Narasimha

Narasimha

                The story of Narasimha as described in the Bhagavata Purana is as follows:

                In his previous avatara of Varaha, Vishnu killed a rakshasa known as Hiranyaksha. Hiranyaksha's brother Hiranyakashipu, greatly angered by this, started to abhor Vishnu and his followers. He decides to attempt to kill Vishnu by gaining mystical powers, which he believes Brahma, the chief among the devas, will award him if he undergoes many years of great austerity and penance. This initially seems to work as planned with Brahma becoming pleased by Hiranyakashipu's austerities. Brahma thus appears before Hiranyakashipu and offers him a boon that he will personally make true anything he wishes for. In reply, Hiranyakashipu requests that he cannot be killed by human, deva, or animal; cannot be killed during day or night; cannot be killed indoors or out; cannot be killed on Earth or in space; and cannot be killed by either animate or inanimate weapons. It is granted.

                One day while Hiranyakashipu is performing austerities at Mandaracala Mountain, his home is attacked by Indra and the other devatas. At this point the divine sage Narada intervenes to protect Kayadu (Hiranyakashipu’s wife), whom he describes as 'sinless'. Following this event, Narada takes Kayadu into his care and while under the guidance of Narada, her unborn child (Hiranyakashipu's son) Prahlada, becomes affected by the transcendental instructions of the sage even at such a young stage of development. Thus, Prahlada later begins to show symptoms of this earlier training by Narada, gradually becoming recognised as a devoted follower of Vishnu, much to his father's disappointment.

                Hiranyakashipu eventually becomes so angry and upset at his son's devotion to Vishnu (whom he sees as his mortal enemy) that he decides he must kill him, but each time he attempts to kill the boy, Prahlada is protected by Vishnu's mystical power. When asked, Prahlada refuses to acknowledge his father as the supreme lord of the universe and claims that Vishnu is all-pervading and omnipresent. Hiranyakashipu points to a nearby pillar and asks if 'his Vishnu' is in it.

                Prahlada then answers, He was, He is and He will be. In an alternate version of the story, Prahlada answers, He is in pillars, and he is in the smallest twig. Hiranyakashipu, unable to control his anger, smashes the pillar with his mace, and following a tumultuous sound, Vishnu in the form of Narasimha appears from it and moves to attack his father in defence of Prahlada. In order to kill Hiranyakashipu and not upset the boon given by Brahma, the form of Narasimha is chosen. Hiranyakashipu cannot be killed by human, deva or animal. Narasimha is neither one of these as he is a form of Vishnu incarnate as a part-human, part-animal. He comes upon Hiranyakashipu at twilight (when it is neither day nor night) on the threshold of a courtyard (neither indoors nor out), and puts the demon on his thighs (neither earth nor space). Using his sharp fingernails (neither animate nor inanimate) as weapons, he disembowels and kills the demon. Kurma Purana describes the preceding battle between the Purusha and demonic forces in which he escapes a powerful weapon called Pashupata and it describes how Prahlada's brothers headed by Anuhrada and thousands of other demons "were led to the valley of death (yamalayam) by the lion produced from the body of man-lion" avatara. The same episode occurs in the Matshya Purana 179, several chapters after its version of the Narasimha advent.

                The Bhagavata Purana further narrates: even after killing Hiranyakashipu, none of the present demigods are able to calm Narasimha's fury, not even Shiva. So all the gods and goddesses call his consort, Lakshmi, but she is also unable to do so. Then, at the request of Brahma, Prahlada is presented to Narasimha, and finally he is calmed by the prayers of his devotee. Before parting, Narasimha rewards the wise Prahlada by crowning him as the king.