Lord Vishnu Mantras

The demon-king Hiranyakashipu, by long and terrible penance, won a boon that he could be slain by neither man nor beast, neither by day nor by night, neither indoors nor out, neither on the earth nor in the sky, and by no weapon. Believing himself immortal, he forbade all worship of Vishnu and demanded to be worshipped as god himself. Yet his own young son, Prahlad, was a pure and fearless devotee of Lord Vishnu, and no threat or torment could shake his faith.

In fury, Hiranyakashipu pointed to a stone pillar of his hall and roared, "Is your Vishnu in this pillar too?" Prahlad answered quietly, "He is everywhere." The king struck the pillar — and from it burst forth Lord Vishnu in his fourth avatar, Narasimha: half-man and half-lion, neither wholly man nor beast.

At dusk, which is neither day nor night, Narasimha seized the demon; he carried him to the threshold of the palace, which is neither indoors nor out; he laid him across his lap, which is neither earth nor sky; and with his claws, which are no weapon, he ended the tyrant — fulfilling the boon to the letter. Then, his terrible wrath calmed by the touch of the child Prahlad, the Lord blessed his devotee. So Narasimha shows that the Lord will bend every law of nature to protect those who love him, and that no power on earth can stand against sincere devotion.