Prahlāda Pacifies Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva with Prayers

In the Ninth Chapter Prahlāda, ordered by Brahmā, approaches the Lord and offers prayers so that the devatās can approach him. What to speak of others, even Lakṣmī could not calm Nṛsiṁha. Prahlāda however understood that Nṛsiṁha was the embodiment of affection.

“Why did the devatās praise the Lord from far off while revealing their individual miseries?” The Lord was absorbed in anger.

Though she had seen Narasiṁha in a previous kalpa, and though Narasiṁha is always present in Vaikuṇṭha, the impression of not having previously seen or heard about this form was produced by the līlā-śakti, in order to make everyone taste adbhuta-rasa, the mood of astonishment.

Kṛtābhayam means “his hand which creates fearlessness.”

Prahlāda had already been purified of the inauspiciousness created by being born in a demonic family. That impurity would have made the Lord’s touching his head impossible. What was already accomplished became fully manifest by the power of the Lord’s touch. Prahlāda had realization of Paramātmā.

This verse describes his concentration. He placed his heart and sight on the Lord.

O remarkable Lord! It is hard to understand what quality you see in me that you are so merciful. Possessing sattva is not the cause of your mercy. What then to speak of a person possessing tamas? The devatās’ and sages’ minds are completely immersed in sattvic dharma, jñāna and austerity. We are immersed in adharma, ajñāna and material enjoyment. Ekatāna means “exclusive tendency” according to Amara-koṣa. And simply praising you is not a cause of your mercy. They praised you with streams of words, which were fresh, cool, sweet and pure like water, and which were embellished with ornaments and literary suggestions (puru-guṇaiḥ), but they were not able to make the you satisfied (ārādhayitum) with them. You are satisfied with me though I am born in a family possessing great tamas (ugra-jāteḥ).

You are not pleased by offerings of great wealth or other things. You are not pleased with birth in a good family (abhijana), strength of the senses (ojas), splendor (tejas), power (prabhāva), exertion (pauruṣa), or karma, jñāna or aṣṭāḍga-yoga. How can I satisfy you? By bhakti the Lord was satisfied. The past tense is used to indicate that one need not search out any further proof. This is your nature. Also the extraordinary power of bhakti is indicated. I have a trace of bhakti by the mercy of Nārada, and this must please you.

What else needs to be said? One should consider absence or presence of bhakti. I consider a dog-eater superior to a brāhmaṇa without bhakti, what to speak of kṣatriyas and others, even if endowed with the twelve items mentioned in the previous verse. What to speak of the brāhmaṇa with only seven or eight, or three or four of those items. And what to speak of a brāhmaṇa with none of those qualifies. Or the twelve qualities can be those mentioned in Sanat-sujāta:

Jñānañ ca satyañ ca damaḥ śrutañ ca,

hy amātsaryaṁ hrīs titikṣānasūyā

yajñaś ca dānañ ca dhṛtiḥ śamaś ca

mahāvratā dvādaśa brāhmaṇasya

The twelve vows of a brāhmaṇa are knowledge, truth, mind control, sense control, hearing, disinterestedness, shyness, tolerance, lack of envy, sacrifice, charity, fortitude, and peacefulness.

The dog-eater with bhakti is far superior. The verse specifically speaks of a brāhmaṇa who is averse to the lotus feet of the Lord. The dog-eater who has offered his mind, actions (īhitam), wealth (artha), words and life to the Lord is superior. How is he superior? He purifies his whole family whereas a person who is respected by the people does not purify even himself, what to speak of his family. Śrīdhara Svāmī says that these qualities without bhakti produce only pride.

