Thrown in boiling oil

Expressions researched:
"boiled in oil" |"in boiling oil" |"into a pot of oil and the pot were set to boiling" |"into boiling oil" |"into the boiling water... It is said oil"

SB Canto 1

Prahlāda was thrown in a fire, in boiling oil, from the top of a hill, underneath the legs of an elephant, and he was administered poison.

SB 1.15.16, Purport:

The history of Prahlāda Mahārāja, the great devotee of Nṛsiṁhadeva, is narrated in the Seventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Prahlāda Mahārāja, a small child of only five years, became the object of envy for his great father, Hiraṇyakaśipu, only because of his becoming a pure devotee of the Lord. The demon father employed all his weapons to kill the devotee son, Prahlāda, but by the grace of the Lord he was saved from all sorts of dangerous actions by his father. He was thrown in a fire, in boiling oil, from the top of a hill, underneath the legs of an elephant, and he was administered poison. At last the father himself took up a chopper to kill his son, and thus Nṛsiṁhadeva appeared and killed the heinous father in the presence of the son. Thus no one can kill the devotee of the Lord. Similarly, Arjuna was also saved by the Lord, although all dangerous weapons were employed by his great opponents like Bhīṣma.

SB Canto 5

Those who kill different animals and birds and then cook them are put by the agents of Yamarāja into the hell known as Kumbhīpāka, where they are boiled in oil.

SB 5.26 Summary:

A person who steals another's money, wife or possessions is put into the hell known as Tāmisra. A man who tricks someone and enjoys his wife is put into the extremely hellish condition known as Andhatāmisra. A foolish person absorbed in the bodily concept of life, who on the basis of this principle maintains himself or his wife and children by committing violence against other living entities, is put into the hell known as Raurava. There the animals he killed take birth as creatures called rurus and cause great suffering for him. Those who kill different animals and birds and then cook them are put by the agents of Yamarāja into the hell known as Kumbhīpāka, where they are boiled in oil. A person who kills a brāhmaṇa is put into the hell known as Kālasūtra, where the land, perfectly level and made of copper, is as hot as an oven. The killer of a brāhmaṇa burns in that land for many years. One who does not follow scriptural injunctions but who does everything whimsically or follows some rascal is put into the hell known as Asi-patravana. A government official who poorly administers justice, or who punishes an innocent man, is taken by the assistants of Yamarāja to the hell known as Sūkaramukha, where he is mercilessly beaten.

SB 5.26.13, Translation:

For the maintenance of their bodies and the satisfaction of their tongues, cruel persons cook poor animals and birds alive. Such persons are condemned even by man-eaters. In their next lives they are carried by the Yamadūtas to the hell known as Kumbhīpāka, where they are cooked in boiling oil.

SB Canto 7

SB 7.5.38, Translation:

Hiraṇyakaśipu planned a campaign to kill Prahlāda Mahārāja. He would kill his son by administering poison to him while he was eating, by making him sit in boiling oil, or by throwing him under the feet of an elephant while he was lying down. Thus Hiraṇyakaśipu decided to kill his innocent child, who was only five years old, simply because the boy had become a devotee of the Lord. This is the attitude of nondevotees toward devotees.

CC Adi-lila

A person who cooks living birds and beasts to satisfy his tongue is brought before Yamarāja after death and punished in the Kumbhīpāka hell. There he is put into boiling oil.

CC Adi 17.307, Purport:

Kumbhīpāka, a type of hellish condition, is described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.26.13), wherein it is said that a person who cooks living birds and beasts to satisfy his tongue is brought before Yamarāja after death and punished in the Kumbhīpāka hell. There he is put into boiling oil called kumbhī-pāka, from which there is no deliverance. Kumbhīpāka is meant for persons who are unnecessarily envious. Those who are envious of the activities of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are punished in that hellish condition.

Mukunda-mala-stotra (mantras 1 to 6 only)

So if a person were put into a pot of oil and the pot were set to boiling, he would have some idea of the suffering in Kumbhīpāka hell.

Mukunda-mala-stotra mantra 4, Purport:

The king also says that the reason he is praying to the Lord is not to be saved from the Kumbhīpāka hell. Laborers in gigantic iron and steel mills suffer tribulations similar to those in the Kumbhīpāka hell. Kumbhī means "pot," and pāka means "boiling." So if a person were put into a pot of oil and the pot were set to boiling, he would have some idea of the suffering in Kumbhīpāka hell.

There are innumerable hellish engagements in the modern so-called civilization, and by the grace of the Lord's illusory energy people think these hellish engagements are a great fortune. Modern industrial factories fully equipped with up-to-date machines are so many Kumbhīpāka hells, and the organizers of these enterprises regard them as indispensable for the advancement of economic welfare. The mass of laborers exploited by the organizers directly experience the "welfare" conditions in these factories, but what the organizers do not know is that by the law of karma they will in due time become laborers in similar Kumbhīpāka hells.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

So that description of those planets when Parīkṣit Mahārāja heard it, that "These sinful men, they are suffering there; some of them being fried in boiling oil," this description is there.

