Prahlada Stuti

Verse 1

ब्रह्मादयः सुरगणा मुनयोऽथ सिद्धाः सत्त्वैकतानगतयो वचसां प्रवाहैः । नाराधितुं पुरुगुणैरधुनापि पिप्रुः किं तोष्टुमर्हति स मे हरिरुग्रजातेः ॥

brahmādayaḥ sura-gaṇā munayo'tha siddhāḥ sattvaika-tāna-gatayo vacasāṁ pravāhaiḥ | nārādhituṁ puru-guṇair adhunāpi piprṛḥ kiṁ toṣṭum arhati sa me harir ugra-jāteḥ ||

Even Brahma and the host of devas, the silent munis and the perfected siddhas — masters of pure-sattva speech — could not, even now, fully please him with their many virtues. Then how shall I, born of a fierce demon-lineage, hope to satisfy that Hari?

Bhāgavata 7.9.8 — Prahlada's opening declaration of inadequacy.

Verse 2

मन्ये धनाभिजनरूपतपःश्रुतौजस्- तेजःप्रभाव-बल-पौरुष-बुद्धि-योगाः । नाराधनाय हि भवन्ति परस्य पुंसो भक्त्या तुतोष भगवान् गजयूथपाय ॥

manye dhanābhijana-rūpa-tapaḥ-śrutaujas- tejaḥ-prabhāva-bala-pauruṣa-buddhi-yogāḥ | nārādhanāya hi bhavanti parasya puṁso bhaktyā tutoṣa bhagavān gaja-yūthapāya ||

Wealth, lineage, beauty, austerity, scholarship, vital strength, splendor, influence, prowess, valor, intellect, even yoga — none of these by themselves can please the Supreme Person. By bhakti alone the Lord was satisfied — for the king of elephants (Gajendra).

Bhāgavata 7.9.9 — bhakti above every worldly qualification.

Verse 3

विप्राद्द्विषड्गुणयुतादरविन्दनाभ- पादारविन्दविमुखात्श्वपचं वरिष्ठम् । मन्ये तदर्पितमनोवचनेहितार्थ- प्राणं पुनाति स कुलं न तु भूरिमानः ॥

viprād dvi-ṣaḍ-guṇa-yutād aravinda-nābha- pādāravinda-vimukhāt śvapacaṁ variṣṭham | manye tad-arpita-mano-vacanehitārtha- prāṇaṁ punāti sa kulaṁ na tu bhūri-mānaḥ ||

More worthy than a brāhmaṇa endowed with the twelve virtues but turned away from the lotus-feet of him whose navel bears the lotus, I consider the cāṇḍāla who has surrendered to him his mind, speech, deeds, wealth, and very life — he sanctifies his entire lineage; not so the proud one of high birth.

Bhāgavata 7.9.10 — the most-cited verse on bhakti's universality.

Verse 4

नैवात्मनः प्रभुरयं निजलाभपूर्णो मानं जनादविदुषः करुणो वृणीते । यद्यज्जनो भगवते विदधीत मानं तच्चात्मने प्रतिमुखस्य यथा मुखश्रीः ॥

naivātmanaḥ prabhur ayaṁ nija-lābha-pūrṇo mānaṁ janād aviduṣaḥ karuṇo vṛṇīte | yad yaj jano bhagavate vidadhīta mānaṁ tac cātmane pratimukhasya yathā mukha-śrīḥ ||

This Lord, complete in his own being, has no need of honour from the unenlightened; out of compassion he accepts it. Whatever honour a devotee offers to the Bhagavān, that returns to himself — as the beauty of one's own face shines back from a mirror.

Bhāgavata 7.9.11.

Verse 5

तस्मादहं विगतविक्लव ईश्वरस्य सर्वात्मना महि गृणामि यथा मनीषम् । नीचोऽजया गुणविसर्गमनुप्रविष्टः पूयेत येन हि पुमाननुवर्णितेन ॥

tasmād ahaṁ vigata-viklava īśvarasya sarvātmanā mahi gṛṇāmi yathā manīṣam | nīco'jayā guṇa-visargam anupraviṣṭaḥ pūyeta yena hi pumān anuvarṇitena ||

Therefore, free of trembling, with all my being I sing — as my understanding allows — the greatness of the Lord. By that very singing, even one fallen low and entered into the play of the guṇas through māyā becomes purified.

Bhāgavata 7.9.12 — Prahlada's resolution to praise.

Verse 6

त्रस्ता वयं त्वदुरुगायविषादिग्धमुखाद् भीताः पलायनपरा नवथुर्न लोकाः । यस्मात्ते स्थाणुरचलोऽतिनिगूढधारः त्वत्पादपद्मयुगलं शरणं प्रपन्नाः ॥

trastā vayaṁ tvad-uru-gāya-viṣa-digdha-mukhād bhītāḥ palāyana-parā navathur na lokāḥ | yasmāt te sthāṇur acalo'ti-nigūḍha-dhāraḥ tvat-pāda-padma-yugalaṁ śaraṇaṁ prapannāḥ ||

We are afraid, fled in terror, of your face that drips with the venom-tipped fangs of your great roar — yet the worlds do not perish, for your two lotus-feet, immovable as a pillar, hold us. To them we have come for refuge.

A loose rendering of the prapatti-verses of the chapter; bhāva preserved.

Verse 7

नैवोद्विजे पर दुरत्ययवैतरण्यास् त्वद्वीर्यगायनमहामृतमग्नचित्तः । शोचे ततो विमुखचेतस इन्द्रियार्थ- मायासुखाय भरमुद्वहतो विमूढान् ॥

naivodvije para duratyaya-vaitaraṇyās tvad-vīrya-gāyana-mahāmṛta-magna-cittaḥ | śoce tato vimukha-cetasa indriyārtha- māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān ||

I do not fear, O Supreme, even the impassable Vaitaraṇī — my mind is drowned in the vast nectar of singing your prowess. I grieve only for the deluded, whose minds are turned away from you, who carry the heavy burden for the sake of the illusory pleasures of the senses.

Bhāgavata 7.9.43 — the celebrated verse in which Prahlada says he weeps not for himself but for the world.

Verse 8

प्रायेण देव मुनयः स्वविमुक्तिकामा मौनं चरन्ति विजने न परार्थनिष्ठाः । नैतान् विहाय कृपणान् विमुमुक्ष एको नान्यं त्वदस्य शरणं भ्रमतोऽनुपश्ये ॥

prāyeṇa deva munayaḥ sva-vimukti-kāmā maunaṁ caranti vijane na parārtha-niṣṭhāḥ | naitān vihāya kṛpaṇān vimumukṣa eko nānyaṁ tvad asya śaraṇaṁ bhramato'nupaśye ||

Most sages, O Lord, desiring their own liberation, walk in silence in solitude, not committed to others' welfare. I cannot abandon these wretched ones and seek liberation alone — and for the world that wanders, I see no refuge other than you.

Bhāgavata 7.9.44 — Prahlada's bodhisattva-like vow.