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In my prev ious article, w e discussed about ev olution in lord V ishnu av atars and also w ent through details on first three av atars of lord V ishnu. If y ou hav e missed this article, then please Go through the below link Evolution in vishnu avatars I n this artic le, we will be dis c us s ing in details fourth, fifth and s ixth avatars of lord V is hnu. Narasimha Avatar N aras imha A vatar is the H alf-M an H alf-Lion I nc arnation of H indu God Sri H ari V is hnu. T he s tory of N aras imha A vatar is as s oc iated with V is hnu’s inc arnation as the boar or V araha. A s des c ribed in my previous artic le, V araha (V is hnu) had killed the demon H iranyaks ha. Hiranyaksha's brother Hiranyakashipu, greatly angered by this, started to hate Vishnu and all his f ollowers. H e dec ides a plan to kill V is hnu by gaining mys tic al powers , whic h he believe brahma, the c hief among the devas , will award him if he undergoes many years of great aus terity and penanc e. H iranyakas hipu performed intens e aus terities and was able to pleas e Lord Brahma. When Brahma appeared before him he as ked for immortality. But Brahma s aid he c ould not grant him the boon of immortality. So Hiranyakashipu played a trick on Brahma and asked a series of boons all of which indirectly tried to avoid death. H e will not die in any type of res idenc e or outs ide. H e will not die during day or night. H e will not die on earth or s ky H e will not be killed by any weapon H e will not be killed by Demi-gods , human being, animal or any other c reation c reated by you H e s hould be the s ole lords hip over all living entities and T his file is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om T his file is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om
pres iding deities , and s hould be granted all the glories
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H iranyakas hipu A s king for immortality
Brahma said, "Tatha asthu" (be it so) and v anished. Hirany akashipu w as happy thinking that he had w on ov er death. A fter earning the boons, Hiranyakashipu defeated demigods and rulers on earth and announced that he was God and all prayers should be directed to him and not to Sri Hari Vishnu.
Meanw hile, Hirany akashipu’s w ife Kay adhu gav e birth to Prahlad w ho grew T his file is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om T his file is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om
up and became a keen dev otee of V ishnu under the guidance of div ine sage narada. T he entire kingdom followed Hiranyakashipu commands of worshipping him but not his young son, Prahlad. The little boy Prahlad continued w orshipping Lord V ishnu. Hirany akashipu tried all means to make the boy w orship Him. But all this efforts failed. O ne day , Hirany akashipu ordered his serv ants to kill Prahlad, if he refused to accept the primacy of his father. Each time he attempted to kill the boy, Prahlada was protected by Vishnu's mystical power. He w as ev en being drow ned, poisoned, and burnt and throw n from the mountain.
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H iranyakas hipu trying to kill prahlada
Hiranyakashipu also ordered his sister Holika to kill Prahlada by sitting with him on the f ire but eventually she died burning in f ire and the tradition of burning holika(Frist day of holi) -is still f ollowed in India. (Sec ond day of holi-Fes tival of c olors , is as s oc iated with another lord V is hnu avatar- lord kris hna)
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Fes tival of C olors , H oli in india Tired of failure, Hirany akashipu asked for an explanation then Prahlada refuses to acknowledge his father as the supreme lord of the universe and claims that Vishnu is all-pervading and omnipresent. F ed up w ith his son’s explanation of V ishnu w orship, Hirany akashipu demanded him to show his V ishnu w ho is present ev ery w here: "O most unfortunate Prahlada, y ou hav e alw ay s described a supreme being other than me, a supreme being w ho is abov e ev ery thing, w ho is the controller of ev ery one, and w ho is all-perv ading. But w here is He? If He is ev ery w here, then w hy is He not present before me in this pillar? In a fit of anger pointing to a pillar, Hirany akashipu asked w hether V ishnu is T his file is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om T his file is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om
present in that pillar. Prahlada then answ ers, He w as, He is and He w ill be. In an alternate v ersion of the story , Prahlada answ ers, He is in pillars, and he is in the smallest tw ig. Hirany akashipu, unable to control his anger, smashes the pillar w ith his mace, and follow ing a tumultuous thundering sound, Vishnu in the form of half man-half lion(Narasimha) appears from it and moves to attack his father in defence of Prahlada.
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H alf man-half lion(N aras imha)
H e had large mous tac hes on the fac e and terrible teeth in the T his file is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om T his file is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om
mouth and his paws had terrible nails . In order to kill Hiranyakashipu and not upset the boon given by brahma, the f orm of Narasimha is chosen. H iranyakas hipu c annot be killed by human, deva or animal. N aras imha is neither one of thes e as he is a form of V is hnu inc arnate as a part-human, part-animal. H e c omes upon H iranyakas hipu at twilight (when it is neither day nor night) on the thres hold of a c ourtyard (neither indoors nor out), and puts the demon on his thighs (neither earth nor s pac e). U s ing his s harp fingernails (neither animate nor inanimate) as weapons , he dis embowels and kills the demon.
