Text 43
taṁ sarva-bhūtātma-bhūtaṁ
praśāntaṁ sama-darśanam
bhagavat-tejasā spṛṣṭaṁ
nāśaknod dhantum udyamaiḥ
tam — Him; sarva-bhūta-ātma-bhūtam — the soul in all entities; praśāntam — peaceful and without hatred, etc.; sama-darśanam — equal to everyone; bhagavat-tejasā — with the power of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; spṛṣṭam — protected; na — not; aśaknot — was able; hantum — to kill; udyamaiḥ — by great attempts and various weapons.
The Lord, the Supersoul of all living entities, is sober, peaceful and equal to everyone. Since the great devotee Prahlāda was protected by the Lord’s potency, Hiraṇyakaśipu was unable to kill him, in spite of endeavoring to do so in various ways.
In this verse the word sarva-bhūtātma-bhūtam is very significant. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati: the Lord is equally situated in the core of everyone’s heart. Thus He cannot be envious of anyone or friendly to anyone; for Him everyone is the same. Although He is sometimes seen to punish someone, this is exactly like a father’s punishing his child for the child’s welfare. The Supreme Lord’s punishment is also a manifestation of the Lord’s equality. Therefore the Lord is described as praśāntaṁ sama-darśanam. Although the Lord has to execute His will properly, He is equipoised in all circumstances. He is equally disposed toward everyone.