Verse 1

¹The demons, so they say, chose the revered Kavya for the office of priest. His two sons, Sanda and Amarka, lived close by the house of the Daitya king. ²The boy Prahlada, already skilled in the conduct of affairs, was brought to them by the king, and the two set him to his lessons along with the other demon boys. ³Whatever the teacher said there he listened to and said back after him, but in his own mind he did not think it good, resting as it did on the false hold of self and other. ⁴One day the demon king lifted his son onto his lap, Pandava, and asked him: Let it be said, child. What is it that you think good?