There was once a demon king called Hiranyakashipu, which means “dressed in gold”. The King has a son, Prahlad, who refused to worship his father, but instead worshipped the great god Vishnu. Prahlad’s devotion to Vishnu sent the King into a rage and he decided to have the boy killed because he would not change his ways. The King ordered an army to cut Prahlad to pieces with their razor sharp swords. As the soldiers advanced, Prahlad called “Om Namo Bhagvathe Vasudevaya” and the soldiers lost their strength and were unable to kill the body. Next, the King had Prahlad thrown into a pit of loathsome, poisonous snakes. Again the boy called the name of Vishnu “Om Namo Bhagvathe Vasudevaya” and the snakes did him no harm. The King tried many other ways to get rid of the boy, once by trying to drown him in the sea and another time by having him trampled to death by a herd of giant elephants who lived in the skies. Every time the boy survived by calling the name of Vishnu “Om Namo Bhagvathe Vasudevaya” . In desperation, the King summoned his sister Holika to help get rid of the boy. Holika was a demoness who once had been given a special favour by Agni, the fire god, so that she would always be protected from the dangers of fire. Holika tricked Prahlad into climbing with her on to an unlit bonfire. When they had climbed up, Holika grabbed the boy and called the King’s soldiers to light the fire. The evil demoness cackled with laughter as the flames began to rise. Prahlad called: “Om Namo Bhagvathe Vasudevaya” . The power of Vishnu was so great that Prahlad was protected from the flames, while Holika, in spite of her wish, perished in the fire. One day Hiranyakashipu dragged Prahlada into a multi- pillared hall in his palace. Hiranyakashipu screamed at Prahlada , " Where is this Vishnu of yours ? Can you show me where he is ? ". Prahlada replied that the Lord was everywhere and in everything . Hiranyakashipu then pointed at a pillar and said , " How about this pillar ? ". Prahlada answered in the affirmative. Hiranyakashipu's rage knew no bounds. He broke the pillar. From the pillar, emerged a being unlike anything that Hiranyakashipu had ever seen. Lord Vishnu had appeared in a unique form posessing a Lion's head and a human body . With a loud roar, Lord Vishnu in this Nara-Simha (Man-Lion) form , grabbed Hiranyakashipu and dragged him to the courtyard of his palace. Narasimha seated himself on a step at the main doorway and, placed Hiranyakashipu on his thighs. With His sharp nails he tore Hiranyakashipu apart , bringing an end to his tyranny .
