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| * Constant faith in God leads to devotion. | * Constant faith in God leads to devotion. | ||
| * The people who are practising evil will be punished. | * The people who are practising evil will be punished. | ||
| This story of Prahlada as it appears in puranas seems to be absurd as it does not answer the question as to why when Hiranyakashipu returns from his penance for 36,000 years, he still finds Prahlada to be a boy of no more than seven years of age. | |||
| ===Scriptural references=== | ===Scriptural references=== | ||
Revision as of 18:16, 14 August 2007
Prahlada is a character from the Puranic texts of Hinduism, wherein he is famed for his exclusive devotion (bhakti) to Vishnu, despite attempts in the story by his father, Hiranyakashipu to turn him to the contrary. He is considered a mahajana, or great devotee, by followers of Vaishnava traditions and is of special importance to devotees of Narasimha avatar. A philosophical treatise is acredited to him in the Bhagavata Purana wherein Prahlada describes the process of loving worship to his lord, Vishnu. The majority of stories in the Puranas are based around the activities of Prahlada as a young boy, and thus he is more commonly depicted as such in paintings and illustrations.
Prahlada and Narasimha
Main article: The Story of NarasimhaAfter tolerating much abuse from his father Hiranyakiashipu, Prahlada is eventually saved by Vishnu in the form of Narasimha, the half-man, half-lion avatar.
The story of Prahlada gives a number of moral instructions such as:
- God prevails everywhere.
- God will always save his devotees.
- Devotion can be practised at any point of time. Age does not matter.
- Constant faith in God leads to devotion.
- The people who are practising evil will be punished.
This story of Prahlada as it appears in puranas seems to be absurd as it does not answer the question as to why when Hiranyakashipu returns from his penance for 36,000 years, he still finds Prahlada to be a boy of no more than seven years of age.
Scriptural references
In the Bhagavad Gita (10.30) Krishna makes the following statement in regards to Prahlada, showing his favour towards him:
Translation: "Among the Daitya demons I am the devoted Prahlada, among subduers I am time, among beasts I am the lion, and among birds I am Garuda."
Prahlada is counted amongst the demons because his father Hiranyakashipu was a demon.
Pilgrimage sites
The following sites in Andhra Pradesh, India, are associated with Prahlada, or Narasimhadeva as places of pilgrimage:
See also
External links
- Bhagavata Purana Canto 7 - The Story of Prahlada (srimadbhagavatam.com)
- Dharma-Nirnayam (short story on Prahlada (moralstories.wordpress.com)
- The Transcendental Teachings of Prahlada (pdf) (krishna.com)
- Prahlada in the Vishnu Purana (sacred-texts.com)
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