Å›rÄ«-hiraṇyakaÅ›ipur uvÄca
vyaktaá¹ tvaá¹ martu-kÄmo 'si
yo 'timÄtraá¹ vikatthase
mumÅ«rṣūṇÄá¹ hi mandÄtman
nanu syur viklavÄ giraḥ
Å›rÄ«-hiraṇyakaÅ›ipuḥ uvÄca - the blessed HiraṇyakaÅ›ipu said; vyaktam - evidently; tvam - you; martu-kÄmaḥ - desirous of death; asi - are; yaḥ - one who; atimÄtram - without limit; vikatthase - are boasting (as if you had conquered your senses whereas your father could not do so); mumÅ«rṣūṇÄm - of persons who are about to meet immediate death; hi - indeed; manda-Ätman - O unintelligent rascal; nanu - certainly; syuḥ - become; viklavÄḥ - confused; giraḥ - the words.
It is said in HitopadeÅ›a, upadeÅ›o hi mÅ«rkhÄṇÄá¹ prakopÄya na Å›Äntaye. If good instructions are given to a foolish person, he does not take advantage of them, but becomes more and more angry. PrahlÄda MahÄrÄja’s authorized instructions to his father were not accepted by HiraṇyakaÅ›ipu as truth; instead HiraṇyakaÅ›ipu became increasingly angry at his great son, who was a pure devotee. This kind of difficulty always exists when a devotee preaches Kṛṣṇa consciousness to persons like HiraṇyakaÅ›ipu, who are interested in money and women. (The word hiraṇya means “gold,†and kaÅ›ipu refers to cushions or good bedding.) Moreover, a father does not like to be instructed by his son, especially if the father is a demon. PrahlÄda MahÄrÄja’s Vaiṣṇava preaching to his demoniac father was indirectly effective, for because of HiraṇyakaÅ›ipu’s excessive jealousy of Kṛṣṇa and His devotee, he was inviting Ná¹›siá¹hadeva to kill him very quickly. Thus he was expediting his being killed by the Lord Himself. Although HiraṇyakaÅ›ipu was a demon, he is described here by the added word Å›rÄ«. Why? The answer is that fortunately he had such a great devotee son as PrahlÄda MahÄrÄja. Thus although he was a demon, he would attain salvation and return home, back to Godhead.