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Narasimha Avatar - Fourth Avatar Of Vishnu | Dashavatar
Hiranyakashyap was the brother of Hiranyaksha who was killed by the second avatar of Vishnu, the Varaha avatar. When he saw that Hiranyaksha had been killed by Vishnu he swore vengeance.
He meditated to Lord Brahma and because of his severe penance, he asked his boon to be that he would not die during the day or the night; on land, at sea or in the sky; inside or outside; by the hands of human or beast; or by any weapon. Brahma granted him his wish. Now, he thought, he was immortal.
Having obtained the boon, he considered himself the supreme God and forbade all worship of Gods by anyone. In due course Hiranyakashyap had a son. His name was Prahlad. When Prahlad was born to Hiranyakashyap's wife - Kayadhu, the demon was in the Himalayas doing intense penance to please Lord Brahma for obtaining his boon. Interestingly Prahlad was destined to take birth at the humble abode of Devarshi Narada Muni, and none other than Goddess Yogmaya helped Kayadhu deliver her baby. Therefore, Prahald was always surrounded by sages who preached him the greatness of Vishnu. Prahlad grew up to be a great devotee and had the blessings of Lord Vishnu and the Gods even when he was in his mother's womb. Hence, despite being the son of an Asura, the boy turned out to be quite different from his father and exhibited divine qualities.
Unable to tolerate a member of his family worshipping his mortal enemy, he decided to kill his own son. But it was not easy. He gave him to his soldiers to execute, but they couldn’t do it. He tried throwing him off a cliff, crushing him beneath an elephant, putting him amongst venomous snakes and poisoning his food. Nothing would work. During a particular attempt on Prahlad's life, King Hiranyakashyap called upon his sister Holika for help. Holika had a special cloak garment that prevented her from being harmed by fire. Hiranyakashyap asked her to sit on a bonfire with Prahlad, by tricking the boy to sit on her lap. However, as the fire roared, the garment flew from Holika and covered Prahlad. Holika burnt to death, Prahlad came out unharmed. Prahlad’s life was always protected by some supernatural force.
“Where is this Vishnu of yours! Let me see him so that I can kill him!”
“He’s everywhere!” replied Prahlad.
“Then he’s in this pillar,” cried the demon, and rushing at a nearby pillar of the palace struck it a terrible blow. At that moment a fearful sound came from the pillar, as if the universe itself was about to split apart. All who heard it were afraid. The pillar burst asunder and a terrifying form emerged from it - with the head of a lion and the body of a man. This was Narasimha, the man-lion incarnation of Vishnu, who had come to protect his devotee, Prahlad. Hiranyakashyap tried to attack him, as an insect flies into a fire. After a brief struggle, Narasimha picked up the demon and killed him.
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