SB 3.17.22
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 22
- mano-vīrya-varotsiktam
- asṛṇyam akuto-bhayam
- bhītā nililyire devās
- tārkṣya-trastā ivāhayaḥ
SYNONYMS
manaḥ-vīrya — by mental and bodily strength; vara — by the boon; utsiktam — proud; asṛṇyam — not able to be checked; akutaḥ-bhayam — fearing no one; bhītāḥ — frightened; nililyire — hid themselves; devāḥ — the demigods; tārkṣya — Garuḍa; trastāḥ — frightened of; iva — like; ahayaḥ — snakes.
TRANSLATION
His mental and bodily strength as well as the boon conferred upon him had made him proud. He feared death at the hands of no one, and there was no checking him. The gods, therefore, were seized with fear at his very sight, and they hid themselves even as snakes hide themselves for fear of Garuḍa.
PURPORT
The asuras are generally strongly built, as described here, and therefore their mental condition is very sound, and their prowess is also extraordinary. Hiraṇyākṣa and Hiraṇyakaśipu, having received the boon that they would not be killed by any other living entity within this universe, were almost immortal, and thus they were completely fearless.