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A long time had elapsed since Lord Vishnu had donned the role of the Varaha or the wild boar to save the earth from the evil clutches of the rakshasa ' Hiranyaksha. Now, the younger brother of Hiranyaksha, called Hiranyakashyap was livid with anger because Lord Vishnu had killed his brother. So, he wanted to take his revenge on Vishnu in some way or the other. But it so happened that the son of this rakshasa, Prahlad was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu and given any moment of time would chant only His name. Thus he kept repeating the name of 'Narayana' like a mantra all the time. This really infuriated Hiranyakashyap and he decided to kill the boy. But, Prahlad, born of a very divine disposition, was always providentially protected in the face of the gravest dangers and Hiranyakashyap was quite surprised that the boy survived even the toughest test put to him. Here, we should be aware of the fact that Hiranyakashyap had got the grace of Lord Brahma through severe penance who had granted Hiranyakashyap the only boon that he desired which was to reign the whole Universe and also rule Lord Vishnu. He also asked of Brahma that neither man nor animal should be the cause of his death and his death should not occur either during the day or during the night. One day when Hiranyakashyap heard his son chanting the name of Narayana he was infuriated. At once, he challenged Prahlad and said that if the Lord Vishnu was so important to him, would He really appear from wherever he wanted him to appear from? Prahlad nodded in assent. Then Hiranyakashyap, in scant mockery asked him while hitting out at a pillar with his mace whether the Lord could appear even from that pillar, Vishnu thought it to be right time to make His appearance. And what form did the Lord take to kill the rakshasha? It was Narasimha- half man ('nara') and half lion ('simha'). Remember Hiranyakashyap's boon? This form of the Lord was neither that of an animal nor of a man and the Lord made his appearance to kill Hiranyakashyap at dusk or the Sandhya Kaal which was neither day nor night. The pillar split into two halves and there sprang forth NARASIMHA. The Lord grabbed Hiranyakashyap and put him on His lap and tore open his stomach with his sharp claws. Then, the entrails were donned by the Lord around His neck as a garland. Prahlad was terror struck, but the Lord's gaze at Prahlad, even at this terrifying moment was very tender and reassured him of protection and grace. Thus, ended the Narasimha avtaar.
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