“Then respecting me by hearing, chanting and offerings is bhakti. I am pleased with that, and not by austerity or study of the Vedas. If that is so, it means that I am self-centered.” That is not so. You, the Lord, do not accept respect from an ignorant person for yourself. Everyone from Brahmā to the tree is ignorant. No righteous person accepts respect from a person devoid of knowledge of scripture. It is said that the quality of knowledge in a person is the cause of accepting his respect. And a certain quality fixed in you is a cause of accepting that person’s respect. You are complete in your own attainments, but merciful. Thus you accept the respect of an ignorant person. Why do you accept? You accept to show mercy to him. Your accepting his respect is your quality of mercy, which is fixed in you. That is the cause. You do not gain by the respect given by any material person, but the giver of respect gains. Whatever worship a person offers to the Lord is beneficial for that person, just as the beauty of tilaka on the face is reflected in a beautiful image on a mirror. Beautifying a reflection does not produce a beautiful reflection.

Since you are pleased by bhakti, and not by good birth or wealth, and since respecting you is beneficial for me, I will praise your glories, though I am low born. By describing your glories a person who has entered the torment of saṁsāra can purify himself, and then liberate himself.

We demons are not devotees. We are unfortunate in this world. Others are all your devotees and are fortunate. All the devatās carry out your orders. They are your servants. But we demons are not. We are fearful becomes of our inimical natures. For the preservation and flourishing of the universe and your devotee, and for your own pleasure, you have performed the pastime of killing the demon.

Since you have protected the world, give up your anger. “How is it good for the world, if one gains happiness by another’s suffering?” Even good people take pleasure in killing a scorpion or snake because it gives suffering to others. Because of this principle it is not wrong to rejoice at the demon’s death. People are now aware of you (pratiyanti) as the punisher of sinners and protector of the righteous. Such an appearance is not necessary again. They remember this form for removing fear. This means “After this, just by remembering this form, the demons become frightened and die.”

Though I am born in a demonic family, I do not fear you as I fear the demons. I am not afraid of this form of yours—with fierce face, tongue, eyes like the sun, the pride in your brow, your sharp teeth, a garland of intestines, your bloody mane, and ears pointing upwards stiffly. I am not afraid of that form from which elephants flee on hearing it roar and which has nails whose tips pierce the enemy.

I am afraid of the bad association which produces aversion to you. I am afraid of the violence of the fierce wheel of saṁsāra, intolerable because it is filled with hatred and criticism of you. Prahlāda here indicates that he is not afraid of ordinary saṁsāra, for he will later say:

naivodvije para duratyaya vaitaraṇyās

tvad-vīrya-gāyana-mahāmṛta-magna-cittaḥ

O best of the great personalities, I am not at all afraid of material existence, for wherever I stay I am fully absorbed in thoughts of your glories and activities. SB 7.9.43

This is because I have been thrown among the demons who desire to eat me, since I am your devotee. “Did I throw you there?” No, I am bound by my karmas. Therefore when will you be pleased and call me to massage your lotus feet, which are the shelter giving release from saṁsāra?

“What will you do by serving my feet? Please enjoy the happiness from the wealth of the three worlds related to the Pitṛs.” I experience the fire of lamentation through birth, with separation and attainment of wanted and unwanted objects in all wombs. Even in the body of a king, this lamentation is present. “There are many remedies for the fire of lamentation.” The remedy for suffering only produces more suffering. By thinking that still I am happy (atad-dhiyā), even in a body of a pig, I wander about. Please tell me the method (yoga) of being your servant. By which method should I attain your service? Please tell the truth. If I have service to you, I will have no suffering at all in any womb.

“Though you attain service to me, still you should seek out some other solution for the miseries of material life.” Prahlāda reveals some anger and pride. Your pure devotee (saḥ) is famous as a servant of Nārada. I, Prahlāda, do not accept jñāna or karma like others, even in my dreams. Chanting your pastimes, I surpass the guṇas. If I have surpassed the guṇas, what is the question of the so-called suffering or the solution for suffering? “But one sees suffering in devotees also.” I will quickly completely cross (titarmi) over the pain of separation from you (durgāṇi). Attaining direct service to you will not be delayed long because of the mercy from chanting about you. I will associate with your associates whose abodes are the lotuses of your feet, and they will bring me to you. Brahmā has also glorified you. Since these topics are authorized by him, there is definite value for anyone in chanting your glories. You are the master of the devotees having mādhurya-rasa (priyasya), sakhya-rasa (suhṛdaḥ) and dāsya-rasa (paradevatāyāh), like me.