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N aras imha killing H iranyakas hipu The Bhagav ata Purana further narrates: ev en after killing Hirany akashipu, none of the present demigods are able to calm Narasimha's fury (Since he took form of a beast), not ev en lord shiv a. So all the gods and goddesses call his consort, Lakshmi, but she is also unable to do so.
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N aras imha anger out of c ontrol T hen, at the request of Brahma, Prahlada prays to Narasimha, and finally he is calmed by the prayers of his devotee. Before leav ing, Narasimha rew ards the w ise Prahlada by crow ning him as the king. The abov e story of lord narasimha av atar can also be seen in below v ideo link N aras imha kills H iranyakas hipu
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N aras imha bles s ing prahlada . T oday in kaliyug (I ron A ge) we als o have bec ome s ome s ort of T his file is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om T his file is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om
hiranyakas hapu. With thes e modern c omforts , pros perity, lethal weapons , advanc ed medic al s ys tems we have s tarted feeling that whatever we do we are s afe. U nfortunately, M ankind has s tarted proving that he is more intelligent and c an do anything on this earth.
Vaman A vatar BA LI, the grandson of Prahlada(one described abov e) w as a v ery v alorous and mighty asura (Demon). By his penance and might, he conquered the w hole w orld. Indra and other gods fearing that he and asuras(Demons) w ould conquer all the three w orlds abandoned heav en. . This upset Indra's mother, A diti. She, along w ith Rishi Kashy ap, her husband, pray ed to Lord V ishnu to restore the glory of the Dev as (Deities).A s Usual, lord intervened and was then born as a dwarf Vamana in the household of a brahmana(priest).
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V amana born in a brahman family In the guise of a short Brahman, carry ing a w ooden umbrella, He then w ent to Bali requested as much land (To liv e) as he could cov er w ith his three steps.
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V amana, Lord V is hnu fifth avatar Bali, being an ardent dev otee, w as delighted to offer him any thing he requested, ev en though his chief priest sukrachary a, w arned him that it w as
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Lord V ishnu. Bali was probably, relaxed, thinking of the small amount of land that the little foot-size of the Vamana could cover and delightfully committed to granting three steps of land, The Supreme God enlarged himself to such dimensions as to stride ov er the three w orlds. He had grow n so huge that w ith one-step he astrode the w hole earth and in the second he, encompassed the heav ens. King Mahabali, then recognized the Transcendental Being of V ishnu, disguised as V amana. There w as no place left w here V amana can put his third step. The pious and truthful Mahabali, kept his promise. He bowed down before the Omnipotent Power and offered his head, for putting the third step. The abov e story of lord V amana av atar can also be seen in below v ideo link V amana avatar
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V amana growing to the s ize of the univers e Vishnu was immensely pleased with the goodness of Mahabali and granted him life. He educated Bali about the demerits of pride and arrogance, w hich forbids man from optimum progress. MahaV ishnu further blessed Mahabali, that he w ould be the ruler of the earth in the follow ing age or Yuga
Parashurama avatar Parasurama (Axe-wielding Rama), belongs to the Treta yuga, was the Great Grandson of Bhrugu Rishi, after whom the "Bhruguvansh" has been named. Parashu means axe, hence his name literally means Rama-with-the-axe. Bhrugu's Son, Rucheek, married King Gadhi's daughter, Satyavati. The son of Satyavati & Jamadagni was Parashurama.
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Statue of P aras hurama The purpose of the sixth incarnation or Sixth Avatara of Vishnu was to relieve the earth's burden by exterminating the sinful, destructive
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and irreligious monarchs that pillaged goddess earth resources, and neglected their duties as kings. At the same time, He wanted to c onvey the world, the importanc e of parents and how muc h one s hould res pec t their parent’s words . O riginally, P aras huram name was Raman. Pleased with his severe tapas (Penance), Lord Shiva gave him a weapon called Parasu (Axe). Raman thus came to be known as Parasuraman. He also learned the methods of warfare and other skills from lord Shiva.
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Parashurama Meditation and penance He is a Chiranjeevi (Immortal till end of kaliyuga), who fought the aggressing ocean to recede, thus saving land of Konkan and Malabar. Bhagwan Parashuram is also known as Lord of Yajnya, Lord who grants prosperity, and Lord of knowledge. According to ancient Himalayan tradition of knowledge, Parshuram was the first to introduce inter- planetary weapons on this planet in ancient days. Parashurama has been mentioned in several scriptures - Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and Bhagavata and Kalki Puranas. He is famous for killing the Haihaya- Kshatriyas on the earth 21 times for their Ahankara
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(pride/arrogance). He wanted to spread & preserve the Vedic culture on Earth. He was born a Brahmin but is Kshatriya by Karma, or deeds. Parashurama killed his own mother: Parasurama's mother had deep respect and devotion for her husband and worshipped him as her Lord. So pure was her devotion that each day she would go to the river bed and pick up a handful of sand and this would form into a pot. She would be able to fill water in this unfired pot and take it to her husband for his daily pooja. One such day, as she took up a handful of river sand, she saw the reflection of a handsome gandharva (Demi-God) in the water and she looked up in admiration. This was a step down in her sincerity and she lost the ability to create a pot of the river sand. Sage Jamadagni realis ed through his Gnana Dris hti (Sixth s ens e) of the happenings and ordered his s ons to kill their mother. H is other s ons refus ed to do s o, c laiming their mother were even greater than God to them.
