The Unheard Story Of Lord Narasimha

How many of you know about Lord Narasimha? Even if you don’t know about his name, you must be aware of the story of a lion-headed God who emerged from a pillar. Yes, he is Lord Narasimha. Lord Vishnu is referred to as the protector of the Universe. Moreover, all of his avatars are meant for the betterment and protection of Humankind. Similarly, his Narasimha Avatar.

This avatar of Lord Narasimha was there to kill the evil Hirnakashipu. Lord Vishnu took its avatar to save his devotee Prahlad from the torture of his evil father Hirnakshipu. This Narasimha avatar of vishnu is, to date, worshipped by devotees in order to destroy the evils in their lives. Now, let us continue with the unheard story of Lord Narasimha and Prahlad.

Hiranakshipu and Bhakt Prahlad Story

It is the fourth avatar of Lord Vishnu, known to reincarnate on earth to remove evil and bring prosperity and peace. This avatar of Vishnu is considered quite fierce among the rest of the ten avatars due to its unique half-human and half-lion looks. This fearsome avatar came to earth to save Lord Vishnu’s determined devotee, young Prahlad. Let’s take a look at this touching story of love between a devotee and his Lord.

The Story of Two Brothers – Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu

The story begins in the Sata Yug when Rishi Kashyap and his wife Diti have two sons. These two were named Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu. As they grew up, the sage parents tried their best to give the two boys good morals and lessons in empathy, but to no avail. They started terrorizing the people on Earth and even made Deva in heaven a target of their horrors. This caused havoc all across, and the Devas finally decided to go to Lord Vishnu and pray for his intervention. God obliged their prayers and took the incarnation of Varaha, a giant boar, to annihilate Hirankyaksha. The latter got so scared that he hid inside the earth to avoid the consequences of his actions.

He personified Bhudevi inside the deep oceans, but even then, Varaha found the culprit. He located Hiranyaksha, and an intense fight took place. The fight was so powerful that the world shook, causing panic in its beings. Finally, Varaha mowed down Hiranyaksha with his tusks and carried the whole earth on its two tusks, placing it in its rightful position, hence restoring balance to all of the Earth and the Universe.

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Hiranyakashipu Seeking Revenge

The Devas and beings on earth rejoiced, but on the other hand, Hiranyakshipu, the brother of Hiranyaksha, swore to take revenge on the murderer of his brother, Lord Vishnu. He waged a great war, scaring everyone on Earth, and marched towards Heaven. Here, the mighty warrior saw the strength of Deva and was surprised to know that they were also, in fact, being helped by Vishnu himself. This caused him more grievance, and Hiranyakshipu decided to obliterate the mighty God completely. To get himself the required blessing, he decided to pray to Lord Brahma. Hiranyakshipu went into the depths of thick jungles to meditate.

When Hiranyakashipu was in the jungle to meditate during that time, Lord Indra decided to take his chance to destroy his kingdom. He attacked the Asura army, who were clueless without their leader. After easily defeating them, Indra decided to take Hiranyakshipu’s wife, Kayadhu, as a hostage. He decided that the lady would be a great chip to negotiate should her husband ever try to threaten the peace of heaven again. As he was about to do this task, Narada arrived at the scene. The God-sage refuted this way of action by Indra and took the lady with him to his place.

She thanked him for saving her and vowed always to treat him like a father figure. Narada accepted this and invited Kayadhu to live in his hut. Every day, he would tell her stories of his Lord Vishnu, and with each tale, Kayadhu got more attached to the Lord himself. As the unborn baby listened to the stories through the womb, he also got attracted to Vishnu and his kindness.

Hiranyakashipu Seeking Eternal Life

On the other hand, Hiranyakashipu’s meditation was so strong that it started heating up the whole of the cosmos. Deva joined forces and went to Lord Brahma to request him to accept Hiranyakshipu’s prayers. Brahma appeared in front of him and blessed him with a boon he wished for. Hiranyakshipu wished for immortality. Lord Brahma told him this wasn’t possible.

