FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.8.18

स सत्त्वमेनं परितो विपश्यन् स्तम्भस्य मध्यादनुनिर्जिहानम् । नायं मृगो नापि नरो विचित्र- महो किमेतन्नृमृगेन्द्ररूपम् ॥ १८ ॥
sa sattvam enaṁ parito vipaśyan
[sa sattvam enam parito vipashyan]
stambhasya madhyād anunirjihānam
[stambhasya madhyaad anunirjihaanam]
nāyaṁ mṛgo nāpi naro vicitram
[naayam mrigo naapi naro vichitram]
aho kim etan nṛ-mṛgendra-rūpam
[aho kim etan nri-mrigendra-roopam]
saḥ — he (Hiraṇyakaśipu, the King of the Daityas) sattvam — living being enam — that paritaḥ — all around vipaśyan — looking stambhasya — of the pillar madhyāt — from the midst anunirjihānam — having come out na — not ayam — this mṛgaḥ — animal na — not api — indeed naraḥ — human being vicitram — very wonderful aho — alas kim — what etat — this nṛ-mṛga-indra-rūpam — the form of both a man and the king of the beasts, the lion.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sa sattvam enaṁ parito vipaśyan
saḥ
he (Hiraṇyakaśipu, the King of the Daityas)
sattvam
living being
enam
that
paritaḥ
all around
vipaśyan
looking
stambhasya madhyād anunirjihānam
stambhasya
of the pillar
madhyāt
from the midst
anunirjihānam
having come out
nāyaṁ mṛgo nāpi naro vicitram
na
not
ayam
this
mṛgaḥ
animal
na
not
api
indeed
naraḥ
human being
vicitram
very wonderful
aho kim etan nṛ-mṛgendra-rūpam
aho
alas
kim
what
etat
this
nṛ-mṛga-indra-rūpam
the form of both a man and the king of the beasts, the lion.
While Hiraṇyakaśipu looked all around to find the source of the sound, that wonderful form of the Lord, which could not be ascertained to be either a man or a lion, emerged from the pillar. In amazement, Hiraṇyakaśipu wondered, “What is this creature that is half man and half lion?”

A demon cannot calculate the unlimited potency of the Supreme Lord. As stated in the Vedas, parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca: the different potencies of the Lord are always working as an automatic exhibition of His knowledge. For a demon it is certainly wonderful that the form of a lion and the form of a man can be united, since a demon has no experience of the inconceivable power for which the Supreme Lord is called “all-powerful.” Demons cannot understand the omnipotence of the Lord. They simply compare the Lord to one of them ( avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam ). Mūḍhas, rascals, think that Kṛṣṇa is an ordinary human being who appears for the benefit of other human beings. Paraṁ bhāvam ajānantaḥ: fools, rascals and demons cannot realize the supreme potency of the Lord, but He can do anything and everything; indeed, He can do whatever He likes. When Hiraṇyakaśipu received benedictions from Lord Brahmā, he thought that he was safe, since he received the benediction that he would not be killed either by an animal or by a human being. He never thought that an animal and human being would be combined so that demons like him would be puzzled by such a form. This is the meaning of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s omnipotence.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Looking all around as the creature emerging from the pillar, Hiraṇyakaśipu thought, “This remarkable being is neither an animal nor a human. What is this man-lion form?” Looking all around the pillar at the being emerging from the pillar, he thought (verb is missing), “What is it?”
Hiraṇyakaśipu wonders — 'what is this half-lion, half-man?' The demonic mind cannot calculate the Lord's unlimited potencies; categories collapse in the face of revelation. Be wary of intellectual frameworks that cannot hold the Lord's actual appearance.
Reflection Questions
  • Which spiritual framework of yours is being stretched by something it cannot categorize?
  • How do you receive a revelation that defies your settled taxonomies?
📝 My note

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