Hare Krsna,
“One can practice bhakti-yoga in many rasas. There are twelve rasas, five primary and seven secondary. The five primary rasas constitute direct bhakti-yoga, but although the seven secondary rasas are indirect, they are also counted within bhakti-yoga if they are used in the service of the Lord.” (SB 3.16.31 purport)
In the case of Lord Varaha and Hiranyaksa, there are mainly exchanges of secondary rasas such as anger (raudrah), chivalry (virah) and fear (bhayanakah). As the teachers mentioned in the last Zoom review, the yoga maya potency of the Lord covered both the Lord and Hiranyaksa. They forgot they are eternally related as Lord and master. The yoga maya potency created the situation where Hiranyaksa appeared to fulfill the Lord’s desire to engage in intense fight. To the ignorant and naked eye, the fight would appear ghastly. But to the pure devotees who see through the scriptures and the eyes of the acaryas, this fight is also a loving exchange between the Lord and His servant.
I am actually mesmerized by the how Sridhar Swami reveals the hidden meaning of Hiranyaksa’s insulting words to the Lord. He says that the demon is basically praising the Lord with a careful play of words.
| Hiranyaksa’s criticism | Meaning | Hiranyaksa’s indirect praise as given by acaryas |
| Vana-gocarah | Resident of the forest or water | Narayana, who lies on the water |
| Mrgah | Animal | One who is sought after by great sages |
| Ajna | Fool | There is no knowledge which is unknown to You |
| Suradhama | Lowest of the demigods | Lord of all the demigods, therefore He is the best of all demigods, or God |
| Mameksatah | In my presence | In spite of my presence, You are able to take away earth |
| Na svasti yasyasi | You cannot go and not be hurt by me | Unless You kindly take the earth from our custody, there can be no good fortune for us |
| Abhavaya | For killing | Killing the process of continued birth and death |
| Sucah | Grief | Material universes are extinguished by Lord’s yogamaya |
“When on account of love and devotional service for the Lord there is special valorous enthusiasm, the resultant activities are called chivalrous. These chivalrous activities can be manifested in the acts of mock-fighting, giving in charity, showing mercy and executing religious principles. By performing chivalrous activities in fighting, one is called yuddha-vīra. By charitable activities one is called dāna-vīra. By showing extraordinary mercy one is called dayā-vīra. And when one is munificent in executing religious rites, he is called dharma-vīra. In all such different chivalrous activities, Kṛṣṇa is the object.” (Nectar of Devotion, 46)
“When a friend wants to satisfy Kṛṣṇa by performing some chivalrous activities, the friend becomes the challenger, and Kṛṣṇa Himself becomes the opponent; or else Kṛṣṇa may give audience to the fighting, and by His desire another friend becomes the opponent. A friend once challenged Kṛṣṇa thus: “My dear Mādhava, You are very restless because You think that no one can defeat You. But if You do not flee from here, then I shall show You how I can defeat You. And my friends will be very satisfied to see this!” (Nectar of Devotion, 46)
In this case, we see that Hiranyaksa became the opponent of Lord Varaha by the inconceivable arrangement of the Lord.
“In these chivalrous activities, only Kṛṣṇa’s friends can be the opponents. Kṛṣṇa’s enemies can never actually be His opponents. Therefore, this challenging by Kṛṣṇa’s friends is called devotional service in chivalrous activities.” (Nectar of Devotion, 46)
The key takeaway lesson for me is that pure devotees always try to please Krsna in any manner possible. Even if it means playing the role of enemy of Krsna. This is pure devotional service where Krsna’s pleasure is kept at the center of everything. So the question we should be asking ourselves always is, “Is my action pleasing to Krsna? How can I please Him more?” One way to do this is to chant His holy name with faith, sincerely and attentively. This will please Lord Caitanya and our gurus the most.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Krsna Katha 