Lecture on SB 6.1.6 -- Honolulu, June 8, 1975:

So this universe is fully described in the Fifth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. You will see it, where, which planet, where it is situated, what is the dimension, what kind of people live there. Everything is there. Similarly, there are description of the hellish planet, downwards. So that description of those planets when Parīkṣit Mahārāja heard it, that "These sinful men, they are suffering there; some of them being fried in boiling oil," this description is there. Some of them put into the river which is full of germs and mosquitoes, and some of them are forced to embrace a iron, hot iron man, a hot iron woman. In this way there are many description. And Śukadeva Gosvāmī concluded, "Mahārāja, I have described a few of them. There are many thousands and thousand kinds of suffering." So Parīkṣit Mahārāja is a Vaiṣṇava. Vaiṣṇava means devotee. So he did not appreciate the suffering of the human being in such a way. That is a Vaiṣṇava's nature. Vaiṣṇava himself is very happy because he is in direct connection with Kṛṣṇa. He personally has no complaint, because a Vaiṣṇava is satisfied simply by serving Kṛṣṇa. That's all. He doesn't want anything.

Festival Lectures

So try to be not imitator, but follower. Don't try to imitate: "Oh, Prahlāda Mahārāja was thrown into boiling oil. Let me try, fall into the boiling oil." No. That is imitation.

Nrsimha-caturdasi Lord Nrsimhadeva's Appearance Day -- Boston, May 1, 1969:

So Prahlāda Mahārāja is the symbolic representation of Vaiṣṇava. So try to be not imitator, but follower. Don't try to imitate: "Oh, Prahlāda Mahārāja was thrown into boiling oil. Let me try, fall into the boiling oil." No. That is imitation. Just first of all you become like Prahlāda Mahārāja, then that will be possible. Don't try to make experimental. (laughter) That is not good. But follow, try to follow. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ (CC Madhya 17.186). Mahājanas, great personalities, what they have done, you cannot imitate them. You have to follow them. You have to follow the instruction of Kṛṣṇa or His representative, but you cannot imitate them. Then you'll fall down. Anusaraṇa. Not anukaraṇa. Anukaraṇa means imitation; but anusaraṇa, follow. So what Prahlāda Mahārāja did, that we have to follow his example. His example was that in spite of continuous torturing by his father, he never forgot Kṛṣṇa. This we have to follow. In spite of all kinds of inconveniences and torture by the atheist class of men, we shall never forget Kṛṣṇa consciousness. There were many examples. Just like Lord Jesus Christ, he was tortured. So he was crucified, but he never agreed that there is no God. So that should be our motto. This is following. Either you be Christian or be Hindu or be any, but be God conscious. Kṛṣṇa conscious means God conscious. And in any circumstances do not forget. That is called śaraṇāgati. That is surrender.

General Lectures

In all circumstances he remained steady in..., when he was thrown into the boiling water... It is said oil. He was put into the oil. So he remained steady.

Lecture -- Honolulu, May 25, 1975:

So Prahlāda Mahārāja became a devotee, not a so-called devotee, that "If my senses are gratified, then I shall continue to remain a devotee. Otherwise I shall slip away, go away. That's all." So he was not such kind of devotee. He remained devotee in all circumstances. You see his father wanted to chastise him is so many ways. But what was Prahlāda's fault? He was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, and the father did not like it. So he wanted to induce him to stop this Hare Kṛṣṇa, but he never stopped. In all circumstances he remained steady in..., when he was thrown into the boiling water... It is said oil. He was put into the oil. So he remained steady. So many demonic persons threatened him; he remained steady. His mother was instructed by the father to give poison in the food. So he remained steady. Then the father understood that "My son has got some mystic power." The mystic power was that he was a great devotee of Kṛṣṇa, that's all. A devotee never practices any mystic power. But a devotee, being protected by the supreme mystic, Kṛṣṇa, a devotee is never in danger in all circumstances. That is the instruction in this... So just to try... Try to remain a devotee always, and Kṛṣṇa will give you protection in all circumstance. There is no fear. Devotees, they remain devotee of Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa does everything. If something mystic or magic has to be shown, the devotee does not take any credit for that magic, because the magic is done by Kṛṣṇa for the sake of devotee. So he doesn't require to learn the art of magic to cheat the people. That is not. When magic is required, Kṛṣṇa plays.

1971 Correspondence

Just like Haridasa Thakur was beaten in 22 market places and he felt no pain. Prahlada was boiled in oil. So we have to take instruction from them, but not to imitate.

Letter to Madhudvisa -- New York 28 July, 1971:

Yes, even an ordinary man absorbed in some other thought forgets his bodily pains and pleasures. So why not in Krishna Consciousness? I learned from an intimate friend of Stalin that he underwent surgical operation of the abdomen without any anesthetic. It was in the papers. He saw it that his own abdomen was being operated on. He was so strong minded. So when one is in Krishna Consciousness, he no more feels any bodily pains and pleasures. After all, we are not this body. But we should make progress steadily by following the rules and regulations, not making experiment. Just like Haridasa Thakur was beaten in 22 market places and he felt no pain. Prahlada was boiled in oil. So we have to take instruction from them, but not to imitate.