Without you, no remedy for suffering is successful. Mother and father are not protectors of a child, since one sees that a child suffers even if they protect him. Sometimes they even try to kill their children as in the case of Ajīgarta (who sold his son Śunaśepa as a human sacrifice). Medicine is no protection for sick person, since even persons who take medicine die. A boat is not a shelter for a person drowning in the ocean, for one sees the boat also sink. Thus suffering persons who by their desire do not recognize you do not obtain a solution to their problems by their remedies. Tāvat is only ornamental.

When parents act as protectors, they are nothing but your form. Whatever recent persons or ancient persons like Brahmā perform, is your form (svarūpa), but in the form of your māyā-śakti, not your real svarūpa. The place of action, the cause, the time of action, the cause, the reason, the relationship with others involved, the source of the action, the recipient of the action, the performer of action, what is produced, as well as how he does it----- these define the action in detail. That person with individual guṇas like sattva (pṛthak-svabhāvaḥ) which arise from you who are without guṇas produces or transforms objects. But those persons and the objects themselves are all the form of the Lord.

“If I am the form of everything, then I am also saṁsāra. Why then do you want liberation from my form of saṁsāra?” This is answered in two verses. Māyā, your external energy, creates the subtle body, the covering on the jīva, made of mind, mahat-tattva and other elements. She makes mundane and Vedic activities, made of māyā. These are difficult to overcome (balīyaḥ). She has guṇas which are agitated by the glance (anumatena) of the Lord’s expansion (puṁsaḥ). Chandomayam means “made of desires.” Amara-koṣa says that chanda means verses and desire. This becomes the wheel of saṁsāra with sixteen transformations (arā) taking shelter of avidyā (ajayā). Who can overcome it? Those separate from you, those who do not worship you (tvad-anyaḥ), cannot overcome it. Your pure devotees however can overcome it.

Because māyā is your energy, the wheel of saṁsāra made of māyā is also you. However, it is different from you svarūpa-śakti. Therefore free me from it, and take me to your feet in the spiritual world. Though māyā creates the material subtle body for the jīva, you conquer the material guṇas in the intelligence of the jīva by your svarūpa-śakti (sva-dhāmnā). You are time, which agitates the guṇas. You remove ignorance (visarga-śakti) in the subtle body of the jīva, the effect of māyā (vaśi-kṛta-viṣrjya). Bring the person being squeezed like a piece of sugar cane near to you.

I do not see anyone except you who possesses power. He to whom I surrender will deliver me from saṁsāra. I have seen the wealth, power (vibhavaḥ) and life span of the devatās in heaven, who were destroyed just by the movement of my father’s eyebrow raised in mockery. But he was destroyed by you. I recognize you as the Supreme Lord because of your extraordinary power.

“So what do you want?” Since my father, possessing such power and wealth, was destroyed, I do not want objects of enjoyment (āśiṣaḥ), knowledge to attain those objects which is actually ignorance, pleasure of the senses, and even the enjoyment of Brahmā, since these are destroyed by time. I know that being at the side of your servant is the best.

“What is this? Everyone desires enjoyment and power.” Everyone is ignorant. Objects like a kingdom give happiness by seeing them only, like a mirage, or give happiness by hearing about them only, since they actually do not give a drop of happiness, because of worry, calamities, attachment, hatred, envy and competition. Even if there is happiness, it is the greatest suffering because of inability to enjoy it, since the body is a place of disease. Knowing the nature of this happiness, a person pacifies the fire of desire by a drop of happiness, attained with difficulty, but the fire again springs up. And he does not become detached from it.

Even though there is no one as low as I, you have made me the greatest. How can I describe the greatness of your mercy? You put your lotus hand on my head, and not on the head of Brahmā, Śiva or Lakṣmī.

You do not consider high or low in giving your mercy. Brahmā is high and I am low. You do not have a conception of higher or lower natures, like other persons (jantoḥ) because you are the friend of the universe. “Then, should I be merciful everywhere, at all times?” Just as a desire tree gives fruit according to one’s desire, and not a different fruit, you give results according to the degree of service arising by your mercy, not based on the high or low birth of the jīva. The cause is the degree of mercy.

