The myth:
Hiranyakshan from the previous avatar had a brother - Hiranyakashipu. Hiranyakashipu hates Vishnu for the injustice he meted out to his brother and decides to become God himself. He performs a severe penance and Brahma comes in front of him. He asks Brahma for immortality. Brahma tells him that he cannot grant him immortality as that is restricted for the devas and the Gods. Hiranyakashipu is upset and continues to pray. Brahma comes again and he asks him what he wants. He asks for the following boon - " I should not die of old age or sickness, i should not be killed by man or animal, i should not die in daylight or in the night, i should not be killed inside or outside, I should not be killed in land or in the skies, I should not be killed by any weapon made of iron or wood. " Brahma grants him his boon which Hiranyakshan deems is immortality.
He chases the devas away from their abode, rules over heaven, earth and the netherworld. He tells everyone that he is God for nobody can vanquish him. He makes the sages chant his name, he gets temples built for himself and he prevents the worship of Lord Vishnu, the man who killed his brother.
Hiranyakashipu has a beautiful wife who was pregnant when he was performing penance. She is coveted by Indira and so she hides in the ashram of Narada who tells her the story of Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu takes her home from the hermitage when he gains power and spares Narada for he cared for his wife. A son is born to them - a boy by the name of Prahlad. Prahlad had listened to the glories of the Lord when he was in his mother's womb and he is born a Vishnu devotee. This is initially kept a secret from his dad who is busy harassing sages who do not pray to him and mortals who refuse to bow down. He is effectively the most powerful creature/man in the whole world now. He realizes his sons loyalties don't lie with him and he tries to convert the boy. The cheeky boy says that Vishnu is everywhere and sings praises of his God.
Initially tolerant of his son's whim, Hiranyakashipu loses it when the boy refuses to worship him. He orders the boy to be whipped. The whip becomes a rope of flowers when it hits the boy. He tries to kill the boy by drowning, the boy survives. He tries to poison the boy, the boy survives and he finally tries to get an elephant to trample the boy but the elephant runs away on seeing Prahlada. An angry Hiranyakashipu then asks Prahlad, "Where is this god of yours? How come i have never seen him when I was busy wrecking the lives of his devotees?" Prahlad replies that the Lord, "Is there in every pillar, every small atom in the world and is in the heart of his every devotee."
Hiranyakshan takes his mace and swings it on a pillar and an angry looking lion faced man steps out of the pillar. He is half man, half animal and not a god. He fights with Hiranyakshan who is not able to combat the ferocity of the creature. It is twilight (neither daylight or night) and Narasimha catches Hiranyakshan, sits in the steps of his palace (neither inside nor outside) and puts him in his lap (neither land or sky) and tears him to pieces (no weapon). This angry Narasimha is the Ugranarasimha who is not able to cool down as he is still seething with the injustice meted out to his devotees by the crazy demon. He finally calms when Prahlada prays to him and crowns Prahlada king.
The philosophy :
No matter how smart you deem you are, there is someone much smarter out there. This to me is the favorite thought that crosses my mind every time i hear this story.
No matter how impossible following your ideal/dream is (in Prahlada's case, glimpsing the lord) and no matter how difficult it is to stick to your faith, you have to do it for that is what defines you. Prahlada to me is the man who sticks to his guns no matter what and i deeply admire him for it.
Narasimha is also my favorite god for there is no niceness here when he is killing. He steps out of the pillar and does what has to be done without bothering about the gore. He calms down at the sight of his devotee but his anger is righteous and strong enough to destroy. The angry God is there to remind you not to fear anything for there is something or someone much bigger than all of us.
Hiranyakshan from the previous avatar had a brother - Hiranyakashipu. Hiranyakashipu hates Vishnu for the injustice he meted out to his brother and decides to become God himself. He performs a severe penance and Brahma comes in front of him. He asks Brahma for immortality. Brahma tells him that he cannot grant him immortality as that is restricted for the devas and the Gods. Hiranyakashipu is upset and continues to pray. Brahma comes again and he asks him what he wants. He asks for the following boon - " I should not die of old age or sickness, i should not be killed by man or animal, i should not die in daylight or in the night, i should not be killed inside or outside, I should not be killed in land or in the skies, I should not be killed by any weapon made of iron or wood. " Brahma grants him his boon which Hiranyakshan deems is immortality.
He chases the devas away from their abode, rules over heaven, earth and the netherworld. He tells everyone that he is God for nobody can vanquish him. He makes the sages chant his name, he gets temples built for himself and he prevents the worship of Lord Vishnu, the man who killed his brother.
Hiranyakashipu has a beautiful wife who was pregnant when he was performing penance. She is coveted by Indira and so she hides in the ashram of Narada who tells her the story of Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu takes her home from the hermitage when he gains power and spares Narada for he cared for his wife. A son is born to them - a boy by the name of Prahlad. Prahlad had listened to the glories of the Lord when he was in his mother's womb and he is born a Vishnu devotee. This is initially kept a secret from his dad who is busy harassing sages who do not pray to him and mortals who refuse to bow down. He is effectively the most powerful creature/man in the whole world now. He realizes his sons loyalties don't lie with him and he tries to convert the boy. The cheeky boy says that Vishnu is everywhere and sings praises of his God.
Initially tolerant of his son's whim, Hiranyakashipu loses it when the boy refuses to worship him. He orders the boy to be whipped. The whip becomes a rope of flowers when it hits the boy. He tries to kill the boy by drowning, the boy survives. He tries to poison the boy, the boy survives and he finally tries to get an elephant to trample the boy but the elephant runs away on seeing Prahlada. An angry Hiranyakashipu then asks Prahlad, "Where is this god of yours? How come i have never seen him when I was busy wrecking the lives of his devotees?" Prahlad replies that the Lord, "Is there in every pillar, every small atom in the world and is in the heart of his every devotee."
Hiranyakshan takes his mace and swings it on a pillar and an angry looking lion faced man steps out of the pillar. He is half man, half animal and not a god. He fights with Hiranyakshan who is not able to combat the ferocity of the creature. It is twilight (neither daylight or night) and Narasimha catches Hiranyakshan, sits in the steps of his palace (neither inside nor outside) and puts him in his lap (neither land or sky) and tears him to pieces (no weapon). This angry Narasimha is the Ugranarasimha who is not able to cool down as he is still seething with the injustice meted out to his devotees by the crazy demon. He finally calms when Prahlada prays to him and crowns Prahlada king.
The philosophy :
No matter how smart you deem you are, there is someone much smarter out there. This to me is the favorite thought that crosses my mind every time i hear this story.
No matter how impossible following your ideal/dream is (in Prahlada's case, glimpsing the lord) and no matter how difficult it is to stick to your faith, you have to do it for that is what defines you. Prahlada to me is the man who sticks to his guns no matter what and i deeply admire him for it.
Narasimha is also my favorite god for there is no niceness here when he is killing. He steps out of the pillar and does what has to be done without bothering about the gore. He calms down at the sight of his devotee but his anger is righteous and strong enough to destroy. The angry God is there to remind you not to fear anything for there is something or someone much bigger than all of us.
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