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Lord
Narasimha
 Lord
Narasimha is a popular deity but
only a few temples are dedicated to Him
as in this avatar, the Lord is seen in a
terrible form. The demon king
Hiranyakashipu
secured a boon from Lord Brahma that he
should not be killed by devas, human beings or
animals or beasts;
by weapons of any kind; during daytime
or night; inside or outside a dwelling
place. His son, Prahlad was an ardent devotee of
the Lord and declares before the
demon that “Lord Vishnu is
everywhere!”
“Then show me in this pillar.” Says
the father and hits hard at the pillar. From
there emerges the Lord Narasimha, half-man
and half-lion. It was evening-neither day
nor night. He caught hold of the powerful demon
and sat at the threshold placing on his thighs;
neither on the sky nor on the earth-neither
inside nor outside and slayed with bare but very
sharp nails-without any weapons. We have stated
this in a minute, here but the Lord did not kill
him in a minute and according to the
mythological accounts it took 1000 years for the
Lord to kill the demon. Many of the temples
celebrate Narasimha jayanti on the 14th
day of Vaishaka in the Sukla Paksha.
Are
you afraid of me?
Even
after slaying Hiranyakashipu, it is stated that
the Lord’s anger did not subside. So Lord Brahma
appealed to Mother Lakshmi to pacify Lord
Narasimha. But she did not dare to go near Him.
Then Lord Brahma asked Prahlad, the ardent
devotee, who with folded hands went close and
prayed. Beholding His Bhakta, the Lord’s anger
cooled down. Brightly smiling he drew Prahlad
closer, made him sit on His lap and asked, “Prahlad dear, are you really afraid of seeing me in this
form?” This is how God blessed a devotee even
though he was a little child.
(For
the Legend click here)
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