“You have said that service to me is the cause of my mercy to you. You have excluded favoritism by the example of the desire tree. But what is the cause of this service?” Following persons with concepts of high and low, filled with all desires, who have fallen in the material snake hole, I have also fallen in by their association. I have been accepted by Nārada who has made me his own possession. “Let this jīva me mine!” By force he has taken me by the hand, brought me near to him, taught me the king of mantras, and had me serve him. Having fallen in the hole of saṁsāra, I have now become your devotee. Without his mercy this was not possible. How can I give up service to my guru, your servant? The karmīs and jñānīs, on attaining their goal, give up the sādhana. I cannot be like that. On the path of bhakti, when the sādhana gives result, devotees who attained the Lord such as Dhruva still had a desire for sādhana of associating with devotees and other processes.

bhaktiṁ muhuḥ pravahatāṁ tvayi me prasaḍgo

bhūyād ananta mahatām amalāśayānām

yenāñjasolbaṇam uru-vyasanaṁ bhavābdhiṁ

neṣye bhavad-guṇa-kathāmṛta-pāna-mattaḥ

O unlimited Lord! May I always have the association of great devotees with pure hearts who perform bhakti to you! By this association, intoxicated from drinking the nectar of your pastimes and qualities, I shall easily combat the ocean of material existence full of terrible suffering. SB 4.9.11

dṛṣṭaṁ tavāḍghri-yugalaṁ janatāpavargaṁ

brahmādibhir hṛdi vicintyam agādha-bodhaiḥ

saṁsāra-kūpa-patitottaraṇāvalambaṁ

dhyāyaṁś carāmy anugṛhāṇa yathā smṛtiḥ syāt

Now I have seen your feet, which grant liberation to your devotees, which even Lord Brahmā and other great personalities of unfathomable intelligence can only meditate upon within their hearts, and which those who have fallen into the well of material existence resort to for deliverance. Please favor me so that I may constantly think of you as I travel about. Please grant me the power to remember you. SB 10.69.18

Considering this, I pray that you take me to the side of your servant (stated in verse 24).

Since you are under the control of your devotee, your mercy to people simply follows the mercy of the devotee. You are not merciful to those who do not take shelter of the devotees. I am not an exception. By the request of your devotee you are merciful to all. That is expressed in this verse.

I think you killed my father to make the words of Nārada come true. When my mother prayed to Nārada he gave the blessing “Your son will create good fortune by destroying the demons.”

ṛṣiṁ paryacarat tatra bhaktyā paramayā satī

antarvatnī sva-garbhasya kṣemāyecchā-prasūtaye

My pregnant mother, desiring auspiciousness of the child and delivery after the arrival of her husband, rendered service unto Nārada with great devotion. SB 7.7.14

ṛṣiḥ kāruṇikas tasyāḥ

prādād ubhayam īśvaraḥ

The merciful, capable, Nārada, gave auspiciousness to her child and granted delivery after the arrival of her husband. SB 7.7.15

I think you protected my since my father, desiring to kill me, said “I will cut off your head.” Just as you protected me from the snakes and elephants, it was not possible for him to kill me by his hand. You killed him. Though the Lord is equal everywhere, he has the quality of being controlled by his devotee (Nārada). This is what Prahlāda indicates.

The protection of the devotees who are beyond the guṇas, by you who are beyond the guṇas, is also beyond the guṇas. The creation, maintenance and destruction of the material universe are accomplished by you, who are unaffected. The universe is you, since you are its cause.

You are seen by the intelligent to be different from the universe with beginning, middle and end. Why do people not see this? Having created this universe made of transformations of the guṇas by your māyā, which is different from your svarūpa-śakti, you enter it. Because of the guṇas, you are perceived as the destroyer, protector or creator (nānā). Actually however tamoguṇa is the destroyer, sattvaguṇa is the maintainer, and rajoguṇa is the creator, since you enter while remaining untouched by the guṇas. You are designated as the destroyer, creator and maintainer, but you are not.

