Anuhlāda

Anuhlāda was the eldest son of the daitya king Hiraṇyakaśipu and his wife Kayādhu. He was the elder brother of Prahlāda and the granduncle of Bali Cakravartī. He was a daitya warrior of great power and fought on the side of the daityas in the wars between the devas and the daityas in the time of Bali. The Harivaṃśa tells how he fought Kubera, the lord of wealth, when Bali conquered the three worlds.

Lineage

Anuhlāda was the son of Hiraṇyakaśipu and Kayādhu, the daughter of Jambha. The Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa names the four sons of Hiraṇyakaśipu as Anuhlāda, Hlāda, Prahlāda and Saṃhrāda. Anuhlāda is the eldest of the four.

His younger brother Prahlāda became the greatest devotee of Bhagavān Vishṇu among the daityas. Bali Cakravartī was born in Prahlāda’s line, so Anuhlāda was the granduncle of Bali.

The Kūrma Purāṇa account

The Kūrma Purāṇa mentions Anuhlāda in the battle against a great Vaishṇava Purusha (a divine person) sent by Bhagavān Vishṇu to meet the daitya forces. Hiraṇyakaśipu sent all four of his sons into the battle. Anuhlāda used the Nārāyaṇāstra, the weapon of Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa, against the divine Purusha. This weapon, like all the others, had no effect. Then Prahlāda withdrew from the fight and recognised the supreme power of the divine Purusha, and the battle turned.

The battle against Kubera

The Bhavishya Parva of the Harivaṃśa tells of the great wars between the devas and the daityas, in Chapters 48 to 65. These wars came before the Vāmana avatāra. In this account Anuhlāda is one of Bali’s chief champions. The war was fought as a series of single combats between champions, and Anuhlāda fought Kubera, the lord of wealth and guardian of the northern direction. The account names this duel as one of the main contests of the war. In this war the daityas drove out the lokapālas (guardians of the directions).

Sources

• Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 7th Skanda, Chapter 2
• Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 16
• Harivaṃśa, Bhavishya Parva, Chapters 48 to 65