Dasha Avatar: Narasimha Avatar

Lord Vishnu, in his incarnation as the Boar (Varaha avatar), had killed Hiranyaksha. The devas (demi-gods) celebrated with great joy in the kingdom of Heaven, unaware that their rejoicing was to be short-lived. Hiranyakashipu, the elder brother of Hiranyaksha, was seething with rage and vowed to avenge his brother’s death. He turned to the other asuras (demons) and ordered them to destroy all good people on earth. The orders were to disturb all prayers, extinguish all sacrificial fires, and kill all the cows. Hiranyakashipu was determined not only to take revenge against the gods but also to become the master of all three worlds—Swarg Lok (Heaven), Patal Lok (Hell), and Bhumi Lok (Earth)—by engaging in severe penance.

Hiranyakashipu went to Mount Mandarachala and began his intense penance. He stood there for years and years; while anthills and grasses grew on him, he neither moved nor wavered in concentration. Such was the intensity of his penance that rivers and oceans trembled, the Earth and her mountains shuddered, and stars and planets darted in panic. Fiery smoke started emerging from his head and began to burn everything in its wake. The devas were so terrified that they went to Brahma and prayed, “O Lord, please do something before the three worlds of your creation are consumed by the fire of the asura’s penance.”

Moved by their plight, Brahma went to Mount Mandarachala and asked Hiranyakashipu to open his eyes. He said, “Hiranyakashipu, I am very pleased with your prayers; ask for a boon.” Brahma then sprinkled holy water on Hiranyakashipu, which brought him back to his normal form. Hiranyakashipu asked Brahma for immortality. Brahma declined, saying, “Hiranyakashipu, death is inevitable. All living beings must face death; however, you can choose your death wish.”

Hiranyakashipu, after thinking for a while, asked for three conditions as his death wish: “O Brahma, let not death come to me either by man or by beast, by devil or by god, by day or by night. Let death not come to me by steel, stone, or wood, either indoors or outdoors, either on earth or in the sky. Grant me undisputed lordship over the three worlds.” Brahma said, “May it be so!” In this manner, Hiranyakashipu became practically immortal and wasted no time in conquering and bringing under his sway both heaven and earth. After becoming the master of the world, Hiranyakashipu proclaimed, “None should take the name of Vishnu, for no one, not even Vishnu, is greater than I!”

The panic-struck devas approached Lord Vishnu for help. Lord Vishnu said, “Devas, have patience. Hiranyakashipu’s son, Prahlad, will be my devotee, and when Hiranyakashipu seeks to kill him, I shall slay him.”

Hiranyakashipu’s wife, Kayadhu, gave birth to Prahlad in the ashram of Narad. From an early age, Narad narrated to Prahlad the glory of Lord Vishnu. While Prahlad grew up to be a lovely boy, his father was unaware of Prahlad’s devotion to Lord Vishnu. As Prahlad’s devotion to Lord Vishnu grew, Hiranyakashipu’s desire to see his son become the king of the asuras grew equally strong. One day, Hiranyakashipu lovingly asked his son, “Son, what do you think is the best thing in life?” Prahlad replied, “To renounce the world and seek refuge in Vishnu.” Hiranyakashipu was shocked to hear this. He could not tolerate the idea that his son loved the sworn enemy of the asuras and felt that someone was deliberately trying to brainwash the impressionable Prahlad.

Hiranyakashipu took his son to Shanku and Amarka, the sons of Shukracharya, for schooling. In the school, the teacher lovingly asked Prahlad, “Who has taught you about Vishnu?” Prahlad calmly replied, “Vishnu himself.” Hearing this, the teacher got furious, called for his cane, and beat Prahlad mercilessly. Prahlad stayed quiet, completed his education, and after graduating, returned to his father. Having completed his education, Hiranyakashipu now expected his son Prahlad to behave like an asura prince.

So he lovingly asked, “My son, what did you learn in the Guru’s ashram?” The son replied, “One must take the name of Vishnu.” The infuriated Hiranyakashipu shouted, “Enough! Don’t utter such words again!” Hiranyakashipu immediately summoned Shanku and Amarka, who, upon arriving, asked, “What made you remember us, O Lord?”

Hiranyakashipu shouted, “What have you been teaching Prahlad?” Both replied, “It’s not our fault, Your Majesty! We tried to dissuade him, but he kept telling us that the essence of all learning lay in Vishnu’s name!” Hiranyakashipu rebuked his son. Prahlad stood before his father with his hands folded and said, “O father! You have unnecessarily developed enmity against Vishnu. If you wish well for yourself, you too should adore him!”

An enraged Hiranyakashipu beckoned his subordinates to kill Prahlad. Two horrible attendants appeared there and were ordered to take the boy away to the peak of the mountain and throw him down from there. The servants took Prahlad away, tied his body with ropes, carried him to the peak of the mountain, and threw him down. But Prahlad, with the name of Vishnu on his lips, rolled down the mountain softly, reached the bottom unhurt, smiled, and got up.