“Though the universe is māyā, since māyā is my śakti, if there is irregularity in the world, will that not mean irregularity in me?” It is true that you are the effect (sat) and the cause (asat) of the universe since you are the cause of pradhāna. The universe is not different from you. But you are different (anyaḥ) since you do not have beginning and end. But the conception that “this is my friend and this is my enemy” is ignorance (māyā), made of the jīva’s ignorance. This is false (apārthāḥ). Having shown that the cause is not different from the effect, an example is given to defeat the idea that the Lord has defects if the universe has defects. That from which creation and manifestation take place, that in which destruction and maintenance take place, is like the seed of the tree. The seed is the cause and the tree is the effect. Vasu refers to the sense object and kāla refers to the earth since the normal color of earth is black (kāla). The cause and effect or the seed and the tree are like the smell and the earth. Thus the universe with cause and effect has the Supreme Lord and pradhāna. The meaning is this. From smell comes earth. From the seed comes the tree. From the Lord comes pradhāna. From pradhāna comes mahat-tattva. From this come the devatās, animals and others. Just as the one sense object fragrance contains all cause and effects (products of earth), you alone are the cause and effect of all beings.

tad ananyatvam ārambhaṇa-śabdādibhyaḥ

The world is non-different from the Lord (tat). This is stated starting from the word ārambhaṇa in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad. Vedānta-sūtra 2.1.14

vācārambhaṇaṁ vikāro nāmadheyaṁ mṛttikety eva satyam

The name comes from the object called “clay” just as objects made of clay come from clay. The clay is real and the objects are real. Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.2.1

Just as there is no inequality of fragrance, the cause of earth, though there is inequality in the material objects like stone and wood made of earth, there is no inequality in the Lord, though there is inequality in the world produced by him.

Five verses elaborate on the Lord as the cause of the universe, being situated as its beginning, middle and end. Placing the world in yourself, you sleep in the indestructible water, the Kāraṇa ocean. You experience happiness by your svarūpa-śakti (ātmanā), without desire for the pastimes of māyā (nirīhaḥ). “Do I sleep covered by tamo-guṇa like the jīva?” No. Sleep is defined as complete absence of external functioning. You prevent sleep by your manifestation of your svarūpa with closed eyes through yoga, since you are situated in the fourth state in your svarūpa. You do not accept deep sleep of tamas like the jīva. Nor do you accept the sense objects of the waking or dream state.

At the beginning of creation, stimulated by your time energy, this universe, your body, possessing the guṇas of prakṛti, which was merged in you, becomes manifest from prakṛti. Then, from the navel of the Lord lying on Ananta in the Garbhodaka Ocean, who had given up his sleep, arose a huge lotus, like a huge banyan tree arising from a small seed.

Brahmā, arising from the lotus, was not able to see anything else. Considering that you, who are spread within him as the material cause by your śakti, were outside of him, he could not find you after searching for a hundred years. The reasoning is this. Oh! When a seed sprouts, how can one perceive the seed which still exists in the spout? But one can perceive the seed at the base. Even though the lotus sprout is destroyed, it is seen that the seed still remains. But Brahmā could not go to the root.

He gave up searching and sat on the lotus. By meditation on you (tīvra-tapasā), he saw you situated in his body (ātmani), just as fragrance (cause) is situated in earth (effect).

By that method Brahmā saw the maha-puruṣa, a form of knowledge and bliss, since it was made of eternal energy arising from his svarūpa (māyā-mayam), endowed with unlimited faces, etc. Śruti says ato māyāmayaṁ viṣṇuṁ pravadanti manīṣiṇaḥ: the wise say that Viṣṇu is called māyāmayam. Or māyāmayam can mean “one who destroys the disease of avidyā in the jīva.” The arrangement of the Lord’s limbs (sanniveśam) was marked by auspicious signs (sat-upalakṣita). Or his limbs such as feet were represented by Pātāla and other planets (sat), since the cause and effect are one. Seeing that vairāja form which was spiritual, he became blissful.

