Narasiṃha Avatāra (Narasiṃha Purāṇa)

Chapters 40 to 44 of the Narasiṃha Purāṇa tell of the avatāra (descent) of Bhagavān Narasiṃha in great detail. Hiraṇyakaśipu wins a vara (a boon) from Brahmā that makes him almost impossible to kill. He conquers the three worlds and then turns on his own son Prahlāda, who is a firm bhakta of Bhagavān Vishṇu. The account has several parts that are told here: Nārada as a sparrow, Indra’s attempt to carry off Kāyadhū, the teaching Prahlāda received in the womb, Prahlāda in the ocean with Samudra, and at last Bhagavān Narasiṃha coming out of the pillar. It ends with Prahlāda crowned as king and Śrī Śailam named as the permanent home of Bhagavān Narasiṃha.

Hiraṇyakaśipu’s tapas and Brahmā’s vara

Hiraṇyakaśipu was the mighty Daitya king and the elder brother of Hiraṇyāksha. He did fierce tapas (austerity) at Mandara mountain for ten thousand years. He stood on one leg with both arms raised and bore the cold of winter and the heat of summer. His tapas made such heat that it scorched the three worlds.

Brahmā came before him and offered a vara. Hiraṇyakaśipu asked, “May I not be killed by any being, deva, dānava, yaksha, gandharva, kinnara, serpent or human. May no weapon slay me. May I not die by day or by night. May I not be killed inside or outside any house. May I not be struck down on earth or in the sky.” Brahmā was pleased with the tapas and gave every one of these conditions. This made Hiraṇyakaśipu nearly immortal by ordinary means.

With this great vara, Hiraṇyakaśipu conquered Amarāvatī, the city of Indra. He drove the lokapālas (guardians of the worlds) out of their domains and made all three worlds bow to him. He declared himself supreme above all the devas and forbade the pūjā of Bhagavān Vishṇu everywhere in his realm.

The devas go to Bhagavān Vishṇu

The devas had lost their places and had nothing. They went to Bṛhaspati for guidance. Bṛhaspati told them to take refuge with Bhagavān Vishṇu at the Kshīrasāgara. With Brahmā at their head, the devas went to the Kshīrasāgara and offered prayers.

Mahādeva Bhagavān Śiva himself made a stuti (hymn of praise) of a hundred names of Bhagavān Vishṇu in Sanskrit. It is called the Mahādeva stuti of Bhagavān Vishṇu. In it he declared the supremacy of Bhagavān Vishṇu and asked him to protect dharma. Bhagavān Vishṇu was pleased. He promised the devas that he would take birth to slay Hiraṇyakaśipu when the time was right. That time would be when Hiraṇyakaśipu threatened his own son Prahlāda.

Nārada breaks the tapas: the sparrows

Nārada Maharshi, with Parvata Muni, came to the place of Hiraṇyakaśipu’s tapas in the form of sparrows (śuka-pakshi). They chanted without stopping “Oṃ Namo Nārāyaṇāya.” This unbroken chant of the name of Bhagavān Vishṇu broke the calm of the tapas and reminded Hiraṇyakaśipu of his enemy. He was disturbed and restless. He ended his austerities and went back to his palace.

Nārada’s garbha-upadeśa: teaching in the womb

When Hiraṇyakaśipu returned, his wife Kāyadhū conceived. When the news of her pregnancy spread, Indra wished to stop a strong heir from being born. He took a disguise and tried to carry off Kāyadhū, so as to break the line of succession. Nārada knew of the plan. He stopped Indra and freed Kāyadhū from his hold. Nārada then took Kāyadhū to his own āśrama to keep her safe during her pregnancy.

While she stayed in the āśrama of Nārada, the Maharshi recited the Bhāgavata-vidyā every day in her presence. This is the highest knowledge of the nature of Bhagavān Vishṇu, his avatāras, his presence in everything, and the path of bhakti. The child Prahlāda, still in the womb, received this upadeśa (teaching) directly and was born already firm in bhakti to Bhagavān Vishṇu. This is the garbha-upadeśa, the teaching given in the womb. The Narasiṃha Purāṇa gives it as the reason for Prahlāda’s unshaken devotion from birth.

Prahlāda was born shining with divine qualities. Even as a child in the royal court, he was asked by Hiraṇyakaśipu, “Who is the greatest in all the worlds?” Prahlāda answered at once, “Bhagavān Vishṇu.” Hiraṇyakaśipu was full of anger. He decided to break his son’s devotion by force.

