Divine Appearance of Lord Narasimha deva
The Legend of Hiranyakashipu and Prahlada:
The history of slaying of the King of the Demons, Hiranyakashipu and protection of Prahlada Maharaja by the Supreme Personality of Godhead as Sri Narakesari, half lion and half man is described elaborately in the 7th canto of Srimad Bhagavata Purana.
Hiranyakashipu, the King of the demons, received a special benediction from Lord Brahma that he could not be killed by any human being, demigod, animal or any other entity. He could also not be killed by any kind of weapon, neither during the day nor at night. Hiranyakashipu was ready to kill his own son Prahlada Maharaja. He asked his Vaishnava son whether his God existed within the columns of the palace, and Prahlada Maharaja immediately accepted that since the Lord is present everywhere, He was also present within the columns. As soon as Hiranyakashipu struck the column, there issued forth a tumultuous sound.
At first Hiranyakashipu, the King of the demons, could not see anything but the pillar, but to substantiate Prahlada’s statements, the Lord came out of the pillar in His wonderful incarnation as Narasimha, half lion and half man. Hiranyakashipu could immediately understand that the extraordinarily wonderful form of the Lord was surely meant for his death, and thus he prepared to fight with the form of half lion and half man. The Lord performed His pastimes by fighting with the demon for some time, and in the evening, on the border between day and night, the Lord captured the demon, threw him on His lap, and killed him by piercing his abdomen with His nails. The Lord not only killed Hiranyakashipu, but also killed many of his followers. When there was no one else to fight, the Lord, roaring with anger, sat down on Hiranyakashipu’s throne.
After Hiranyakashipu was killed, the Lord continued to be very angry, and the demigods, headed by Lord Brahmā, could not pacify Him. Even mother Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune, the constant companion of Narayana, could not dare come before Lord Narasimhadeva. Then Lord Brahma asked Prahlada Maharaja to go forward and pacify the Lord’s anger. Prahlada Maharaja, being confident of the affection of his master, Lord Narasimhadeva, was not afraid at all. He very gravely appeared before the Lord’s lotus feet and offered Him respectful obeisances.
Lord Narasimhadeva, being very much affectionate toward Prahlada Maharaja, put His hand on Prahlada’s head, and because of being personally touched by the Lord, Prahlada Maharaja immediately achieved brahma-jyana, spiritual knowledge.
Thus he offered his prayers to the Lord in full spiritual knowledge and full devotional ecstasy.
Prahlada Maharaja thus offered his prayers to the Supreme Lord, begging His mercy at every step. Lord Narasimhadeva was pacified by Prahlada Maharaja’s prayers and wanted to give him benedictions by which Prahlada could procure all kinds of material facilities. Prahlada Maharaja, however, was not misled by material facilities. Rather, he wanted to remain always a servant of the servant of the Lord.
Glorification of Narasimhadeva:
Lord Narasimhadeva is glorified among the 10 prominent incarnations of Lord Krishna by Srila Jayadeva Goswami:
tava kara-kamala-vare nakham adbhuta-sringam
dalita-hiranyakasipu-tanu-bhringam
kesava dhrita-narahari-rupa jaya jagadisa hare
“0 Kesava! O Lord of the universe! O Lord Hari, who have assumed the form of half-man, half-lion! All glories to You! Just as one can easily crush a wasp between one’s fingernails, so in the same way the body of the wasp like demon Hiranyakashipu has been ripped apart by the wonderful pointed nails on Your beautiful lotus hands.”
The Powerful Narasimha Kavacha Stotram:
The powerful prayer for protection, Narasimha Kavacha Stotram is described by Prahlada Maharaja in the Brahmanda Purana, which states:
garjantam garjayantam nija-bhuja-patalam sphotayantam hatantam
dipyantam tapayantam divi bhuvi ditijam kshepayantam kshipantam
krandantam roshayantam dishi dishi satatam samharantam bharantam
vikshantam purnayantam kara-nikara-shatair divya-simham namami
“Lord Narasimha roars loudly and causes others to roar. With His multitudes of arms, He tears the demons asunder and kills them in this way. He is always seeking out and tormenting the demoniac descendants of Diti, both on this earth planet and in the higher planets, and He throws them down and scatters them. He cries with great anger as He destroys the demons in all directions, yet with His unlimited hands He sustains, protects, and nourishes the cosmic manifestation. I offer my respectful obeisances to the Lord, who has assumed the form of a transcendental lion.”
