“Shri Hari, who is the Lord of the demigods, who is worshiped by the people of the world, for benefiting the moving and nonmoving beings of the world took that dreadful form through His own energy and tore apart Hiranyakashipu, who caused suffering to so many, with His nails.” (Narasimha Purana, 44.43)

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हरिः सुरेशो नरलोकपूजितो हिताय लोकस्य चराचरस्य
कृत्वा विरूपं च पुरात्ममायया हिरण्यकं दुःखकरं नखैश् छिनत्

hariḥ sureśo naralokapūjito hitāya lokasya carācarasya
kṛtvā virūpaṃ ca purātmamāyayā hiraṇyakaṃ duḥkhakaraṃ nakhaiś chinat

“Listen, I know from associating with you for so long, for being your friend for more than a decade, that two specific practices or inclinations in response to bhakti-yoga set you off. They are like trigger points. You love to joke about the Pavlov’s Dog response that you notice in others, in how you can predict what they will say when you introduce certain stimuli into the unofficial scientific experiments that you like to conduct, but I must inform you that you have your own set responses. These are predictable.

“I know that one of the triggers is the word ‘mythology’. You hate anyone saying that about the history documented in the Vedas. You immediately go into an extended explanation about how people like Vyasadeva, Narada, Valmiki, and even Mahadeva have no time for make-believe. They would never renounce the world in order to sit in some isolated place and create fictional accounts. There would be no benefit. It is not like they were after a publishing deal. They were not looking to go on the morning talk shows, which are mindless, by the way. They were not itching to be on the bestsellers list.

“The other trigger, which I am dancing around today, is symbolism. You don’t want to hear about symbolic references to any of the images or depictions. This probably ties in with your objection to using the word ‘mythology.’ You don’t want people to get the wrong idea. Although Krishna and Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra symbolize the plight of the living being in requiring instruction from a spiritual master, you insist that everyone remember that the conversation actually took place. In real life. In a physical location that can be visited by anyone to this day.

“Alright, but there are still symbolic references based on the reality. You cannot deny it. Goswami Tulsidas uses the bow held by Shri Rama to describe time. That bow is supposedly the full manifestation of time, which is known as kāla in Sanskrit. The arrows released from that bow are the different units of time. This is a wonderful image, if you ask me. The symbolism is brilliant. We are all getting destroyed. Kāla is striking us at every moment. Indeed, a moment itself is like an arrow from Rama, who is the Supreme Lord.”

लव निमेष परमानु जुग बरस कलप सर चंड
भजसि न मम तेहि राम कहँ कालु जासु कोदंड

lava nimeṣa paramānu juga barasa kalapa sara caṃḍa
bhajasi na mama tehi rāma kaha~ kālu jāsu kodaṃḍa

“Mind, why are you not worshiping Shri Rama, whose bow is like time, with weapons of arrows representing the different units of time, such as paramanu, lava, nimesha, barasa, yuga, and kalpa?” (Dohavali, 130)

“Along these lines, before you think of throwing things at me, do you see any symbolism in the demise of Hiranyakashipu, the leader of the Daityas? I am talking about the final moments. The end. You could say that the nails from Narasimha are like one of Rama’s arrows. Narasimha and Rama are the same person, after all. But just this vision of a half-man/half-lion tearing apart a wicked character – there has to be something to study from the image alone.”

Hiranyakashipu was torn asunder. He was ripped apart, like two people fighting over the last piece of meat at the Thanksgiving dinner table. Narasimha Purana makes sure to mention that the end occurred through the nails. The Supreme Lord killed a valiant fighter, who was protected from all sides through boons from Lord Brahma. Narasimha managed to penetrate the impenetrable. Narasimha succeeded where others would fail. Narasimha did this using just His nails.

The symbolism we are desperate to find is that we are all just as helpless. We think that we have strength. We think that we have wealth. We think that we are safe in our position. We have all angles covered. We have thought of everything. There is no one to get in our way. There is no one to stop us.

But we are all just as vulnerable as Hiranyakashipu. There is no special formula for achieving immortality in the sense of remaining within a temporary body. If we had to one day accept that body, we will one day have to reject it. We might be forced to reject it. We might be removed from it by an external force, who has the ghastly vision of an angry lion.

The lion is the king of the jungle. Hiranyakashipu thought he was king of the universe. To be king means to be the best. The leader in heaven is known as Indra because of his status. We find that same word used in many Sanskrit terms to describe the best of something or that which has the highest authority. Another meaning for Hari is “lion.” Vishnu is therefore Harendra, or the indra of haris. Since he is the best of men, naras, he is known as Narendra. As the cream rises to the top, the best of the best will eventually assert their dominance.

By contrast, Prahlada Maharaja was the best of the devotees. He did not need to assert his dominance over anyone. He understood that the source of his strength was Vishnu. He tried to inform his father of the same. He tried to get his father to turn around, to at least appreciate everything that Vishnu was doing. After all, no one can rise to a heightened stature without assistance from the source of all strength. The Supreme Lord is the ability in man. He is the strength of the strong.

बलं बलवतां चाहं
काम-राग-विवर्जितम्
धर्माविरुद्धो भूतेषु
कामो ऽस्मि भरतर्षभ

balaṁ balavatāṁ cāhaṁ
kāma-rāga-vivarjitam
dharmāviruddho bhūteṣu
kāmo ‘smi bharatarṣabha

“I am the strength of the strong, devoid of passion and desire. I am sex life which is not contrary to religious principles, O Lord of the Bharatas [Arjuna].” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.11)

The one who was inimical the entire time is in great peril when meeting God face-to-face. The one who was supporting the entire time is not afraid. He should have been terrified the entire time, during the torture inflicted by the father, but he was calm and peaceful. He is now welcoming the protector of all with a garland, which also symbolizes the victory of God over the wicked.

In Closing:

Welcoming the protector of all,
Now as Narasimha can call.

In appearance abrupt,
Despite time to conduct.

In down the haughty to bring,
But intestines a garland to string.

Nails like same torture previously to mete,
The perpetrator now in spectacular defeat.

Categories: questions

Tags: dailyprompt, hare krishna, narasimha, poem, poems, poetry