Question: In Bhagavatam Canto 4 chapter 18 text 16 it says that Prahlad Maharaj was turned into a calf and the demons extracted various kinds of liquor and beer from him. How come? Prahlad Maharaj is such a pure devotee of the Lord and they used Him to get liquor and beer!
Answer by Romapada Swami:
Below are texts that follow this quoted SB 4.18.16. The overall message is that the Supreme Lord, through His mystic powers and various manifestations on earth, supplied to all beings their necessities and their desirable commodities (note the list of items supplied to other groups; the supply was according to their natures). Prahlad Maharaja was a pure devotee, yet at the same time he served the Lord in the capacity of the king of the daityas. One can be certain that Prahlad ruled his citizens perfectly, which included his seeing to it that all his citizens were nicely cared for. Prahlad was naturally compassionate, and very powerful. Thus, it was only natural that he would be the candidate for this service to the daitya kingdom under Prithu’s rule, at a time when “calf transform- ing” was going on in all worldly realms.
SB 4.18.26
TRANSLATION
The planet earth supplied everyone his respective food. During the time of King PRthu, the earth was fully under the control of the King. Thus all the inhabitants of the earth could get their food supply by creating various types of calves and putting their particular types of milk in various pots.
SB 4.18.27
TRANSLATION
My dear Vidura, chief of the Kurus, in this way King Prthu and all the others who subsist on food created different types of calves and milked out their respective eatables. Thus they received their various foodstuffs, which were symbolized as milk.
