न्यस्तक्रीडनको बालो जडवत्तन्मनस्तया ।
कृष्णग्रहगृहीतात्मा न वेद जगदीदृशम् ॥३७॥

nyasta-krÄ«á¸anako bÄlo
jaá¸avat tan-manastayÄ
kṛṣṇa-graha-gá¹›hÄ«tÄtmÄ
na veda jagad īdṛśam

1 times this text was mentioned in purports to other texts: CC(1)

 nyasta - having given up; krÄ«á¸anakaḥ - all sportive activities or tendencies for childhood play; bÄlaḥ - a boy; jaá¸a-vat - as if dull, without activities; tat-manastayÄ - by being fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa; kṛṣṇa-graha - by Kṛṣṇa, who is like a strong influence (like a graha, or planetary influence); gá¹›hÄ«ta-ÄtmÄ - whose mind was fully attracted; na - not; veda - understood; jagat - the entire material world; Ä«dṛśam - like this.


Text

From the very beginning of his childhood, PrahlÄda MahÄrÄja was uninterested in childish playthings. Indeed, he gave them up altogether and remained silent and dull, being fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Since his mind was always affected by Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he could not understand how the world goes on being fully absorbed in the activities of sense gratification.

Purport

PrahlÄda MahÄrÄja is the vivid example of a great person fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In Caitanya-caritÄmá¹›ta (Madhya 8.274) it is said:

sthÄvara-jaá¹…gama dekhe, nÄ dekhe tÄra mÅ«rti
 sarvatra haya nija iṣṭa-deva-sphÅ«rti

A fully Kṛṣṇa conscious person, although situated in this material world, does not see anything but Kṛṣṇa, anywhere and everywhere. This is the sign of a mahÄ-bhÄgavata. The mahÄ-bhÄgavata sees Kṛṣṇa everywhere because of his attitude of pure love for Kṛṣṇa. As confirmed in the Brahma-saá¹hitÄ (5.38):

premÄñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena
 santaḥ sadaiva há¹›dayeá¹£u vilokayanti
yaá¹ Å›yÄmasundaram acintya-guṇa-svarÅ«paá¹
 govindam Ädi-puruá¹£aá¹ tam ahaá¹ bhajÄmi

“I worship the primeval Lord, Govinda, who is always seen by the devotee whose eyes are anointed with the pulp of love. He is seen in His eternal form of ÅšyÄmasundara, situated within the heart of the devotee.†An exalted devotee, or mahÄtmÄ, who is rarely to be seen, remains fully conscious of Kṛṣṇa and constantly sees the Lord within the core of his heart. It is sometimes said that when one is influenced by evil stars like Saturn, RÄhu or Ketu, he cannot make advancement in any prospective activity. In just the opposite way, PrahlÄda MahÄrÄja was influenced by Kṛṣṇa, the supreme planet, and thus he could not think of the material world and live without Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the sign of a mahÄ-bhÄgavata. Even if one is an enemy of Kṛṣṇa, a mahÄ-bhÄgavata sees him to be also engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service. Another crude example is that everything appears yellow to the jaundiced eye. Similarly, to a mahÄ-bhÄgavata, everyone but himself appears to be engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service.

PrahlÄda MahÄrÄja is the approved mahÄ-bhÄgavata, the supreme devotee. In the previous verse it was stated that he had natural attachment (naisargikÄ« ratiḥ). The symptoms of such natural attachment for Kṛṣṇa are described in this verse. Although PrahlÄda MahÄrÄja was only a boy, he had no interest in playing. As stated in ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (11.2.42), viraktir anyatra ca: the symptom of perfect Kṛṣṇa consciousness is that one loses interest in all material activities. For a small boy to give up playing is impossible, but PrahlÄda MahÄrÄja, being situated in first-class devotional service, was always absorbed in a trance of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Just as a materialistic person is always absorbed in thoughts of material gain, a mahÄ-bhÄgavata like PrahlÄda MahÄrÄja is always absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa.