Lord Naåsiàhadeva Slays the King of the Demons

As described in this chapter, Hiraëyakashipu was ready to kill his own son Prahlada Maharaja, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared in front of the demon as Sri Nåkesari, half lion and half man, and killed him.

Following the instructions of Prahlada Maharaja, all the sons of the demons became attached to Lord Viñëu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When this attachment became pronounced, their teachers, Ñaëòa and Amarka, were very much afraid that the boys would become more and more devoted to the Lord. In a helpless condition, they approached Hiraëyakasipu and described in detail the effect of Prahlada's preaching. After hearing of this, Hiraëyakasipu decided to kill his son Prahlada. Hiraëyakasipu was so angry that Prahlada Maharaja fell down at his feet and said many things just to pacify him, but he was unsuccessful in satisfying his demoniac father. Hiraëyakasipu, as a typical demon, began to advertise himself as being greater than the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but Prahlada Maharaja challenged him, saying that Hiraëyakasipu was not God, and began to glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead, declaring that the Lord is all-pervading, that everything is under Him, and that no one is equal to or greater than Him. Thus he requested his father to be submissive to the omnipotent Supreme Lord.

The more Prahlada Maharaja glorified the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the more angry and agitated the demon became. Hiraëyakasipu asked his Vaiñëava 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. When Hiraëyakasipu heard this philosophy from his young son, he derided the boy's statement as just the talk of a child and forcefully struck the pillar with his fist.

As soon as Hiraëyakasipu struck the column, there issued forth a tumultuous sound. At first Hiraëyakasipu, 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 Narasiàha, half lion and half man. Hiraëyakasipu 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 Hiraëyakasipu, the King of the demons, but also killed many of his followers. When there was no one else to fight, the Lord, roaring with anger, sat down on Hiraëyakasipu's throne.

The entire universe was thus relieved of the rule of Hiraëyakasipu, and everyone was jubilant in transcendental bliss. Then all the demigods, headed by Lord Brahma, approached the Lord. These included the great saintly persons, the Pitas, the Siddhas, the Vidyadharas, the Nagas, the Manus, the prajapatis, the Gandharvas, the Caraëas, the Yakñas, the Kimpuruñas, the Vaitalikas, the Kinnaras and also many other varieties of beings in human form. All of them stood not far from the Supreme Personality of Godhead and began offering their prayers unto the Lord, whose spiritual effulgence was brilliant as He sat on the throne.