Hiraṇyakaśipu, the mighty lord of the Daityas, approached his son Prahlāda with searching questions about the ways of kingship. He asked, “How should one deal with ministers and counselors, with outsiders and insiders, with spies, with citizens, and with those who are suspicious or otherwise? Prahlāda, tell me: what is the proper regulation of what must and must not be done? How should one secure forts and forests, and how should one remove thorns from the kingdom? And whatever else you have studied fully, speak it all to me as it is—I wish to know what is truly in your mind.” Hearing this, the sage Parāśara recounts, Prahlāda, adorned with humility, bowed at his father’s feet. With hands joined in reverence, he addressed his father, the lord of the Daityas. Prahlāda said, “All that my teacher instructed, I have learned without doubt, father. I have grasped their teachings, but they are not truly my opinion. Conciliation, giving, division, and punishment—these means have all been taught for dealing with friends and others. But, father, I do not see this difference of friends and others; please do not be angry. When there is nothing to be accomplished, what purpose do such means serve, O mighty-armed one? “In the soul of all beings, in the lord of the universe, in the universe itself, in the Supreme Soul Govinda—how can there be talk of friend and enemy? That Lord Viṣṇu is present in you, in me, and everywhere; so how can one be my friend and another my enemy, and how can there be any distinction? “Therefore, enough of these excessive and elaborate discussions about hostile undertakings, father. Effort should only be made within the realm of ignorance. Knowledge and intellect arise only in ignorance; does a child not mistake a firefly for a fire, O lord of the Asuras? “That action which does not bind is true action; that knowledge which liberates is true knowledge. All other actions are merely toil, and other knowledge is only skill in crafts. Thus I have understood what is essence and what is not, O greatly fortunate one; listen as I bow and speak to you. “No one truly thinks about kingship or desires wealth, yet both come to men as destiny allows. All people strive for greatness, but even so, prosperity does not arise from effort alone, but from fortune. Even among the dull, the undiscerning, and the cowardly, O lord, kingdoms are enjoyed by those without virtue, as a matter of fate. “Therefore, one who desires great prosperity should strive in virtuous deeds, and one who seeks liberation should strive for equanimity. Gods, humans, animals, birds, trees, and reptiles—these are all forms of the infinite Viṣṇu, appearing as if distinct. Knowing this, one should see all the world, both moving and unmoving, as oneself—Viṣṇu, the bearer of the universal form, just as water is one in all its forms. “When this is understood, the blessed, beginningless Supreme Lord, Achyuta, becomes pleased; and when He is pleased, all suffering is destroyed.” As Parāśara narrates, upon hearing these words, Hiraṇyakaśipu rose in anger from his splendid seat and struck his son on the chest with his foot. Burning with rage and indignation, he pressed his hands together, wishing to kill Prahlāda, as if he would crush the world itself. He cried out, “O Vipracitti! O Rāhu! O Bala! Bind this wicked one firmly with strong serpent bonds and cast him into the great ocean—do not delay! Otherwise, all the worlds and the Daityas and Dānavas will follow the foolish mind of this evil-hearted one. Many times we have punished this wicked one, yet he still praises our enemy; for the wicked, only death is beneficial.” At his command, the Daityas swiftly acted. They bound Prahlāda with serpent bonds and cast him into the vast ocean. As Prahlāda entered, the great ocean began to shake, surging and churning in every direction. Seeing the entire earth being flooded by the great waters, Hiraṇyakaśipu, wise among the Daityas, spoke again to his kin: “O Daityas, with all the mountains, block this wicked one here in the abode of Varuṇa, sealing every gap completely! Fire does not burn him, nor is he cut by weapons, nor destroyed by serpents, nor by wind, nor by poison, nor by spells. He is not overcome by illusions, nor cast down, nor subdued by the elephants of the quarters. This child, whose mind is exceedingly wicked, is of no use alive. Therefore, let him remain in the midst of the waters, hemmed in by mountains, until a thousand years have passed; this evil-minded one will lose his life.” The Daityas and Dānavas, climbing upon mountains, constructed a great embankment in the vast ocean, stretching for thousands of yojanas. That embankment of mountains in the ocean became the place where Prahlāda, with single-pointed mind, praised the imperishable one at the time of his daily ritual. With devotion, Prahlāda prayed, “O lotus-eyed one, I bow to you; O Supreme Person, I bow to you; O soul of all worlds, I bow to you; O wielder of the sharp discus, I bow to you. Salutations to the god of the Vedas, benefactor of cows and Brahmins; salutations to Kṛṣṇa, benefactor of the world, to Govinda, again and again. In the form of Brahmā you create the universe, in the form of Viṣṇu you preserve it, and again, in the form of Rudra, you dissolve it at the end of the age; salutations to you, the three-formed one. “The gods, Yakṣas, Suras, Siddhas, Nāgas, Gandharvas, Kinnaras, Piśācas, Rākṣasas, humans, and also animals; birds, immobile beings, ants, reptiles, earth, water, fire, ether, air, sound, touch, and also taste; form, smell, mind, intellect, self, time, and qualities—all these, and their ultimate reality, O Acyuta, are indeed you.” Thus, even bound and cast into the ocean, Prahlāda’s heart remained unwavering, his mind fixed upon the Supreme Lord, seeing all existence as one with Viṣṇu, the infinite and imperishable.