You should appear again and protect your devotee. Taking the form of Hayagrīva, you killed the demons Madhu and Kaiṭabha, filled with rajas and tamas, and offered (anayat) the Vedas to Brahmā. You kill them because you are sattva. Though sattva guṇa is not dear to the Lord since the Lord is indifferent to all guṇas, since it is seen that sattva is not unfavorable to the Lord’s form of śuddha-sattva, it is said here to be dearest to the Lord, though actually it is not dearest to him. To show favor to persons in sattva-guṇa, such regard is given. Therefore to protect the righteous and punish the sinful is only the nature of the guṇas. It does not show the quality of inequality in you.

Just as Hayagrīva appeared for Brahmā, other avatāras have appeared for other devotees. You protect the planets and destroy those who torment the world. You appear yuga after yuga. Since you are covered in Kali-yuga, you are called Tri-yuga. You are covered because externally you show a different form and mood. You are well known in the other three yugas but not in Kali-yuga. Later the conclusion will explained with the meaning of channa taken from other verses: nānātantra-vidhānena kalāv api tathā śṛṇu (SB 11.5.31) and kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ sāḍgopāḍgāstra-pārṣadam yajñaiḥ saḍkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ (SB 11.5.32)

Constantly appearing, you shower the nectar of your form, qualities and pastimes. But my sinful mind does not take pleasure in this. It has fallen in the hole of material enjoyment. What shall I do? This is expressed in three verses.

My mind does not take pleasure in topics of your form, qualities and pastimes. “Why do you not enjoy these tasty topics?” The mind is spoiled by sin, just as the tongue is spoiled by jaundice and cannot taste sweetness. It is hard to control (tīvram). How can I understand the truth (gatim) about you in this mind having desire for wealth? Prahlāda’s mind is not actually like this, but this attitude arises from humility in the variegated waves of prema. He will say later in this chapter tvad-vīrya-gāyana-mahāmṛta-magna-cittaḥ: I am fully absorbed in thoughts of your glories and activities (verse 43). For the person with prema, even liberation is not contrary.

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“Though the mind is wicked, still people become successful by chanting my glories.” Though my tongue for speaking and tasting is unsatisfied, it pulls me. O Acyuta! It is attracted to talking about material subjects and lies, and sweet and other of the six tastes. The other senses pull me elsewhere, to women, to earning wealth, to beating others. Śaktiḥ means capacity. They destroy. Thus I have no time for chanting.

Not only me, but all people are suffering in saṁsāra. He prays for their deliverance. The people have fallen in saṁsāra with the river leading to hell (vaitaraṇyām). They quarrel with others and their own family and make friends and enemies of them. O Lord who can help us cross the Vaitaraṇī River! Because you have this nature, save them and take them over the Vaitaraṇī by your mercy (hanta).

“How can I alone deliver all people?” You are the guru of all beings. Therefore, all people should be delivered, since it is possible for you alone, who take the form of guru, to expand yourself into billions of forms. You should not say you do not have that ability. If you are the cause of the creation, maintenance and destruction of the universe, you should be the cause of delivering everyone. That is your duty. You are most compassionate to the foolish. “I will deliver you and those related to you. But do not be stubborn!” Why should I talk of your delivering us, since we will simply serve your devotees? We will be delivered automatically from the power of serving your devotee.

But I do not pray for deliverance from saṁsāra for my self. O Supreme Lord, the best among all! I am not disturbed by Vaitaraṇī, the river of hell, because I am absorbed in the great ocean of chanting your glories. But I lament for the fools who carry the burden of family and ornaments to get material happiness from sense objects.

“Please accept liberation. The sages with knowledge will teach you the process of liberation.” The sages act for liberation but I do not want to be like that. I do not desire liberation. Other than you, I do not see anyone as a shelter

“The people will be happy by enjoying women, and in that way become free of misery.” But rubbing the hands together to relieve itching causes the suffering to increase. “Then they should become disgusted and become liberated.” Though these lusty people (kṛpaṇaḥ) receive plenty of suffering, they do not think that it is impossible to be satisfied with the happiness household life (iha), which is another form of suffering. “But one sees that some of them become disgusted.” That is true. A person who becomes wise by your mercy tolerates the lust born of the mind, which is suffering itself.

