Prahlada: Encyclopedia - Prahlada

Prahlada

In Hinduism, Prahlada was a son of Hiranyakashipu, a Daitya who hated the devas, and most especially, Lord Vishnu, the followers of whom he began to torment. Prahlada is known particularly for his steadfast devotion to Lord Vishnu, while defying his father and not losing his faith despite Hiranyakashipu's several attempts to coerce and even kill him.

Prahlada - The Devotee

The story of Prahlada is told in the Seventh book of the Srimad Bhagavatam. It is a fascinating account of how one who is devoted to the Lord in toto is never let down by Him and how the recitation of God's names as the only and final resort is the gateway to reach the Lotus Feet of the Lord.

Hiranyakashipu had performed severe penance in order to obtain the boon of immortality from Brahma. However, on being denied the boon of immortality, he instead obtained a boon which prevented him from being killed by neither man nor animal, neither at night nor during day, neither inside nor outside, neither on earth nor in space, and neither by an animate nor by an inanimate weapon. Equipped with the power of this boon from Brahma, which Hiranyakashipu thought made it impossible for him to be killed, he began to attack the devas. While he was away on one of his campaigns, the divine sage Narada visited Hiranyakashipu's wife who was pregnant with Prahlada. Narada started reciting the stories of great devotees of Vishnu to her, but his narration was really directed at Prahlada, who was listening to the stories from within his mother's womb. Due to this fortuitous event, Prahlada was a convinced and confirmed devotee of the Lord right from his birth and he turned out to be not just an ordinary devotee, but one who set an extraordinary standard for exemplary devotion to the Supreme Almighty.

Prahlada - Attempts to kill Prahlada

Hiranyakashipu was furious at Prahlada for being a devotee of Vishnu, whom he despised. He attempted to show off his own greatness and tried to demonstrate how he was even greater than Vishnu, but Prahlada refused to be convinced. Hiranyakashipu then made many attempts to have Prahlada killed. These attempts included:

• having Prahlada hold a hot pole
• making him jump off a steep cliff
• getting an elephant to trample him
• piercing him with spears from all sides
• administering poison
• setting snakes on him to bite him

None of these could harm Prahlada, for he was always chanting and repeating the 'Om Namo Narayanaya' mantra.

Prahlada - Holi

Another one of Hiranyakashipu's attempts to kill him, was to have Prahlada sit on a burning pyre with his siter Holika. (This story however is not in the Bhagavatam, which is the original source for Prahlada's story). Holika had a special gift that prevented her from being harmed by fire. Once again Prahlada chanted Vishnu's name and in the battle of good against evil, Holika was burnt but Prahlada escaped unhurt. The burning of Holika is celebrated as the Holi festival which is popular in northern India.

Prahlada - Narasimha

In one of his confrontation with Prahlada, Hiranyakashipu asked him in rage if Vishnu was omnipresent, if he was in a particular pillar in his palace. When Prahlada answered that he was, to prove him wrong, Hiranyakashipu smashed the pillar, but to his surprise, Narasimha (Vishnu's avatar) emerged from it. Narasimha (nara - meaning man, simha - meaning lion, thus Narasimha is half-man and half-lion) was neither human nor animal and he appeared during twilight (neither day nor night). Narasimha then grabbed Hiranyakashipu, and while on the threshold of the entrance to the courtyard (neither inside nor out), laid him on his thighs (neither on earth, nor in space), and using nails (neither animate nor inanimate) ripped open Hiranyakashipu's stomach and killed him.

Prahlada - Places of Pilgrimage

The main places of pilgrimage associated Prahlada are those places where Sri Narasimha is believed to have manifested himself in order to aid Prahlada. They are Ahobilam, Kadiri, and Simhachalam all located in the present-day state of Andhra Pradesh in India.

Prahlada - Raghavendra Swami

Followers of the Madhva sect believe that Prahlada was reincarnated as the great saint, Raghavendra Swami, in the seventeenth century.

Category: Hindu mythology

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Prahlada", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki