A peep into Kanakadasa’s “Ditta dasa naanalla…”

 A peep into Kanakadasa’s “Ditta dasa naanalla…”

 

The child inside the womb of Khayadu was that of a great soul and Deva Rishi Narada was very much aware of that. Khayadu could forbear the physical and mental strain by listening the divine stories being narrated by Narada Maharishi. The focal point of all the stories drawn from holy texts, Shrutis and Smrutis was to instil devotion into the mind of the child. Hiranyakashipu had five sons namely Prahlada, Samhlada, Anuhlada, Shibi and Bashkala, besides a daughter by name Harini, who is also known as Rohini. As a result of the preaching of Narada Muni to pregnant Khayadu, who was a daughter of a demon named Jambha, which was imbibed by the child inside her womb, the newborn son, who was named Prahlada, was a committed and dedicated devotee of Lord Vishnu. In Sanskrit, Prahlada means pleasure, joy and excitement. By the time Hiranyakashipu returned from his expedition, Prahlada was a young boy. To the utter dismay and bewilderment of Hiranyakashipu, the young boy Prahlada was always chanting the name of Lord Hari. Although Hiranyakashipu asserted in front of the boy that he (Hiranyakashipu) alone was the Lord of the Universe, Prahlada never agreed. Initially, Hiranyakashipu tried to convince the boy that there was no other God except himself. But, Prahlada did not subscribe his father’s contention. Slowly, Hiranyakashipu started torturing the boy in several ways. Prahlada was immersed in water, trampled by tuskers, pierced with sharp weapons, thrown from great height and so on. Prahlada continued to recite the name of Lord Vishnu, Lord Narayana and even dared to tell his father that no other being, except Lord Vishnu, can be considered as God as Lord Vishnu is the supreme Lord of the entire universe; Lord Vishnu is the Creator, the Preserver and the Destroyer. Every time the boy professed on the greatness of Lord Vishnu, the rage of Hiranyakashipu increased. Hiranyakashipu’s daughter Harini had been married to Fire God, Lord Agni. Hiranyakashipu told in no uneven terms that Lord Vishnu was his bet-e-noire and that he hated Lord Vishnu from the bottom of his heart. Nothing could alter the mind of Prahlada. Hiranyakashipu asked his daughter to enter dazzling flames of fire along with Prahlada. The intention was that since Harini was the wife of Lord Agni, she would not be burnt and Prahlada, as an ordinary human, would be burnt. But, the meditation of Lord Vishnu, the sincere devotion of the child was so powerful that Agni could not crack a hair of Prahlada. On the contrary, because of insane, unjust purpose with which Harini entered the flames of fire, she was burnt and the boy came out with all smiles. Hiranyakashipu lost his temper to such an extent that he wanted to kill his son by hook or crook. He pressed into service the magical powers of Shambara, drowned the boy in the ocean, pushed him from the tallest mountain tower, forcibly got most venomous serpents to bite the boy, fed him with food mixed with most effective poison and nothing worked. Finally, he drew his sword out with the intention of beheading the boy, when he heard a deafening, thunderous sound within the Royal Hall of his palace. He saw a huge stone pillar cracking and bursting, suddenly. From amidst the debris of that broken pillar came out a very horrible form comprising the head of a Lion, paws with sharp nails and a human form below the neck. That was the incarnation of Lord Narasihma. It may be remembered at this juncture that when Lord Brahma appeared in front of him to bestow a boon, Hiranyakashipu had used all his intelligence in seeking the most complicated boon. He said that he should be killed by human beings, animals, snakes, serpents, demons, deities; not in day time nor during night; not by any sort of weapons; not within a building nor outside; neither on earth nor in the sky; in a nutshell nothing created by the Almighty. The time when Lord Narasihma broke through the pillar was dusk – neither day nor night; the physical appearance could not be defined as human or animal; he was not a creation but the Creator himself; he was not carrying any weapons. Startled by this unimaginable stature of Lord Narasihma, Hiranyakashipu tried to confront the Lord. The fight went on till dusk. The Lord sat on the threshold of the Royal Hall. Taking the demon king on the thighs, Lord Narasihma asked the demon whether all the aspects of his “special” boon were covered. The threshold was neither inside the house nor outside; as it was dusk, the time could neither be called as day nor night; it was not on earth nor in the sky; Lord Narasihma was neither a man, nor a demon nor an animal. Lord Narasihma simply used his sharp nails to tear the chest of demon king Hiranyakashipu. No weapon was pressed into service. Thus came the end of Hiranyakashipu; it was the boldness of young boy Prahlada, his devotion and courage to reject the perception of Hiranyakashipu that was instrumental for the incarnation of Lord Narasihma (Ditta Dasa naanalla, which means I am that bold servant of the Lord). Prahlada, even as a young boy, exhibited unbiased devotion to Lord Vishnu. Therefore, Kanakadasaru says “Ditta dAsa nAnalla” ( I am not that bold servant.   

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