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Parasurama immediately chopped off his mother's head to do his duty to his father. Rishi Jamadagni was overjoyed by his obedienc e and was willing to grant him any boon. Parasuraman asked f or the lif e of his mother and brothers and also that they have no memory of the happenings. Jamadagni ris hi granted him his wis hes . I n this way, P ars huram proved his devotion to his parents . Parashurama killed all Kshatriyas on the earth 21 times Once King Kartavirya Arjuna (Sahasrarjuna) and his army visited Jamadagni(Parashuram father), who fed his guest and the whole army with his divine cow Surabhi; the king demanded T his file is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om T his file is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om
the magical cow and Jamadagni refused because he needed the cow for his religious ceremonies. King Kartavirya Arjuna (Sahasrarjuna) sent his soldiers to take the cow and then, parashurama killed the entire army and the king with his axe. Kartavirya’s s ons were lus ting for revenge. O ne day, when s age Jamadakni was alone in the as hram with his wife, they c hopped off Jamadagni head. When Parashurama returned home he f ound his mother cry ing hy sterically . He asked why she was cry ing, she beat her chest 21 times. In a rage, Parashurama vowed to exterminate the world's Kshatriyas (Warrior clan) 21 times. He killed the entire clan of Kartav iry a Arjuna (Sahasrarjuna), thus conquering the entire earth.
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Parashurama killing all Kshatriyas
He offered his dead father's soul tarpana with the blood of the kings and warriors he slew. He then conducted the Ashwamedha sacrifice, done only by sovereign kings, and T his file is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om T his file is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om
gave the entire land he owned to the priests who performed at the yagya. M oolagan was one of the kings who es c aped P aras urama's wrath and Das haratha, father of Lord Rama was his des c endant.
Parashurama in the Ramayana In the Swayambar of the princess Sita, Lord Rama broke the bow of lord shiva given to King Janaka(Father of sita) by Parashurama.. On breaking the bow, it produced a tremendous noise that reached the ears of Parashurama. After hearing the sound of breaking bow, parashurama decided to kill Rama. But Seeing that, lord rama was lord Vishnu avatar, he calmed down and blessed Sita "Saubhagyawati bhavah" .
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Lord rama breaking lord shiva bow The abov e story of lord Parshurama av atar can also be seen in below v ideo link P aras hurama avatar
when Bhishma refused to marry Amba, Granfather of Pandavas, Parashurama decided to slay Bhishma and fought with him for twenty three days, At the end when Bhishma was about to use the most deadly weapon namely "Pashwapastra", all Gods rushed to Bhishma and requested him not to use this weapon against Parshurama. Bhishma stopped and.in the end, all Gods and Parshuram himself showered praise on Bhishma and acknowledged that Bhishma is truly invincible.
Remaining avatars will be dis c us s ed in my next artic le with minute details s inc e I have written many blogs on thes e avatars and many are already aware of Rama, Kris hna and Buddha.
Before I end, a s mall poem to s ummarize and c onc lude
M any attempts were made to kill prahlad Lord V is hnu devotion s aved him every time T his made H iranyakas hipu furious and mad I n anger and revenge, c ontinued his c rime
P ointing to the pillar he as k angrily I f your s upreme lord is there ins ide N odding head, prahlad s aid furious ly Keep fals e pride and arroganc e as ide
Enraged Hiranshipu hit pillar with his mace Lord Vishnu showed his narasimha face Killed cruel H iranyakas hipu on his thigh T his file is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om T his file is downloaded from www.malls tuffs .c om
Bles s ed prahlad, honouring brahma thereby
I ndra and other deities abandoned heaven Lord V is hnu inc arnated as a dwarf Brahman A s ked bali three s teps of land for s helter I gnoring guru advic e, yes did he ans wer
Supreme lord enlarged to huge s ize I n two s teps c overed whole univers e O ffering his head, demon bali c has tis e I mmens ely pleas ed, lord granted life
T o kill all s inful,irreligious monarc h paras hurama des c ended on mother earth Lord s hiva gave deadly paras hu weapon Killed all ks hatriyas in c ruel fas hion
When lord rama broke lord s hiva bow I ntens e anger and pride pars huram s how Seeing vis hnu in rama reduc ed his ego Smilingly rama as ked pars hurama to go
I n various form lord s hows his illus ions Sometimes plays with devotees emotions Sinful irreligious are killed in his ac tion O nly s inc ere devotees attain s alvation
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