By V. Krishnaswami Aiyar
“You ask me what Ananta can do? What is it that Ananta cannot do? Dharma, artha, kama and moksha are spoken of as the great purushaarthas. It is these that every man should strive for. Do you know from whom they are obtained? These four flow by Ananta”s grace. In brief, my Ananta is the Lord of the universe. He can do, undo, or destroy. He dwells in the heart of each one of us. He is the enjoyer and the thing enjoyed. He is the God supreme over all. I am but a boy; forgive me for presuming to teach you.”
“Beware, Prahlada,” they warned, “if you persist in your praise of Hari, we shall put an end to your life.”
“Who kills whom, dear Sirs, and who protects whom? It is the self that kills or saves, doing evil or doing good. Everything is born of karma; good karma alone is the means to prosperity. Therefore one should always do what is good.”
The black magicians got angry. They raised a fire and out of it came a demon who flew at Prahlada, thrusting the sharp point of his weapon into Prahlada”s chest. But it left no mark on him. Instead, it recoiled and snapped into a hundred splinters. What weapon can pierce a heart which treasures Hari, the Lord of all? In a rage, the demon turned on the men who had called him forth and killed them all.
Prahlada prayed to God: “O Thou, who is all this world! Save these poor men who did only what their King bade them do. By the truth that Thou art immanent in all that there is in this world, I pray to Thee, may these men come back to life! I bear no enmity even to my enemies; for I know Thou art in them all. Those who came to kill me, those who threw me into the fire, those who goaded the elephants against me, those who cast me amidst serpents, those who gave me poison-all these I look upon with a friendly eye. I see no evil in them. And so, I pray, may no mishap befall them! Let them all live.”
God granted Prahlada”s prayer. The men came back to life and blessed him. They went to the King and reported all that befell them.
Hiranyakasipu sent for his son. “Prahlada,” said he, “what is this that you have done? How did you accomplish it? Is it the effect of the mantras that you have learnt or is it a natural gift?”
Prahlada bent low before his father and replied: “Father, this is the effect of no mantra, nor was I born with this power. This power, Father, if you choose to call it so, is natural to those whose heart rests forever in Hari. He sins who does not think of the ills of others as his own. To think, to speak or to do evil to others recoils on oneself. I refrain from all evil to my fellow creatures in thought, word or act, for I worship in my heart the Lord who resides in all creatures. Knowing that Hari is present everywhere and in everything, the wise man will do nought but good to others.”
Hiranyakasipu could not stand this speech of his son any longer. “Throw him down a precipice,” he commanded, “let his limbs be crushed to pieces on the stones beneath.”
Then they took Prahlada to the top of a high cliff and hurled him down from that dizzy height. As he rolled down the cliff, he held his arm across his chest, padding his heart with his palm so that the God seated in it might not be hurt by his fall. As he reached the ground below, Mother Earth received him gently on her bosom for the sake of the Kesava, whom he carried within himself.
Defeated again in his purpose to bring about his son”s death, Hiranyakasipu desperately called for the teachers to take him back and to exercise all their power to erase all thought of Hari from the boy”s mind. Prahlada returned to his father after staying with his teachers for a while.
Hiranyakasipu began to test him about what he had learnt. “Tell me, my boy,” said he, “how should one deal with one”s friends, and how with one”s foes?”
Prahlada bowed to his father with due humility and replied, “Father, my teachers spoke to me of four ways of dealing with men. They called them saama, daana, bheda and danda. These are said to be the means to convert or conquer an enemy. But, in my view, they are all unnecessary. For, to my mind, no one is an enemy. My Jagannatha is all-pervasive. He resides in all things, living and lifeless. Then, how can anyone in whom my Govinda resides, be my enemy? The distinction of friend and foe loses its meaning, does it not?”
(To be concluded)
Dear children, let'sfind out how much you know about our national animal
1. National animal of India is
(a) Tiger ( )
(b) Lion ( )
2. Length of the national animal ranges between
(a) 2.6 to 2.9 mts ( )
(b) 3 to 3.1 mts ( )
3. Maximum life span of it is about
(a) 20 years ( )
(b) 30 years ( )
4. Images of it first appeared on
(a) Mohenjodaro seals ( )
(b) Harappan seals ( )
5. Goddess Kali's vahana is
(a) Lion ( )
(b) Tiger ( )
6. Reference regarding protection of it is in
(a) Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda ( )
(b) Sama Veda and Rig Veda ( )
7. Its hunting was banned in the year
(a) 1970 ( )
(b) 1972 ( )
8. Project Tiger was launched in
(a) 1973 ( )
(b) 1972 ( )
9. Number of Tiger Reserves in India are
(a) 25 ( )
(b) 23 ( )
Answers: 1(a); 2(a); 3(a); 4(b); 5(b); 6(a); 7(a); 8(a); 9(b)