On hearing the news of Prahlad’s well-being, Hiranyakashipu became angrier and sentenced his son to death by drowning. Prahlad was thrown into the ocean. Seeing Prahlad, the ocean lifted his body over the waves and landed him safely ashore.

Again, the demon king pronounced another severe punishment for Prahlad and ordered a deadly poison to be mixed in Prahlad’s sweet dish. Seeing the poison have no effect on Prahlad, Hiranyakashipu became even more furious. He set poisonous snakes on Prahlad. The snakes entwined themselves around Prahlad’s body as if they were ornaments. Some of them raised their hoods over his head, giving Prahlad the appearance of Lord Shankara himself.

The demon king sent a mad elephant, but at the sight of Prahlad, the elephant lifted Prahlad with his trunk and placed him on his back. With every failure, Hiranyakashipu’s fury increased, and he thought of even more rigorous punishments for Prahlad.

The king decided to throw his son into the fire to burn him alive. His sister Holika had a boon that fire would not hurt her, and Hiranyakashipu decided that she must sit with Prahlad in her hands. She was made to sit on a big bonfire in an open ground with Prahlad in her lap. The flames encircled the bodies of both of them. The onlookers held their breath with anxiety, but when the fire extinguished, they were amazed to see that Prahlad came out unscathed while Holika was burnt to ashes. Numerous other plans were schemed, but all attempts to hurt Prahlad proved unsuccessful.

The next day, in the open court, Hiranyakashipu challenged Prahlad, “Prahlad! Is my enemy, whom you worship, present anywhere here?” Prahlad replied, “Vishnu is omnipresent. There’s not a single place where he’s not found. You fail to understand the power of the omnipresent Vishnu.” Hiranyakashipu’s fury was at its climax. He got an iron pillar heated and asked Prahlad, “Can you embrace this pillar if you believe that your Vishnu is in here also?”

Prahlad, not hesitating even for a moment, rushed towards the pillar and embraced it. Seeing that the heated iron did not burn Prahlad, the king got up from his throne in fury and hit the pillar with his mace. To his surprise, the pillar cracked with a thundering sound, and Vishnu appeared there in the form of Narasimha. One half of his body was of a lion, and the other half of a man. He had matted hair on his head, large mustaches on his face, and terrible teeth in his mouth. His paws had terrible nails on them.

Immediately Hiranyakashipu remembered his first death wish, “Let not death come to me either by man or by beast, by devil or by God…” As Hiranyakashipu looked outside, he saw it was almost dusk and remembered his second death wish, “…neither by day nor by night.” The demon king tried to hit Narasimha with his mace, but Narasimha brushed it aside swiftly. When it was twilight, Narasimha caught hold of Hiranyakashipu and placed him on his thighs. He sat on the threshold of the courtroom and pierced his nails into the body of the demon. The demon was killed on the spot in a moment. The place was neither inside nor outside as asked for by Hiranyakashipu in his third death wish, “neither indoors nor outdoors.”

Narasimha then coronated Prahlad as the king in place of Hiranyakashipu. Thus, by the faith of his devotee, Vishnu prevented the triumph of evil and established virtue.

Summary

The story of Hiranyakashipu and Prahlad is a powerful example of unwavering devotion and the triumph of good over evil. Hiranyakashipu, enraged by the death of his brother Hiranyaksha at the hands of Lord Vishnu in his Varaha avatar, vowed to avenge him by destroying all goodness and establishing his rule over the three worlds. Through intense penance, Hiranyakashipu gained boons from Brahma, making him nearly invincible. However, his son Prahlad, raised with devotion to Lord Vishnu, defied his father’s orders and continued to worship Vishnu, which enraged Hiranyakashipu. Despite numerous attempts to kill Prahlad, his unwavering faith in Vishnu protected him. Ultimately, when Hiranyakashipu challenged the omnipresence of Vishnu, the Lord appeared in the form of Narasimha—a being neither man nor beast—and fulfilled the conditions of Hiranyakashipu’s death wish. Narasimha killed Hiranyakashipu at twilight, on the threshold of a doorway, demonstrating the power of divine intervention and the protection that unwavering devotion can invoke. Prahlad was then coronated as king, symbolizing the victory of virtue over vice.

Important Points

1. Hiranyakashipu sought revenge against Vishnu for his brother’s death.
2. He performed intense penance and received boons from Brahma, making him nearly immortal.
3. Prahlad, his son, was a devout follower of Vishnu despite his father’s hatred for the deity.
4. Hiranyakashipu attempted numerous ways to kill Prahlad, but Prahlad was protected by his unwavering devotion to Vishnu.
5. The culmination of the story occurred when Vishnu appeared as Narasimha, a form that satisfied all the conditions of Hiranyakashipu’s death wish.
6. Narasimha killed Hiranyakashipu at twilight, on the threshold of a doorway, neither inside nor outside, and neither by man nor beast.
7. The story emphasizes the importance of faith and devotion, demonstrating how divine power protects true believers.
8. Prahlad was coronated as the king, symbolizing the triumph of good over evil.