| Prahlada | |
|---|---|
King of the Asuras[1] | |
.jpg) 17th-century painting of Prahlada | |
| Devanagari | प्रह्लाद |
| Affiliation | Vaishnavism Asura |
| Predecessor | Hiranyakashipu andHiranyaksha |
| Successor | Virochana |
| Texts | Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu Purana Yoga Vasistha Kurma Purana Vamana Purana Narasimha Purana |
| Gender | Male |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents |
|
| Siblings | Saṃhlāda, Anuhlāda, Śibi, and Bāṣkala (step brothers) |
| Spouse | Dhriti |
| Children | Virochana |
Prahlada (Sanskrit:प्रह्लाद,romanized: Prahlāda) is anasura prince inHindu scriptures. He is known for his staunch devotion to the preserver deityVishnu. He was rescued from his evil father, the asura kingHiranyakashipu byNarasimha, the lionavatar of god Vishnu.[2]
Prahlada is described as a saintly boy, known for his innocence andbhakti towards god Vishnu. Despite the abusive nature of his father, Hiranyakashipu, and his uncle and aunt,Hiranyaksha andHolika, he continued to worship Vishnu. Thus, in order to protect Prahlada, Vishnu took the form ofVaraha to kill his paternal uncle Hiranyaksha by piercing and crushing him. Thereafter, Vishnu saved Prahlad from his paternal aunt Holika, by burning her to ashes alive. Following this, Vishnu took the form ofNarasimha and disembowelled Hiranyakashipu to save Prahlada and the universe from destruction and chaos.[3]
He is considered aMahajanas, or great devotee, in theVaishnava tradition. A treatise is attributed to him in theBhagavata Purana, in which Prahlada describes the process of his loving worship towards Vishnu.[citation needed]
The majority of stories in thePuranas regarding Prahlada are based on his activities as a young boy; he is usually depicted as such in paintings and illustrations.[citation needed]
Prahlada was born to Kayadhu andHiranyakashipu, the ruler of the asuras, who had been granted a boon fromBrahma that he could not be slain by anything born from a living womb, neither by a man nor an animal, neither during the day nor at night, neither indoors nor outdoors, neither on land nor in the air nor in water, and with no man-made weapon. However, after repeated attempts from Hiranyakashipu to slay Prahlada, he was finally saved by Narasimha, the fourth avatara of Vishnu. He had descended to demonstrate the quality of divine rage and redemption and killed Hiranyakashipu. The word "Narasimha" is derived from the Sanskrit words "Nara", meaning man, and "Simha", meaning lion. Thus, Vishnu took the form of a part-human, part-lion and killed Hiranyakashipu.[4]
After the death of his father, Prahlada ascended the asura throne and ruled peacefully and virtuously. He was known for his generosity and kindness, virtues that were inherited by his son,Virochana, and grandson,Mahabali.[citation needed]
When Hiraṇyakashipu was performing penance in the forest to gain a boon to destroy Vishnu, thedevas attacked the asura realm. A great battle ensued, in which the devas were defeated. While fleeing,Indra abducted Kayadhu, the wife of Hiranyakashipu, who was pregnant at the time.Narada heard the wails of the poor asuri and decided to release her from Indra’s captivity. Thereafter, she stayed in theashrama of the divine sage in gratitude. Prahlada, while inside his mother's womb, listened to Narada's chants of devotion towardsVishnu. He was taught by Narada during his early childhood. As a result, he grew up devoted to Vishnu.[citation needed]
However, his father despised Prahlada's spiritual inclination and tried to warn him against offending him, as he had a vendetta against Vishnu in particular. Despite several warnings from his father, Prahlada continued to worship Vishnu instead of the former. The child was successful in converting other students of the asura clan intoVaishnavism by teaching them theNarayana mantra.[5]
