[Hindu] King of Daityas who was slain by Vishnu in his Narasimha (man-lion) avatara. His younger brother, Hiranyaksha was also killed by Vishnu in the Varaha avatara. Infuriated by this, Hiranyakashipu decided to gain supernatural powers and performed great 'tapas' (penance) to please Brahma, the creator-god. When Brahma appeared before him, Hiranyakashipu sought a boon that he should not get death either on earth or in space, either in fire or in water, either during daytime or during nighttime, either by humans or by gods or by any species, either by the animate or by inanimate, either inside the house or outside the house. As Brahma was very much pleased with his penance, He granted this boon to Hiranyakashipu. Soon Hiranyakashipu, proud by the boon he got from Brahma, conquered the gods (who are enemies of Daityas) and brought all the worlds under his control. He began to harrass the gods and torture the saints and other devotees of Vishnu. His eldest son, Prahlada happened to be a gre...
Read more...
