The Nrisingha Avatara - W J Wilkins

In the account of the preceding incarnation, it was stated that Vishnu ere he raised the earth on his tusk, slew a demon named Hiranyaksha. This daitya had a brother named Hiranyakasipu, who, the "Vayu Purana" says, had obtained a boon from Brahma, that he should not be slain by any created being; the "Kurma Purana" adds, excepting Vishnu. When therefore his pride, fostered by his supposed immunity from danger had led him to great excesses, and his death was desired both by gods and men, Vishnu descended in the form of a living being, half-man, and half-lion, and so neither man nor animal and slew him. By the assumption of this form the letter of Brahma’s promise was kept. The story of the demon’s hatred of the deity, because in a former incarnation he had slain his brother, is a most interesting one. As it teaches the wonderful efficacy of Vishnu’s worship, it is given at some length. It is taken mostly from the "Vishnu Purana".

"Hiranyakasipu, the son of Diti, had formerly brought the three worlds under his authority, confiding in a boon bestowed upon him by Brahma. He had usurped the sovereignty of Indra, and exercised himself the functions of the sun, of air, of the lord of waters, of fire, and of the moon. He himself was the god of riches; he was the judge of the dead; and he appropriated to himself without reserve all that was offered in sacrifice to the gods. The deities, therefore, flying from their seats in heaven, wandered, through fear of the daitya, upon the earth, disguised in mortal shapes. Having conquered the three worlds, he was inflated with pride, and, eulogized by the Gandharvas, enjoyed whatever he desired."

© "Hindu Mythology" by WJ Wilkins, published (2001) by Rupa & Co., 7/16, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi 110 002. Reprinted with permission.

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