Devanagari
गृहमानीतमाहूय प्रह्रादं दैत्ययाजका: ।
प्रशस्य श्लक्ष्णया वाचा समपृच्छन्त सामभि: ॥ ८ ॥
Verse text
gṛham ānītam āhūya
prahrādaṁ daitya-yājakāḥ
praśasya ślakṣṇayā vācā
samapṛcchanta sāmabhiḥ
Synonyms
gṛham
—
to the place of the teachers (Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka)
;
ānītam
—
brought
;
āhūya
—
calling
;
prahrādam
—
Prahlāda
;
daitya
—
yājakāḥ — the priests of the demon Hiraṇyakaśipu
;
praśasya
—
by pacifying
;
ślakṣṇayā
—
with a very mild
;
vācā
—
voice
;
samapṛcchanta
—
they questioned
;
sāmabhiḥ
—
by very agreeable words .
Translation
When Hiraṇyakaśipu’s servants brought the boy Prahlāda back to the gurukula [the place where the brāhmaṇas taught the boys], the priests of the demons, Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, pacified him. With very mild voices and affectionate words, they inquired from him as follows.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The demon priests, calling Prahlāda when he was brought back to the school, praised him with sweet, pacifying words and then inquired from him.
They praised him with sweet words. “We will speak to him so that out of fear he will not speak to the Vaiṣṇavas who have been instructing him.”
Purport
Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, the priests of the demons, were eager to know from Prahlāda Mahārāja who the Vaiṣṇavas were that came to instruct him in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Their purpose was to discover the names of these Vaiṣṇavas. In the beginning they did not threaten the boy because when threatened he might not identify the real culprits. Therefore they very mildly and peacefully inquired as follows.