FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.8.31

नखाङ्कुरोत्पाटितहृत्सरोरुहं विसृज्य तस्यानुचरानुदायुधान् । अहन् समस्तान्नखशस्‍त्रपाणिभि- र्दोर्दण्डयूथोऽनुपथान् सहस्रश: ॥ ३१ ॥
nakhāṅkurotpāṭita-hṛt-saroruhaṁ
[nakhaankurotpaatita-hrit-saroruham]
visṛjya tasyānucarān udāyudhān
[visrijya tasyaanucharaan udaayudhaan]
ahan samastān nakha-śastra-pāṇibhir
[ahan samastaan nakha-shastra-paanibhir]
dordaṇḍa-yūtho ’nupathān sahasraśaḥ
[dordanda-yootho ’nupathaan sahasrashah]
nakha-aṅkura — by the pointed nails utpāṭita — torn out hṛt-saroruham — whose heart, which was like a lotus flower visṛjya — leaving aside tasya — of him anucarān — the followers (soldiers and bodyguards) udāyudhān — having raised weapons ahan — He killed samastān — all nakha-śastra-pāṇibhiḥ — with His nails and other weapons in His hands dordaṇḍa-yūthaḥ — having unlimited arms anupathān — the attendants of Hiraṇyakaśipu sahasraśaḥ — by thousands.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
nakhāṅkurotpāṭita-hṛt-saroruhaṁ
nakha-aṅkura
by the pointed nails
visṛjya tasyānucarān udāyudhān
ahan samastān nakha-śastra-pāṇibhir
dordaṇḍa-yūtho ’nupathān sahasraśaḥ
utpāṭita
torn out
hṛt-saroruham
whose heart, which was like a lotus flower
visṛjya
leaving aside
tasya
of him
anucarān
the followers (soldiers and bodyguards)
udāyudhān
having raised weapons
ahan
He killed
samastān
all
nakha-śastra-pāṇibhiḥ
with His nails and other weapons in His hands
dordaṇḍa-yūthaḥ
having unlimited arms
anupathān
the attendants of Hiraṇyakaśipu
sahasraśaḥ
by thousands.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who had many, many arms, first uprooted Hiraṇyakaśipu’s heart and then threw him aside and turned toward the demon’s soldiers. These soldiers had come in thousands to fight with Him with raised weapons and were very faithful followers of Hiraṇyakaśipu, but Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva killed all of them merely with the ends of His nails.

Since the creation of the material world, there have been two kinds of men — the devas and the asuras. The devas are always faithful to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whereas the asuras are always atheists who defy the supremacy of the Lord. At the present moment, throughout the entire world, the atheists are extremely numerous. They are trying to prove that there is no God and that everything takes place due to combinations and permutations of material elements. Thus the material world is becoming more and more godless, and consequently everything is in a disturbed condition. If this continues, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will certainly take action, as He did in the case of Hiraṇyakaśipu. Within a second, Hiraṇyakaśipu and his followers were destroyed, and similarly if this godless civilization continues, it will be destroyed in a second, simply by the movement of one finger of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The demons should therefore be careful and curtail their godless civilization. They should take advantage of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and become faithful to the Supreme Personality of Godhead; otherwise they are doomed. As Hiraṇyakaśipu was killed in a second, the godless civilization can be destroyed at any moment.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Leaving aside the demon whose heart was uprooted by his nails, the Lord, armed with his phalanxes of arms, killed his all followers by the thousands, using his nails and weapons. Hiraṇyakaśipu’s lotus heart was uprooted by the buds of the Lord’s nails. The Lord thought “I was living happily in his heart, but how did this unfortunate person make anger and hatred live there as well?” He pulled out his heart as if to inspect it. He used the buds of his nails in order not to damage the lotus of his heart. The Lord had groups of arms. Anupathān means followers.
The many-armed Lord uproots Hiraṇyakaśipu's heart, throws him aside, and kills the entire faithful demonic army with the tips of His nails. Demons exist always; the Lord can dispatch thousands with a fingernail. Scale does not impress the Source.
Reflection Questions
  • Where do you over-fear an 'army' that is, to the Lord, a fingernail's work?
  • How could this image change how you face overwhelming opposition?
📝 My note

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