Hiranyakashipu, grieving his brother Hiranyaksha slain by Varaha, performed fierce austerities. From Brahma he won a boon that seemed to make him deathless: he could not be killed by man or beast, inside or outside, by day or by night, on the ground or in the sky, by any weapon, nor by any being Brahma had created.
His son Prahlada, who had heard of Narayana while still in his mother's womb, loved only Vishnu. His father had him thrown from cliffs, trampled by elephants, poisoned and cast into fire. Each time the child was unharmed, chanting the Lord's name.
Enraged, Hiranyakashipu demanded: "Where is this Vishnu of yours? Is He in this pillar?" "He is everywhere," said Prahlada. The king struck the pillar with his fist.
The pillar split with a roar that shook the worlds. Out came a form never seen before: neither man nor lion but both, blazing, with a thousand arms. It was the time of dusk, neither day nor night.
The Lord seized Hiranyakashipu and carried him to the threshold of the hall, neither inside nor outside. He placed him on His lap, neither ground nor sky, and with His claws, no weapon at all, ended the tyrant's life. Every word of Brahma's boon was kept.
Even the gods, and Lakshmi herself, hesitated to approach the blazing Ugra Narasimha. Brahma sent the child Prahlada. As he bowed and sang, the Lord's fury melted into tenderness. He placed His hand on Prahlada's head, and with Lakshmi beside Him became Lakshmi Narasimha, the giver of refuge.