His father then decided to poison Prahlada, but he survived. Thereafter, when the daitya soldiers attacked their prince with weapons, Prahlada informed them that their efforts were futile since Vishnu resided within them. Hiranyakashipu then had the Prahlada trampled by theaṣṭadiggajas, the eight elephants who bear the weight of the earth, but their tusks were broken to bits upon contact with him and so, they retreated. Following this, Prahlada was placed in a room with venomous, dark snakes, but, they made a bed for him with their bodies.[6]
Prahalada was then thrown from a valley into a river but was saved byBhumi, the companion of Vishnu andLakshmi.Holika, the sister ofHiranyakashipu, was blessed with a boon of being invulnerable to fire. Hiranyakashipu put Prahlada on the lap of Holika as she sat on a pyre. Prahlada prayed to Vishnu to keep him safe. Holika was burned to ashes and killed, whilst Prahlada remained untouched. This event is celebrated as the Hindu festival ofHoli.[7]
The asuras Shambara and Vayu were then tasked with slaying the prince, but both of them were driven away and were killed by Vishnu. The boy was entrusted toShukra, who educated him regarding his duties, the sciences, and justice, and was returned to his father after he was deemed to have become humble. The asura king once again broached the topic of deities with his son, only to discover that the latter had never wavered in his faith. Finally, the wicked daitya commanded all the daityas and thedanavas to collect all the mountains of the earth to construct a barrier over the boy in the ocean, so that his son would be submerged for a year. Even though they spread over him for a thousand kilometres, Prahlada, with bound hands and feet, prayed to Vishnu. Thus, Vishnu granted him a number of boons and moved all the mountains of the earth to their places from the seas. He then moved the asuras away and had Prahlada returned to prostrate before his father, who was left bewildered.[8]
After tolerating repeated abuse from Hiranyakashipu, Prahlada was eventually saved byNarasimha, who emerged from within a stone pillar in the palace. He then caught and placed Hiranyakashipu on his thighs, to then disembowel and kill him with his sharp nails. Notably, the death scene unfolded at the threshold to his home at dusk, where Hiranyakashipu was slain by the nails of a half man, half animal thus, nullifying all of Hiranyakashipu's boons of virtual immortality.[9]
Prahlada then became the king of theasuras and attains a place in the abode of Vishnu and Lakshmi (Vaikuntha) after his death.[10]
In theBhagavad Gita (10.30)Krishna makes the following statement in regard to Prahlada, showing his favour towards him:
prahlādaścāsmi daityānāṁ kālaḥ kalayatāmaham .
mr̥gāṇāṁ ca mr̥gēndrō’haṁ vainatēyaśca pakṣiṇām .. 10-30..
— Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 10, Verse 30
Translation: "Among the Daityas, I am the great devotee Prahlada and of calculators, I am Time; among quadrupeds, I am the lion; and among birds, I am Garuda."
In theVishnu Purana, the sageParasara ends narrating the tale of Prahlada toMaitreya with the following proclamation:[11]
Such, Maitreya, was Prahlada, the wise and faithful worshipper of Vishnu, of whom you wished to hear; and such was his miraculous power. Whoever listens to the history of Prahlada is immediately cleansed from their sins: the iniquities that they commits, by night or by day, shall be expiated by once hearing, or once reading, the history of Prahlada. The perusal of this history on the day of full moon, of new moon, or on the eighth or twelfth day of the lunation, shall yield fruit equal to the donation of cattle. As Vishnu protected Prahlada in all the calamities to which he was exposed, so shall Vishnu protects them who listens constantly to the tale.
