Category:God's Nails
Theme Analysis
Śrīla Prabhupāda reveals the deep transcendental significance of God's nails. In the universal form, the Lord's nails generate electricity, stones, iron, and various animals. In His personal form as Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, the Lord's terrifying, blazing nails acted as the supreme weapon to tear apart the atheist Hiraṇyakaśipu, proving that no material power or mystic strength can withstand them. Furthermore, in His form as Lord Vāmanadeva, the Lord pierced the covering of the universe with the nail of His big toe, allowing the purifying Ganges River to flow into the material world. For the pure devotee, meditating on the brilliant effulgence of the Lord's ruby-like toenails dissipates the darkness of ignorance in the heart and grants ultimate liberation.
- The Breeding Ground of Elements: The nails of the Supreme Lord's universal body are the origin of electricity, stones, iron, and various animals.
- The Ultimate Inconceivable Weapon: Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva bypassed all of Brahmā's benedictions by using His dead yet living nails to slay the powerful demon Hiraṇyakaśipu.
- The Destruction of Demonic Pride: No amount of mystic power or material strength can protect an atheist from the formidable strength of the Lord's nails.
- Piercing the Universal Covering: By expanding His foot, Lord Vāmanadeva pierced the universal shell with His toenail, creating a path for the purifying waters of the Ganges.
- Dissipating the Darkness of Ignorance: A sincere devotee attains liberation not by mental speculation, but by meditating on the brilliant, moonlike effulgence of the Lord's ruby nails.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: The Formidable and Purifying Nails of the Supreme Lord.
Subcategories
This category has the following 2 subcategories, out of 2 total.
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Pages in category "God's Nails"
The following 32 pages are in this category, out of 32 total.
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- Hairs on God's body are the cause of vegetation, particularly of those trees which are required as ingredients for sacrifice. The hairs on His head and face are reservoirs for clouds, and His nails are the breeding ground of electricity, stones and iron
- He (Nrsimhadeva) killed him (Hiranyakasipu) on His lap, so that he was killed neither on the land nor on the water nor in the sky. The demon was pierced by Nrsimha's nails, which were beyond the human weapons imaginable by Hiranyakasipu
- He (Nrsimhadeva) killed the king of the demons (Hiranyakasipu), who challenged the Lord with a club in his hand, by placing the demon on His thighs and piercing him with His nails, rolling His eyebrows in anger and showing His fearful teeth and mouth
- Hiranyakasipu was so dishonest that by the strength of his power & austerity, he took away our powers. Thus he became very proud of his mystic strength. Now, because this rogue has been killed by Your nails, we offer our respectful obeisances unto You
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- I (Prahlada Maharaja) offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Nrsimhadeva, the source of all power. O my Lord who possesses nails and teeth just like thunderbolts, kindly vanquish our demonlike desires for fruitive activity in this material world
- I do not fear Your sharp, pinching teeth, Your garland of intestines, Your mane soaked with blood, or Your high, wedgelike ears. Nor do I fear Your tumultuous roaring, which makes elephants flee to distant places, or Your nails
- I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, Lord Nrsimhadeva. You are the giver of pleasure to Maharaja Prahlada, and Your nails cut the chest of Hiranyakasipu like a chisel cutting stone
- If a yogi looks upon the marks of the Lord's sole and on the blazing brilliance of His nails, then he can be freed from the darkness of ignorance in material existence
- In the fourteenth incarnation, the Lord appeared as Nrsimha and bifurcated the strong body of the atheist Hiranyakasipu with His nails, just as a carpenter pierces cane
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- Lord Nrsimha-deva placed the demon (Hiranyakasipu) on His lap, supporting him with His thighs, and in the doorway of the assembly hall the Lord very easily tore the demon to pieces with the nails of His hand
- Lord Nrsimhadeva pierced Hiranyakasipu's abdomen with His nails, pulled out the demon's intestines and wore them as a garland, which enhanced His beauty. Thus the Lord became very fearsome, like a lion engaged in fighting an elephant
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- The horse, mule, camel and elephant are His nails, and wild animals and all quadrupeds are situated in the belt zone of the Lord
- The inhabitants of Nagaloka said: The most sinful Hiranyakasipu took away all the jewels on our hoods and all our beautiful wives. Now, since his chest has been pierced by Your nails, You are the source of all pleasure to our wives
- The Lord from within enlightens the devotees by the effulgence of the nails of His lotus feet, and His representative, the spiritual master, enlightens from without
- The lotus flower itself is compared to the lotus feet of the Lord, and the petals are compared to the nails of the feet of the Lord. The nails of the feet of the Lord are very bright, as Brahma-samhita testifies
- The nails of the Lord pierced through all these layers and made a hole penetrating into the spiritual world. From this hole, the water of the Ganges infiltrated into this material world, and therefore it is said, pada-nakha-nira janita jana-pavana
- The nails of Your lotus feet emanate such a great effulgence that they immediately dissipate all the darkness in the heart of a conditioned soul. Kindly show me that form of Yours which always dissipates all kinds of darkness in the heart of a devotee
- The other parts of Maha-Visnu's legs, the joints and lower extremities, were all very beautiful, the nails of His feet were dazzling, and His toes were as beautiful as the petals of the lotus flower. His helmet was decorated with very valuable jewels
- The polished nails of the Lord generate electricity, and the clouds rest on the hairs of His head
- The splendor of the transcendental rays from His (the Supreme Personality of Godhead) moonlike toenails and fingernails appeared like the petals of a flower
- The splendor of their (the Lord's lotus feet) beautiful ruby nails resembles the orb of the moon and dispels the thick gloom of one's heart
- The water that touched the nails of Your (Lord Vamanadeva's) lotus feet when You pierced through the covering of the universe purifies all living entities in the form of the River Ganges
- These soldiers had come in thousands to fight with Him with raised weapons and were very faithful followers of Hiranyakasipu, but Lord Nrsimhadeva killed all of them merely with the ends of His nails
- They (demigods) were afraid of Hiranyakasipu. Thus we can simply imagine how powerful Hiranyakasipu was in this material world. But even Hiranyakasipu was cut into small pieces by the nails of Lord Nrsimha
- This liberation (from the darkness of ignorance in material existence) is not achieved by mental speculation, but by seeing the light emanating from the lustrous toenails of the Lord
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- We can simply imagine how powerful Hiranyakasipu was in this material world. But even Hiranyakasipu was cut into small pieces by the nails of Lord Nrsimha. This means that anyone materially powerful cannot stand the strength of the Lord's nails
- When the Lord's footstep exceeded the height of all the lokas, including Maharloka, Janaloka, Tapoloka and Satyaloka, His nails certainly pierced the covering of the universe