Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c8.2391

c8.2391

PRAHLĀDA I.
1) General information. Son of a rākṣasa King who saw Mahāviṣṇu by means of his devotion in the form of Narasimha (man-lion). His father was Hiraṇyakaśipu and mother Kayādhū.
2) Genealogy. Descending in order from Viṣṇu—Brahmā—Marīci—Kaśyapa—Hiraṇyakaśipu—Prahlāda.
3) Birth. KaśyAPAPrajāpati got of his wife Diti two sons named Hiraṇyākṣa and Hiraṇyakaśipu and a daughter named Siṃhikā. Of these two, Hiraṇyākṣa got boons from Brahmā and roamed about as a very valiant hero destroying everything on earth and finally pulling down the earth to the depths of the ocean. Mahāviṣṇu then incarnated as Varāha and after killing Hiraṇyākṣa lifted the earth from the ocean and put it in its original position. Hiraṇyakaśipu became very angry at Mahāviṣṇu for killing his brother and with a view to wreaking vengeance on him performed penance to propitiate Brahmā. When the emperor of the demons, Hiraṇyakaśipu, thus went to the forests for performing penance the Devas attacked the land of the demons. A great fight ensued in which the devas were defeated. While fleeing away thus Indra took away Kayādhū wife of Hiraṇyakaśipu by force. Nārada who heard the moanings of the poor woman under the clutches of Indra got her released from Indra's hold. For some time she stayed in the āśrama of Nārada worshipping him. Kayādhū was pregnant then. Nārada taught the child in Kayādhū's womb lessons in Vedas, moral philosophy, duty and spiritual knowledge. When Hiraṇyakaśipu returned after his penance Kayādhū joined him and very soon gave birth to a son. That boy was Prahlāda. Hiraṇyakaśipu begot of Kayādhū five sons, Prahlāda, Saṃhlāda, Anuhlāda, Śibi and Bāṣkala. Prahlāda got three sons named Virocana, Kumbha and Nikumbha. The celebrated emperor Mahābali was the son of Virocana. Bāṇa was the son of Mahābali. Uṣā, daughter of Bāṇa, was married to Aniruddha, son of Pradyumna and grandson of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. (Chapter 65, Ādi Parva; Chapter 19, Agni Purāṇa; Chapter 15, Aṃśa 1, Viṣṇu Purāṇa and 7th Skandha, Bhāgavata).
4) Boyhood and education. Hiraṇyakaśipu decided to make Prahlāda an instrument to wreak vengeance on Mahāviṣṇu. Entrusting the education of his son to able preceptors he instructed that the boy should never mutter ‘Nārāyaṇāya namaḥ’ but should on the other hand mutter ‘Hiraṇyāya namaḥ’ only. Not only that, he wiped out the name of Nārāyaṇa from the land altogether. Prahlāda stayed in the house of the preceptor and studied his lessons. One day Prahlāda went to see his father along with his preceptor. Hiraṇyakaśipu was drunk then. Prahlāda went and prostrated before his father and Hiraṇyakaśipu lifting the boy up from the ground asked him with affection to repeat to him all the good things he had learned so far and Prahlāda quickly repeated thus :—“I bow to Mahāviṣṇu, the root cause of all things seen and unseen, the protector of this visible universe, who is without beginning, centre and end and who is without origin, growth and decay.”