Today is Narsimha Jayanti

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|OM NAMO BHAGAWATE NRSIMHAYE|

 

Fourteenth day of the waxing half of Vaisakha

According to Hindu mythology, this is the day on which

Vishnu appeared as the Narsimha, or Man-Lion, to

free the world from the demon king, Hiranyakasipu.

Hiranyakasipu had forbidden prayer and worship to

Hari (Vishnu), and substituted worship and prayer to

himself. He was very much annoyed to discover his own

son Prahlada was an ardent devotee of Vishnu, and tortured

Prahlada to convert him, but the child remained

unmoved in his devotion to the god. The king tried to

kill Prahlada by trampling him under elephants, by

throwing him down precipices, and by other means, but

without success.

One day Hiranyakasipu was so enraged that he rushed

to kill Prahlada with his own sword, asking the child,

" Where is your savior? " Instantly Vishnu stepped out of

a nearby pillar in the form of Narsimha, half lion, half

man, and tore Hiranyakasipu to pieces.

On this day, people fast, meditate on Narsimha, and seek

his grace to have devotion like that of Prahlada. To Hindus,

Narsimha symbolizes the omnipresence of god, his

deep concern and love for the devotees, and the victory

of good over evil. People often demonstrate the sincerity

of their devotion by giving cows, grains, gold, robes,

and other goods to the poor and the Brahmans as acts

of charity on this day.