to make true the statement that his form was spread everywhere, in Nṛsiṁha and other forms, he became visible in the pillar where he had been invisible. He took a form in the assembly which was not related to animal forms nor was it a human form. His servant Hiraṇyakaśipu had prayed not to die from created living being, and also prayed not to die inside or outside, and not by man or beast. The Lord appeared in that form to make that prayer true. He was not a being created by Brahmā, he was not an animal, nor a human, nor was he situated within the assembly hall, nor outside in the yard. Some people also say that he appeared in that form to prove the words of his servants like Nārada to be true. The Lord says “Kaunteya, my devotee never perishes.” (BG 9.31) And Nārada said to Hiraṇyakaśipu, “You will not be able to kill this child.” (SB 7.7.10) Hiraṇyakaśipu said “Perhaps I will die because of my hatred of Prahlāda.” (SB 7.5.47) When Hiraṇyakaśipu made his request, Brahmā had said “Let it be.”
Purport
When Hiraṇyakaśipu asked Prahlāda Mahārāja, “Where is your Lord? Is He present in this pillar?” Prahlāda Mahārāja fearlessly replied, “Yes, my Lord is present everywhere.” Therefore, to convince Hiraṇyakaśipu that the statement of Prahlāda Mahārāja was unmistakably true, the Lord appeared from the pillar. The Lord appeared as half lion and half man so that Hiraṇyakaśipu could not understand whether the great giant was a lion or a human being. To substantiate Prahlāda’s statement, the Lord proved that His devotee, as declared in
Bhagavad-gītā,
is never vanquished (
kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati
). Prahlāda Mahārāja’s demoniac father had repeatedly threatened to kill Prahlāda, but Prahlāda was confident that he could not be killed, since he was protected by the Supreme Lord. By appearing from the pillar, the Lord encouraged His devotee, saying in effect, “Don’t worry. I am present here.” By manifesting His form as Nṛsiṁhadeva, the Lord also preserved the truth of Lord Brahmā’s promise that Hiraṇyakaśipu was not to be killed by any animal or any man. The Lord appeared in a form that could not be said to be fully a man or a lion.