“Brāhmaṇas gain perfection by liberation, through practices for liberation such as observing silence.” O Lord! Paramātmā! What can I reveal to you? You know everything. There are ten famous causes of liberation mentioned. Rahaḥ means living alone. If they have uncontrolled senses however, their endeavors become means of livelihood for gaining sense enjoyment. The endeavor sometimes becomes the occupation of the imposter. However, it is not a set rule that all will become imposters.

You cannot be attained by silence or other practices if they are without bhakti. Cause and effect, like seed and sprout, flowing from one to the other, the total and individual forms,1 are your two forms. This universe as a total and as a part is not different from you (na anyat). You do not have a material form (arūpasya). Those with intelligence (yuktāḥ) search to attain you as both the whole and the part, since you are their final cause. They search by bhakti-yoga not by other processes like jñāna. Bhaktyāham ekayā grāhya: I am only achieved by bhakti. (SB 11.14.21) In the case of fire, it is revealed by rubbing (yogena).

This explains further. Hṛdayam means mind. Cit means citta. Anugrahaḥ means one who favors. This means the devatās. You are the gross (saguṇaḥ) and the subtle (viguṇaḥ). What is revealed by mind and words is only you.

Knowledge will manifest by bhakti to you and not by study of scriptures, intelligence and skill. If these persons do not know you, then how will the ordinary jīvas know you after considering all things by mind, intelligence, study and teachings of scripture? After considering this, the wise have given up all these methods. Śruti says kim arthā vayam adhyeṣyāmahe kim arthā vayaṁ vakṣyāmahe: What meaning will we understand and what meaning shall we speak? Nānudhyāyed bahūn śabdān vāco viglāpanaṁ hi tat: do not contemplate many words; it gives merely fatigue from speaking. (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.7.21) Smṛti says:

yadā te mohakalilaṁ buddhirvyatitariṣyati

tadā gantāsi nirvedaṁ śrātavyasya śrutasya ca

When your intelligence has completely crossed the denseness of illusion, you will be indifferent to all that has been heard and all that will be heard. BG 2.52

This summarizes his prayers. Since one cannot know you by study and other methods, giving up efforts to know you, one should strive to perform sādhana for prema to you. This is the essence of all human goals. O Lord most worthy of worship! Offering respects to you, offering praises, deity worship, menial services to you, remembering your lotus feet, hearing about you—without these these six aḍgas of bhakti, how can one attain prema? Without these, one cannot attain prema to you, who award liberation to the jñānīs (parama-haṁsa-gatau). By bhakti-miśra-jñāna, they attain liberation only. Therefore, since it the root of all success, give everyone service of the six aḍgas which will produce prema. If that is difficult, then give them liberation, and free them from suffering in saṁsāra. But I have been successful in service to your devotee. I do not worry.

Nirguṇaḥ means without material qualities. Prahlāda praised Nṛsiṁha’s spiritual qualities like mercy. Nṛsiṁha had uncontrollable anger that Prahlāda’s father was attacking him. He gave up that anger on seeing the bliss of Prahlāda.

Please ask for a benediction. What reservation can there be in the Lord who has affection for his servant, and is the pinnacle of generosity? I am full of men’s aspirations, one of which you can ask from me. I exist as a river of all goals of human endeavors, and I possess liberation as one of those. It should be understood that the jīvas of whom Prahlāda was thinking would be liberated at that time, but because of the infinite number of jīvas, the universe would then become full of other jīvas.

Aprīṇataḥ means be aprīṇayatah (who do not please me). One who sees me will not lament for unfulfilled desires.

Prīṇanti should be prīṇayanti (they please me.) Or if prīṇanti is accepted literally then the meaning is “they are satisfied with me in all types of rasas.”

He did not want those things because he was fully dedicated to the Lord. Such a person does not want any material benediction.

Thus ends the commentary on the Ninth Chapter of the Seventh Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas.