Narasimha

Narasimha Incarnation / नृसिंह अवतार

Narasimha was the fourth of the ten main incarnations of Vishnu. In this Avtar, Vishnu assumes a half lion - half man form.
After the death of his brother Hiranyaksh, Hiranyakashipu's hatred towards Vishnu increased and he decided to avenge his brother's death.
He performed severe penance and obtained a boon from Brahma that he could not be killed by any man, god or demon.
Hiranyakshipu grew arrogant with the new power he had achieved and he started by banning all prayers to Vishnu.
Even mentioning the name of Vishnu was considered a crime. But his son Prahlad was an ardent devotee of Vishnu, and try as he might, Hiranyakashipu could not get Prahlad to change his object of devotion.
When teachers failed, Hiranyakashipu employed wild elephants, poisonous snakes, and fire. But Prahlad survived these fatal attempts and persisted in his veneration of Vishnu.
Hiranyakashipu grew wild with anger and questioned his son where Vishnu was, and on being told that Vishnu existed in all animate and inanimate objects, demanded from Prahlad that he summon Vishnu to emerge from a pillar.
At that moment, Vishnu assumed the form of Narasimha, broke open the pillar and Hiranyakashipu saw a horrifying creature, half-lion half-man standing before him. Before he knew it, Narasimha catching hold of him, pushed him to the ground, tore apart the heart of the king, rent open the intestines of Hiranyakashipu and thus brought about the end of the demon-king.