पौरोहित्याय भगवान् वृतः काव्यः किलासुरैः ।
षण्डामर्कौ सुतौ तस्य दैत्यराजगृहान्तिके ॥१॥
Å›rÄ«-nÄrada uvÄca
paurohityÄya bhagavÄn
vá¹›taḥ kÄvyaḥ kilÄsuraiḥ
á¹£aṇá¸Ämarkau sutau tasya
daitya-rÄja-gá¹›hÄntike
Å›rÄ«-nÄradaḥ uvÄca - the great saint NÄrada said; paurohityÄya - to work as priest; bhagavÄn - the most powerful; vá¹›taḥ - chosen; kÄvyaḥ - ÅšukrÄcÄrya; kila - indeed; asuraiḥ - by the demons; á¹£aṇá¸a-amarkau - á¹¢aṇá¸a and Amarka; sutau - sons; tasya - of him; daitya-rÄja - of the King of the demons, HiraṇyakaÅ›ipu; gá¹›ha-antike - near the residence.
The great saint NÄrada Muni said: The demons, headed by HiraṇyakaÅ›ipu, accepted ÅšukrÄcÄrya as their priest for ritualistic ceremonies. ÅšukrÄcÄrya’s two sons, á¹¢aṇá¸a and Amarka, lived near HiraṇyakaÅ›ipu’s palace.
The beginning of the life story of PrahlÄda is recounted as follows. ÅšukrÄcÄrya became the priest of the atheists, especially HiraṇyakaÅ›ipu, and thus his two sons, á¹¢aṇá¸a and Amarka, resided near HiraṇyakaÅ›ipu’s residence. ÅšukrÄcÄrya should not have become the priest of HiraṇyakaÅ›ipu because HiraṇyakaÅ›ipu and his followers were all atheists. A brÄhmaṇa should become the priest of a person interested in the advancement of spiritual culture. The very name ÅšukrÄcÄrya, however, indicates a person interested in obtaining benefits for his sons and descendants, regardless of how the money comes. A real brÄhmaṇa would not become a priest for atheistic men.
