FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.2

साक्षात् श्री: प्रेषिता देवैर्द‍ृष्ट्वा तं महदद्भ‍ुतम् । अदृष्टाश्रुतपूर्वत्वात् सा नोपेयाय शङ्किता ॥ २ ॥
sākṣāt śrīḥ preṣitā devair
[saakshaat shreeh preshitaa devair]
dṛṣṭvā taṁ mahad adbhutam
[drishtvaa tam mahad adbhutam]
adṛṣṭāśruta-pūrvatvāt
[adrishtaashruta-poorvatvaat]
sā nopeyāya śaṅkitā
[saa nopeyaaya shankitaa]
sākṣāt — directly śrīḥ — the goddess of fortune preṣitā — being requested to go forward before the Lord devaiḥ — by all the demigods (headed by Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva) dṛṣṭvā — after seeing tam — Him (Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva) mahat — very big adbhutam — wonderful adṛṣṭa — never seen aśruta — never heard of pūrvatvāt — due to being previously sā — the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī na — not upeyāya — went before the Lord śaṅkitā — being very much afraid.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sākṣāt śrīḥ preṣitā devair
sākṣāt
directly
śrīḥ
the goddess of fortune
preṣitā
being requested to go forward before the Lord
devaiḥ
by all the demigods (headed by Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva)
dṛṣṭvā taṁ mahad adbhutam
dṛṣṭvā
after seeing
tam
Him (Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva)
mahat
very big
adbhutam
wonderful
adṛṣṭa
never seen
adṛṣṭāśruta-pūrvatvāt
aśruta
never heard of
pūrvatvāt
due to being previously
sā nopeyāya śaṅkitā
sā
the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī
na
not
upeyāya
went before the Lord
śaṅkitā
being very much afraid.
The goddess of fortune, Lakṣmījī, was requested to go before the Lord by all the demigods present, who because of fear could not do so. But even she had never seen such a wonderful and extraordinary form of the Lord, and thus she could not approach Him.

The Lord has unlimited forms and bodily features ( advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam ). These are all situated in Vaikuṇṭha, yet Lakṣmīdevī, the goddess of fortune, being inspired by līlā-śakti, could not appreciate this unprecedented form of the Lord. In this regard, Śrīla Madhvācārya recites the following verses from the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa:

adṛṣṭāśruta-pūrvatvād anyaiḥ sādhāraṇair janaiḥ nṛsiṁhaṁ śaṅkiteva śrīr loka-mohāyano yayau

prahrāde caiva vātsalya- darśanāya harer api jñātvā manas tathā brahmā prahrādaṁ preṣayat tadā

ekatraikasya vātsalyaṁ viśeṣād darśayed dhariḥ avarasyāpi mohāya krameṇaivāpi vatsalaḥ

In other words, for the common men the form of the Lord as Nṛsiṁhadeva is certainly unseen and wonderful, but for a devotee like Prahlāda Mahārāja such a fearsome form of the Lord is not at all extraordinary. By the grace of the Lord, a devotee can very easily understand how the Lord can appear in any form He likes. Therefore the devotee is never afraid of such a form. Because of special favor bestowed upon Prahlāda Mahārāja, he remained silent and unafraid, even though all the demigods, including even Lakṣmīdevī, were afraid of Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva. Nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve na kutaścana bibhyati ( Bhāg. 6.17.28 ). Not only is a pure devotee of Nārāyaṇa like Prahlāda Mahārāja unafraid of any dangerous condition of material life, but also if the Lord appears in order to mitigate the fear of a devotee, the devotee maintains his status of fearlessness in all circumstances.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Lakṣmī, though requested by all the devatās, after seeing him in an astonishing form never seen or heard of before, did not approach the Lord out of fear. Though she had seen Narasiṁha in a previous kalpa, and though Narasiṁha is always present in Vaikuṇṭha, her impression of not having previously seen or heard about this form was produced by the līlā-śakti, in order to make everyone taste adbhuta-rasa, the mood of astonishment.
Related verses
Even Lakṣmī, the Lord's eternal consort, cannot approach this unprecedented form. The Lord's līlā-śakti produces forms unseen even by His most intimate associates. The new form of the Lord may surprise even those closest to Him.
Reflection Questions
  • Where do you assume that long intimacy with God grants you access to His every appearance?
  • What new form of the sacred have you not yet had eyes to receive?
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