SB 7.8.3 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

कोपावेशचलद्गात्र: पुत्रं हन्तुं मनो दधे । क्षिप्‍त्वा परुषया वाचा प्रह्रादमतदर्हणम् । आहेक्षमाण: पापेन तिरश्चीनेन चक्षुषा ॥ ३ ॥ प्रश्रयावनतं दान्तं बद्धाञ्जलिमवस्थितम् । सर्प: पदाहत इव श्वसन्प्रकृतिदारुण: ॥ ४ ॥

Verse text

kopāveśa-calad-gātraḥ putraṁ hantuṁ mano dadhe kṣiptvā paruṣayā vācā prahrādam atad-arhaṇam āhekṣamāṇaḥ pāpena tiraścīnena cakṣuṣā praśrayāvanataṁ dāntaṁ baddhāṣjalim avasthitam sarpaḥ padāhata iva śvasan prakṛti-dāruṇaḥ

Synonyms

kopa — āveśa — by a very angry mood ; calat — trembling ; gātraḥ — the whole body ; putram — his son ; hantum — to kill ; manaḥ — mind ; dadhe — fixed ; kṣiptvā — rebuking ; paruṣayā — with very harsh ; vācā — words ; prahrādam — Prahlāda Mahārāja ; a — tat — arhaṇam — not fit to be chastised (due to his noble character and tender age) ; āha — said ; īkṣamāṇaḥ — looking at him in anger ; pāpena — because of his sinful activities ; tiraścīnena — crooked ; cakṣuṣā — with eyes ; praśraya — avanatam — very gentle and mild ; dāntam — very restrained ; baddha — aṣjalim — having folded hands ; avasthitam — situated ; sarpaḥ — a snake ; pada — āhataḥ — being trampled by the foot ; iva — like ; śvasan — hissing ; prakṛti — by nature ; dāruṇaḥ — very evil .

Translation

When Hiraṇyakaśipu understood the entire situation, he was extremely angry, so much so that his body trembled. Thus he finally decided to kill his son Prahlāda. Hiraṇyakaśipu was by nature very cruel, and feeling insulted, he began hissing like a snake trampled upon by someone’s foot. His son Prahlāda was peaceful, mild and gentle, his senses were under control, and he stood before Hiraṇyakaśipu with folded hands. According to Prahlāda’s age and behavior, he was not to be chastised. Yet with staring, crooked eyes, Hiraṇyakaśipu rebuked him with the following harsh words.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

His body trembling in rage, rebuking him with harsh words, the King decided to kill his son, who did not deserve that punishment. Looking with his crooked, sinful eyes at his gentle and obedient son who was standing peacefully with folded hands, the father, evil by nature, hissing like a trampled snake, then spoke.

Purport

When one is impudent toward a highly authorized devotee, one is punished by the laws of nature. The duration of his life is diminished, and he loses the blessings of superior persons and the results of pious activities. Hiraṇyakaśipu, for example, had achieved such great power in the material world that he could subdue practically all the planetary systems in the universe, including the heavenly planets (Svargaloka). Yet now, because of his mistreatment of such a Vaiṣṇava as Prahlāda Mahārāja, all the results of his tapasya diminished. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.4.46) : āyuḥ śriyaṁ yaśo dharmaṁ lokān āśiṣa eva ca hanti śreyāṁsi sarvāṇi puṁso mahad-atikramaḥ “When one mistreats great souls, his life span, opulence, reputation, religion, possessions and good fortune are all destroyed.”