तातेमे दुर्लभाः पुंसां यान् वृणीषे वरान् मम ।
तथापि वितराम्यङ्ग वरान् यद्यपि दुर्लभान् ॥२॥
Å›rÄ«-brahmovÄca
tÄteme durlabhÄḥ puá¹sÄá¹
yÄn vṛṇīṣe varÄn mama
tathÄpi vitarÄmy aá¹…ga
varÄn yadyapi durlabhÄn
Å›rÄ«-brahmÄ uvÄca - Lord BrahmÄ said; tÄta - O dear son; ime - all these; durlabhÄḥ - very rarely obtained; puá¹sÄm - by men; yÄn - those which; vṛṇīṣe - you ask; varÄn - benedictions; mama - from me; tathÄpi - still; vitarÄmi - I shall deliver; aá¹…ga - O HiraṇyakaÅ›ipu; varÄn - the benedictions; yadyapi - although; durlabhÄn - not generally available.
Lord BrahmÄ said: O HiraṇyakaÅ›ipu, these benedictions for which you have asked are difficult to obtain for most men. Nonetheless, O my son, I shall grant you them although they are generally not available.
Material benedictions are not always exactly worthy of being called benedictions. If one possesses more and more, a benediction itself may become a curse, for just as achieving material opulence in this material world requires great strength and endeavor, maintaining it also requires great endeavor. Lord BrahmÄ informed HiraṇyakaÅ›ipu that although he was ready to offer him whatever he had asked, the result of the benedictions would be very difficult for HiraṇyakaÅ›ipu to maintain. Nonetheless, since BrahmÄ had promised, he wanted to grant all the benedictions asked. The word durlabhÄn indicates that one should not take benedictions one cannot enjoy peacefully.
