Narasimha Avathar of Lord Vishnu

         Narasimha (lion face and human body) Avathar is the fourth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. In Tamil language Narasimam means Lion. This was Lord Vishnu’s fierce form of incarnation. Lord Vishnu took this avathar to save Pragalathan from his father Hiranyakassibu.

          There was a saint who worships Lord Vishnu, so he went to heaven. He was stopped by Jayan and Vijayan, who were the guards of Lord Vishnu, so the saint got angry and he curse them that both of them should leave from heaven and born as a violent human beings. They went to Lord Vishnu and asked remedy for that. Lord Vishnu said "I am not able to took back the curse of the saint, but I can give new boon that is you both can come back to me after 3 births as a enemy of me or you can come back to me after 30 births as my devotees. They said "We wish to come back to you in 3 years". As per boon both of them was born as Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakasibu. Hiranyakshya was destroyed by Lord Vishnu in Varaha (pig or boar) Avathar .

        Hiranyakasibu went to forest to do penance to get more power and life. After a long penance God appeared in front of him, suddenly he asked him for immortality. But God refused to give this and he asked he should not die either by human or animal. God granted that boon and disappeared. In the meantime Hiyranyakasibu's wife was pregnant, she was kidnapped by Goddess Indra, to control Hiyranyakasibu. 

        A sage named Naradha adviced Indra to release Hiranyakasibu's wife, so she released her. Naradha took that lady to his abode and told some moral stories of Vishnu to her. She was not interested to listening them, but his child in womb heard all stories and by birth he became devotee of Lord Vishnu. His name is Prahalada. Hiranyakasibu hate the activities of his son and he ordered him leave Lord Vishnu. When he asked Phahalada to show Lord Vishnu, Prahalada said God will be everywhere and anywhere. Hiranyakasibu asked him by pointing to a pillar "is your god in this pillar?” he said "Yes". At once Haranyakasibu broke the pillar into pieces.

 

Lord Vishnu appeared from that piece in the form of Narasimha

and killed Hiyranyakasibu and save Prahalada.