Texts 3-4
kopāveśa-calad-gātraḥ
putraṁ hantuṁ mano dadhe
kṣiptvā paruṣayā vācā
prahrādam atad-arhaṇam
āhekṣamāṇaḥ pāpena
tiraścīnena cakṣuṣā
praśrayāvanataṁ dāntaṁ
baddhāñjalim avasthitam
sarpaḥ padāhata iva
śvasan prakṛti-dāruṇaḥ
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-añjalim — 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.
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.
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.”