What is Prahlad and Hiranyakashipu story (full info as per Hindu Texts)
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Just before going to “What is Prahlad and Hiranyakashipu story (full info as per Hindu Texts)“, let us know a brief, basic and very important information.
Hiranyakashipu parents names are : Kashyapa (father) and Diti (mother). | Hiranyakashipu children (sons) names are : Prahlada, Samlada, Aahlada, Shibi, and Bashkala (sons). |
Hiranyakashipu wife name is : Kayadhu. | Hiranyakashipu siblings names are : Hiranyaksha (younger brother), Holika (sister). | Prahlada parents names are : Hiranyakashipu and Kayadhu. |
Prahlada wife name is : Dhriti. | Prahlada siblings names are : Samlada, Aahlada, Shibi, and Bashkala (brothers). | Prahlada children (sons) names are : Virochana, Kumbha, and Nikumbha. |
Information about Prahlad (Prahlada) (Prahalada) and Hiranyakashipu story (as per Hindu Texts) is as given below:
Hiranyakashipu, also known as Hiranyakashyap the son of Maharishi Kashyapa and Ditti, had received a boon from Lord Sri Brahma Deva. He had done the tapasya (penance) for over 10k+ years.
Hiranyakashipu boon (From Brahma) : “O my Lord Sri Brahma Deva, the best of bestowers, if You kindly bless me, please do not cause me to face death from any creature You have created.”
“Oh my Lord Sri Brahma Deva, grant me that I will not die within any abode or outside any abode, at day time or by night time, or on the ground or in the sky. Grant me that my death may not come by any creature created by You, nor by any weapon, nor by any man or beast that You have created.”
“O my Lord Sri Brahma Deva, please grant me that I should not face death from any living or non-living thing. Further, grant me that I must not be killed by any Devata (Demigod) or Rakshasa (demon), or in the lower planets, or by any insect, by any great serpent.”
“O my Lord Sri Brahma Deva, bless me also to be unrivalled, as I won’t be killed by anyone. Grant me sole dominion over all beings and the presiding deities and bestow upon me all the glories derived from that position.”
“O my Lord Sri Brahma Deva, moreover, bestow upon me all the transcendental powers acquired by long and hard penance and practice of yoga, for these cannot be lost at any time.”
On the strength of this boon, Hiranyakashipu or Hiranyakashyap conquered the three worlds. He drove out Lord Sri Indra Deva from Swarga Loka (Heaven) and he himself assumed the title of Lord Sri Indra Deva.
Hiranyakashipur or Hiranyakashyap also assumed the titles of Savita, Vayu, Agni, Varuna, Soma, Kubera and Yama, that is, of the ‘ashta dikpalakas’ (Gods of 8 directions including Indra).
The Demigods fled from heaven (svarga) and roamed around the world in human forms. Everyone had to worship Hiranyakashipu, the king of the daityas (the son of Diti).
Hiranyakashipu lived in a magnificent palace made of crystal, diamond and all valuable stones. There the apsaras danced. And Hiranyakashipu indulged in drinking wine.
Young Prahalada (Prahlad) had been sent away to study with his Gurus (teachers) and there names are Sanda and Amarka (they were the sons of Shukracharya, the Guru of the Rakshasas / Demons)
Sanda and Amaraka, the two Gurus of Maharaja Prahlada, chastised and threatened their disciple in various ways and began to teach him about dharma, economic development and the ways of sense gratification as per the instructions of Hiranyakashipu. This is the way they educated him.
On a vacation he came home with his teacher and Hiranyakashipu naturally wanted to find out what his son had learnt.
Hiranyakashipu asked his son about what all you have learnt from your Gurus Sanda and Amaraka. Prahlada reply, “I have learnt to pray to Lord Sri Vishnu”.
Hiranyakshipu instantly got furious. “Why have you taught him this nonsense?,” he demanded of the two Gurus Sanda and Amraka.
“We have not,” replied the teachers “This is not what we have taught him. He is saying this of his own accord.
“Dear son,” asked Hiranyakashipu, “who has taught this rubbish?”. Prahlada replied like this, “The teacher of all teachers, Lord Sri Vishnu,”.
“Who is this Vishnu?,” asked Hiranyakashipu. Prahalada replied like this, “The Lord of my heart,”.
Hiranyakashipu said, “Lord of your heart. How can you have a Lord other than me?”. Prahlada replied, “He is not only my Lord, he is yours as well, He is Lord of everyone.”
“Take him away,” said the angry demon Hiranyakashipu. “Send him back to the teacher. Let him unlearn all these.”
Prahalada went back to his Guru’s home and studied there for many years. He was then again brought back before the demon Kind Hiranyakashipu. “Son,” asked Hiranyakashipu, “what did you study?”
“To pray to Lord Sri Vishnu,” was the reply from his eldest son Prahlada. “Kill my evil son,” said Hiranyakashipu. “There is nothing to be gained by his remaining alive. He is a disgrace to my family.”