— Vishnu Purana, Book 1, Chapter 20
In Book 7 of the Bhagavata Purana, Prahlada describesbhakti as the only way to please God.[12]
As the king of the asuras and asuris, Prahlada was even more powerful than his father Hiranyakashipu, because of his steadfast devotion toVishnu, as well as the teachings ofShukra. He also enjoyed the love and respect of his subjects. Without lifting a single weapon and by virtue of his good behaviour, Prahlada conquered the three worlds easily, andIndra ran away fromSvarga. In the disguise of abrahmin, Indra sought an audience with Prahlada and asked him to teach him hisshila (good conduct and character) as a boon. Pleased with this, Prahalada offered Indra this boon but this meant that Prahlada was then robbed of his dharma.[13]
Prahlada once commanded the asuras to accompany him to the holytirtha of Naimiṣa, where he hoped to see a vision of Vishnu. They went hunting along the banks of theSarasvati River. Prahlada observed two ascetics with matted hair, bearing the bows ofSharanga andAjagava. The asura king asked them why they held weapons while performing a penance, and the two ascetics responded that all those who held power were righteous in their conduct. One of therishis assured the king that none of the three worlds could conquer them in a duel. Prahlada rose to the challenge. Nara fired arrows at the king with his Ajagava, but the latter was able to defeat him with his own gold-plated arrows. Prahlada employed the divine Brahmastra against Nara's Narayanastra. Seeing them neutralised in a mid-air collision, Prahlada wielded his mace against Narayana. His mace broke, and Prahlada found himself growing helpless and sought Vishnu's assistance. Vishnu told his devotee that theNara-Narayana brothers were invincible as they were the sons ofYama and could only be conquered in devotion rather than combat. The king left the regency to Andhaka and erected an ashrama to propitiate Nara-Narayana and apologise for his folly.[8]
According to theKurma Purana, Prahlada always served thousands of Brahmanas daily. One day, Prahlada accidentally forgot to serve one Brahmanas. The latter cursed the asura, saying that he would forget Vishnu and become unrighteous. The curse soon came into fruition, with Prahlada ignoring the Vedas and the Brahmanas and soon deviating from the path of dharma. Determined to avenge his father's death, he waged war against Vishnu. When he was defeated, he realised his folly and ruled on the throne, makingAndhaka also to reign as king.[14]
According to theDevi Bhagavata Purana, Prahlada was compelled to wage war against Indra and the devas by the daityas. In the fierce devasura war that ensued, Prahlada emerged as the victor. Fearing that the asura king would destroy the devas, Indra prayed toParvati, and Prahlada responded in kind. Pleased, the goddess pacified both of them, and they returned to their abodes.[8]
Prahlada, Virochana, Bali, and Banasura fought against Shiva and Parvati with the devas and devis when Andhaka attackedKailasha. Prahlada had strongly advised Andhaka against the invasion of Kailasha, but Andhaka refused. Andhaka was eventually killed by Shiva and Parvati, and Prahlada once more became the King of the Asuras.[citation needed]
Prahlada's son wasVirochana, who was the father ofBali. The devas had Virochana killed by taking advantage of his generosity.[15] Prahlada raised his grandson, Bali. Later on, Prahlada and Mahabali lived on Sutala Loka under the instructions of Lord Vishnu.
After a long life, Prahlada attainedVaikuntha. Prahlada's great-grandson was the thousand-armedBanasura, who was defeated in battle byKrishna inMahabharata.[16]
The following sites inMaharashtra,Andhra Pradesh,Telangana andUttar Pradesh in India, are associated with Prahlāda or Narasiṁha as places of pilgrimage:
In Pakistan:
ThePrahallada Nataka (also spelled Prahlada-Naṭaka), a folk dance-theatre from Ganjam, Odisha enacts the story of Narasimha and Hiranyakashipu. This art form dates back to the 18th century, when Rāmakruṣṇa Chhoṭarāya, the erstwhile king of the Jalantara state, wrote the text and the songs of the drama and started it.
The story of Prahlada has been the theme of various films.
| Year | Title | Language | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1917 | Bhakta Pralhad | Silent | [17] |
| 1932 | Bhakta Prahlada | Telugu | [18] |
| 1939 | Prahalada | Tamil | [19] |
| 1941 | Prahlada | Malayalam | [20] |
| 1942 | Bhaktha Prahlada | Telugu | [18] |
| 1942 | Bhakta Prahlada | Kannada | |
| 1946 | Bhakta Prahlad | Hindi | |
| 1958 | Bhakta Prahlad | Assamese | |
| 1958 | Bhakta Prahlada | Kannada | [21] |
| 1967 | Bhakta Prahlada | Telugu | [18] |
| 1972 | Hari Darshan | Hindi | [22] |
| 1983 | Bhakta Prahlada | Kannada | [23] |
| 2025 | Mahavatar Narsimha | Hindi | [24] |
They begged for his crown. Even though Virochana recognized the demigods' plot, true to his word he parted with his crown and his life as well
| Preceded by | Daityas unknown | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
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