Then the Asura asked him to give a unique boon: ‘May no man, no god, no animal created by Brahma can kill me. May I never be killed at day or at night with any weapon, inside or outside my house? The Lord pondered for a few moments and then granted him the boon. Hiranyakshipu was overjoyed and returned to his kingdom with a feeling of triumph.

Hirnakshipu’s Attempts to Kill Prahlad

Hiranyakshipu then discovered his wife and son on the earth and brought them back home. Here was the beginning of friction between a stubborn and vile Hiranyakshipu and his kind son, Prahlad, a huge devotee of Lord Vishnu. The king was disgusted that his own son would sing praises of the very enemy he sought to destroy. Finally, he got so fed up with Prahlad that he decided to kill him.

Hiranyakshipu employed multiple methods to kill Prahlad, right from assassins to venomous snakes and his own sister Holika, who was insusceptible to fire but was turned to ashes for trying to harm the boy; no one could touch the child. At last, Hiranyakshipu was adamant and took the boy to a room. He questioned his faith and then asked him where Prahlad’s God resided. The young boy answered that Lord Vishnu resides in every grain of sand and every breath of air. Hearing this, an enraged Hirankyakshipu asked, ‘Is he in this pillar too?’ That’s when Lord Narsimha broke free from inside the pillar.

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The Coming of Lord Narasimha

He had the scary head of a Lion and the lower half of a man. The fiery Lord announced that he was Narasimha, the fourth avatar of Vishnu, reincarnated on Earth to remove evil. He caught Hiranyakshipu and dragged him in an iron grip towards the threshold of his door (neither inside the house nor outside). The Lord placed him on his lap (neither sky nor earth) and dug his nails in his chest (no weapon), and split it into two at twilight (neither day nor night).

After killing the Asura, Narasimha roared, striking fear in the Asura army. Everybody was scared to approach the fearsome lord, but only Prahlad went to him with devotion-filled eyes and requested him to calm down. The Lord blessed him and declared him the King, and Prahlad ruled the kingdom with honesty and a good heart.

Conclusion

There you have it, folks! This was the story of Prahlad and hiranyakashipu, in which Narasimha killed hiranyakashipu happened. The killing of Hirnakshipu was seen as the victory of good over evil by the devotees of Lord Vishnu. The stories provide two morals for young children to learn. One is that if an individual has faith, the Lord will protect them. Moreover, the other was that no matter how big and mighty the evil is, it will always be defeated by good. If you liked the blog and want to read more such interesting blogs, then visit InstaAstro’s website or download the app for the same.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Which festival is related to the story of Prahlad and hiranyakashipu?

The festival of Choti Holi or Holika Dahan is a festival that is related to the story of Prahlad and Hiranyakashipu.

2. Who killed lord Vishnu?

In order to control the Narasimha avatar of Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva took the form of Sharabha. He is described as half deer and half man. Lord Shiva’s Sharabha avatar is known to be the one that defeated Lord Vishnu.

3. Who is Vishnu first devotee?

There is no clear evidence of who is the first devotee of Lord Vishnu. However, we can name some of the biggest devotees of Lord Vishnu. These include Brahma, Narada, Shiva, the Four Kumaras, Kapila, Svayambhuva Manu, Prahlada, Janaka, Bhishma, Bali, Śuka, and Yama.

4. What is Prahlad father name?

Prahlad’s fater name is Hirnakshipu. However, some people also call him Hirnakashyap.

5. Where was Prahlad from?

The place that Prahlad belonged to was the City of Haridrohi. The name is derived from his father’s actions. His father was considered to be a trait of God. This in Hindi translated to Hari drohi. Thus, the name was Haridrohi.

6. Who is the wife of Hiranyakashyap?

The wife of Hiranyakashyap is Kayadhu. Lord Indra attempted to kidnap her in order to negotiate with her evil husband Hirnakashyap. However, here, Narada arrived and saved her from the evil plans of Indra.