On hearing these words, hundreds and thousands of daityas (huge demons) attacked Prahalada with all sorts of weapons. But, because Prahlada was protected by Lord Sri Vishnu himself, the weapons could do him no harm to Prahalada.
Hiranyakashipu then let loose many poisonous snakes on Prahalada. But, because Prahlada had Lord Sri Vishnu’s protection, the fangs of the snakes could not penetrate his skin. Hiranyakshipu later asked many elephants to kill Prahlad with their tusks.
The elephants threw down Prahlad on the ground and gored him with their tusks. But Prahlada always thought of Lord Sri Vishnu and chanted his names continuously and all the elephants tusks broke automatically and fell down.
On the orders of Hiranyakashipu, the daityas (huge demons) next lit a fire. Prahlada was put into the fire, but the flames could do nothing to him, as Pralada was always chanting Lord Sri Vishnu names.
On witnessing all these, Hiranyakashipu’s priests requested him to take Prahlada out of the fire. “Don’t worry,” they said, “We will give him a proper education.”
Prahlada went back to his Gurus Sanda and Amaraka, they again began to teach lessons as per the instructions of Hiranyakashipu, but Prahlada was always chanting the names of Lord Sri Vishnu.
On the other hand, Prahlada was teaching about Lord Sri Vishnu and his pastimes to the other students in his Gurus’ ashram (hermitage) and was always involved in chanting Lord Sri Vishnu’s different names.
This was reported to Hiranyakashipu, who instructed the cooks to poison Prahalad’s food. The cooks did as they were instructed. But because Prahlada as usual thought of Lord Sri Vishnu, the poison had no effect on Prahlada.
The priests tried to persuade Prahalada once more. But to no avail. The priests then created a demon. The demon was like the flames of a fire. It dug up the earth with its feet. And attacked Prahalada with a huge trishula (trident).
But the trishula struck Prahalada’s chest and broke into many pieces. This frustrated the demon and it turned around and began to attack the priests instead. The priests ran here and there, but were all killed by the demon.
This made Prahalad very unhappy and started to pray to Lord Sri Vishnu like this: “O Lord Sri Vishnu, teacher of all the worlds, creator of all the worlds. Please restore these priests back to life.”
And as soon as Prahalad touched the dead bodies, the priests came back to life. The priests went back to Hiranyakashipu (Hiranyakashyap) and told him what had happened.
Prahalad was taken to Hiranyakashipu once more. “What gives you these powers?,” asked Hiranyakashipu. “They are not my powers,” replied Prahlada. “They are the powers of the all mighty Lord Sri Vishnu.”
On hearing Lord Sri Vishnu’s name, Hiranyakashipu became angry once again. He instructed his servants to take Prahalad to the top of the place and throw him down so that his bones might break on the rocks below. The servants did as they were told.
But, Prahalad thought of Lord Sri Vishnu as he fell, and nothing happened to him. Hiranyakashipu then called Shambarasura. This was an asura (demon) who was well versed in the use of maya, the technique of creating illusions and hallucinations.
Shambarasura used maya to create illusions around Prahalad. But Prahalada kept thinking of Lord Sri Vishnu. And Lord Sri Vishnu’s weapon, the Sudarshana chakra (disc), came and destroyed all the maya.
Hiranyakashipu then asked the wind to dry up Prahalad’s body. But this too failed. And Prahlada returned to the home of his teachers.
The teachers taught him the things that a king should know. These precepts of royal policy had been laid down a long time ago by Shukracharya. They taught the rules about how enemies and friends should be dealt with.
When Prahlada’s education had been completed, Prahalada was brought again before Hiranyakashipu. “Son,” said Hiranyakashipu, “Show me what you have learnt. How will you deal with your enemies?”
“What enemies?,” asked Prahalad. “Lord Sri Vishnu is in me, Lord Sri Vishnu is in my friend and Lord Sri Vishnu is in my enemies. If Lord Sri Vishnu is everywhere, how can there be enemies?”
“I see friends everywhere, Demigods, humans, birds, animals, tree and snakes are all full of the same Lord Sri Vishnu. Therefore, one should look upon the whole world as one looks upon oneself.”
Hiranyakashipu became mad with anger. He got up from his throne and kicked his son on the chest. He told his soldiers to tie Prahalada in nooses of snakes and throw him into the sea.
Hiranyakashipu’s soldiers went above a mountain and then threw down Prahlada from above the mountain on the sea, so that Prahlada will get crushed. This is precisely what the daityas (huge demons) did.
On the other hand, Prahalada kept on praying to Lord Sri Vishnu and was continuously chanting Lord Sri Vishnu’s names. He forgot all about himself and thought only about Lord Sri Vishnu.
Prahalad became like Lord Sri Vishnu himself and the nooses of snakes fell away from his body. (Here Prahlada got the form / dress of Lord Sri Vishnu. This doesn’t mean Prahalad became Lord Sri Vishnu, but he got dressed up like Lord Sri Vishnu.)