The attempts to kill Prahlāda

Hiraṇyakaśipu first ordered his rākshasa warriors to kill Prahlāda with their weapons. Every weapon that touched Prahlāda turned into a flower. The warriors were amazed and helpless, and they reported that they had failed.

Serpents were sent. Their fangs broke on the child’s skin. He was thrown from a mountain peak, and the earth received him gently, as if holding him in her lap. He was given poison, and it became nectar in his hands. He was thrown into fire, and the flames did not harm him.

His teacher was a paurohitya brāhmaṇa (a family priest) chosen by Hiraṇyakaśipu. He tried to turn Prahlāda’s devotion away and teach him to honour the Daitya king as supreme. Prahlāda listened with respect but did not give way. His mind stayed fixed on Nārāyaṇa, and no threat or lesson could move it.

Prahlāda teaches the rākshasa children

Prahlāda studied with other children of the rākshasas. He taught his friends about saṃsāra: how all beings go round in birth and death, driven by karma. He taught that the only true refuge is Bhagavān Vishṇu, and that even in the body of a daitya a person may reach moksha (liberation) through bhakti. His words planted seeds of devotion even among those of his own age.

Prahlāda thrown into the ocean: Samudra’s darśana

When every other attempt had failed, Hiraṇyakaśipu ordered that Prahlāda be thrown into the cosmic ocean. Prahlāda was cast into the deep waters. Under the water he did not drown. He stayed absorbed in meditation on Bhagavān Vishṇu and chanted the names of Nārāyaṇa.

Samudra, the deva of the ocean, was moved by the purity and strength of Prahlāda’s devotion. He rose before Prahlāda in a divine form, praised him with hymns of devotion, and said that he was ready to serve the greatest of bhaktas. The waves of the ocean carried Prahlāda safely to the shore.

On the shore Bhagavān Vishṇu himself appeared before Prahlāda. He had his divine four-armed form and held the śaṅkha (conch), cakra (discus), gadā (mace) and padma (lotus). Prahlāda fell at his feet. Bhagavān Vishṇu asked what vara Prahlāda wished for. Prahlāda was always free from any wish for himself, and he asked for one thing only: bhakti to the lotus feet of Bhagavān Vishṇu that would never die and never waver. Bhagavān Vishṇu was deeply pleased and gave exactly this vara.

Bhagavān Narasiṃha comes out of the pillar

Prahlāda came back to his father’s court, and Hiraṇyakaśipu’s anger reached its peak. He raised his Candrahāsa, the sword of the moon, a weapon of great power, and struck one of the pillars of the palace. He cried, “Where is this Vishṇu you worship so blindly? If he is everywhere, let him appear from this pillar!”

At that moment, with a roar that shook all the worlds, Bhagavān Narasiṃha burst out of the pillar. He was half man and half lion. His mane blazed like a thousand suns, his eyes were like molten gold, and his form was so fearful that every being in the three worlds trembled. The whole army of asuras that came against him was destroyed in moments.

Hiraṇyakaśipu himself rushed at Bhagavān Narasiṃha. Bhagavān Narasiṃha seized him and carried him to the threshold of the palace doorway, neither inside the hall nor in the open courtyard. It was twilight, neither day nor night. He laid Hiraṇyakaśipu on his lap, neither on the earth nor in the sky. With his own nails, which are not an ordinary weapon, Bhagavān Narasiṃha tore open the chest of the Daitya and slew him. Every condition of Brahmā’s vara was met exactly, and yet Bhagavān Narasiṃha went beyond all of them.

After the vadha: Prahlāda crowned and Śrī Śailam

After the slaying of Hiraṇyakaśipu, the devas were glad and flowers rained from the sky. The ṛshis and devas who had gathered praised Bhagavān Narasiṃha and asked him to put away his fearful form. Pacified by the stotra of Prahlāda, Bhagavān Narasiṃha became calm. Prahlāda performed the rites of crowning and was made king of the rākshasas.

The Narasiṃha Purāṇa names Śrī Śailam, also called Śrīśaila Parvata, as the permanent home of Bhagavān Narasiṃha. It is the holy mountain where Bhagavān Narasiṃha is for ever present, to protect his devotees and to bring them moksha.

Sources

• Narasiṃha Purāṇa, Chapter 40
• Narasiṃha Purāṇa, Chapter 41
• Narasiṃha Purāṇa, Chapter 42
• Narasiṃha Purāṇa, Chapter 43
• Narasiṃha Purāṇa, Chapter 44