Prahalad removed the mountains that had been thrown down by the daityas (huge demons) and emerged from the water. He prayed to Lord Sri Vishnu and thus Lord Sri Vishnu appeared before him.
“What boon do you desire, Prahalad?,” asked Lord Sri Vishnu. Prahlada replied like this: “That I may be forever faithful to you.”
“Granted,” said Lord Sri Vishnu. “What else do you want”, said Lord Sri Vishnu. “Let all my father’s sins be forgiven.” Lord Sri Vishnu replied “Granted”.
Prahalada returned to Hiranyakashipu and the father relented and embrace his son. Here again Hiranyakashipu asked his son to refrain from worshiping Lord Sri Vishnu and chanting his names.
However, Prahlada was an ardent devotee of Lord Sri Vishnu and told his father that he could not do that as Lord Sri Vishnu was present in every cell of his body. He cannot live without chanting the names of Lord Sri Vishnu.
Hearing this, Hiranyakashipu asked if your god Vishnu is also present in me. Prahlada said, “Yes my father, Lord Sri Vishnu is also present in you. He is everywhere.”
Hiranyakashipu asked if your god Vishnu is also in this pillar. Prahlada said “yes”. Hearing this, the demon king Hiranyakashipu started hitting the pillar with his huge sword.
Lord Sri Vishnu finally assumed the form of a man-lion form (Narasimha) and came out of that pillar and killed Hiranyakashipu at the groundsel (on the side of the door). It was not morning and night. Lord Narasimha is not a being born through Lord Sri Brahma Deva.
Lord Sri Narasimha sat on the side of the door (on the groundsil) and using his sharp claws cut out the intestines of Hiranyakashipu, killing him instantly. Hiranyakashipu could not do anything against Lord Sri Narasimha – even though he was highly powerful. This is the glory of our Lord Sri Vishnu.
After this, Prahlada became the king of the Daityas (demons) and he ruled well and wisely. He had many sons and grandsons. One of Prahlada’s sons was Virochana and Virochana’s son was Emperor Bali Chakravarti (Mahabali).
PS: Only bhakti (devotions) wins over shakti (strength), yukti (trick) and anything & everything. Only Bhagavan’s ‘naama smaranam’ (Chanting the names) is the only way. OM NAMO NARAYANAYA or any of the Bhagavan Lord Sri Vishnu’s name(s) is the only path.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Hiranyakashipu and Prahlada with answers is as given below:
What is the relationship between Hiranyakashipu and Prahlad? – Prahlad is the eldest son of Hiranyakashipu (Hiranyakashyap). The other sons names are Samlada, Aahlada, Shibi, and Bashkala.
What is the moral of the story of Hiranyakashipu? – Lord Sri Vishnu is the ultimate and supreme God. If you are believing in him and his teachings, no one or nothing any harm you. Just chanting his names regularly can give us both spiritual and mundane things.
What is the story of Lord Prahlad? – Prahlad just chanting Lord Sri Vishnu names was saved by the clutches of his own father Hiranyakashipu. Later Prahlad became the king of the earth and he is still living in a place called ‘Sutala’, an underworld place.
What is the history of Hiranyakashipu? – Hiranyakashipu was the son of Maharishi Kashyapa and Diti. He did the penance of Lord Brahma for over 10k+ years and obtained boon. Later he was killed by Lord Sri Narasimha, an avatar of Lord Sri Vishnu, as he was troubling Lord Sri Vishnu’s devotee Prahlada.
What is the relationship between Holika and Prahlad? – Holika was the sister of the demon King Hiranyakashipu and Prahlad was the son of Hiranyakashipu. Thus Holika was a paternal aunt for Prahlad.
What is the relationship between Bali and Prahlad? – Prahlad’s son is Virochana and this Virochan’s son is Bali or Maha Bali or Bali Chakravarti. Bali was Prahlad’s paternal grandson.
Who was the mother of Prahlad and wife of Hiranyakashipu? – Prahlad’s mother name is Kayadhu. She was also the wife of Hiranyakashipu or Hiranyakashyap.
Why was Hiranyakashipu killed? – Hiranyakashipu was troubling Lord Sri Vishnu’s devotee Prahlad and thus Hiranyakashipu was killed by Lord Sri Vishnu’s avatar Lord Sri Narasimha.
Which God killed Hiranyakashipu? – Lord Sri Vishnu’s avatar Lord Sri Narasimha killed Hiranyakashipu. This avatar was half life and half man and thus the name Narasimha. Nara means man and simha means lion.
What are the rules of Hiranyakashipu? – No one should worship all the deities including Lord Sri Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu instructed all that he himself is God and everyone should worship only him. And anyone who will not worship him or worship other deities were brutally tortured and were killed.
Let’s know more info about Bhagavan Sri Krishna (Vishnu) by clicking the below link:
Lord Sri Vishnu stories, information, facts, significances, etc.
About Bhagavan Lord Sri Krishna
List of demons killed by Lord Krishna
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