The Man from the Egg Read online

  This was the last straw. The Kumars’ patience ran out and they cursed the two guards. ‘You have let your roles as Vishnu’s guards go to your heads. It is your arrogance that makes you treat us this way. May you be born on earth as mortals and live far away from Vishnu.’

  Suddenly, the door opened and Vishnu came out, having heard the commotion. He recognized the Kumars the moment he saw them and also understood what had passed.

  ‘Why did you stop them from entering my abode?’ he questioned his guards. ‘It is a great honour that these special sages have come to visit me.’

  Jaya and Vijaya realized their mistake—they fell at the Kumars’ feet. ‘Please forgive us,’ they begged. ‘Save us from your curse.’

  ‘Once a curse has been uttered, it cannot be taken back,’ said the Kumars. Then they paused and continued, ‘But we can give you two choices—you can either be born as friends of the lord and complete seven lives on earth, or you can be born as his enemies for three lifetimes and die at his hands.’

  Jaya and Vijaya looked at each other and immediately knew what their decision would be. ‘We can’t stay away from the lord for seven lifetimes. If we are born as his sworn enemies, then we will recall him every moment of every day. We choose to be born as his enemies for three lifetimes,’ they said and bowed.

  Vishnu smiled. ‘Arrogance has its penalty. I hope you have understood that. Your punishment begins now.’

  Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu

  Jaya and Vijaya were born as Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu, the sons of the sage Kashyapa. The two brothers were powerful asuras and the rulers of their land. They were known for their bravado and cruelty. They loathed Vishnu with an unbridled passion and were possessed by a fierce desire to destroy him. As a result, they would often torment Vishnu’s devotees.

  Unable to take it any more, the people of the land flocked to Vishnu. ‘O lord! You teach us to be kind and pious and helpful to others, but the asuras don’t follow your ways at all. They torment us every chance they get and we live in constant fear of them. We need your help.’

  Vishnu smiled and said, ‘Do not worry. I will take care of this.’

  True to his word, the next time the yellow-eyed asura Hiranyaksha ordered his soldiers to plunder the homes in his kingdom, Vishnu took the form of a wild boar—Varaha—and came down to earth, stopping the soldiers from entering the homes.

  When Hiranyaksha heard the news, he was shocked. ‘That’s ridiculous! How can a wild boar be a match for my soldiers?’

  He sent a stronger army to defeat Varaha. While the boar was decimating Hiranyaksha’s army, the asura kidnapped Bhu Devi, in an attempt to take over the world, and imprisoned her in the ocean.

  Hearing Bhu Devi’s cries, Vishnu—still in the form of Varaha—rushed to rescue her. The duel between the well-armed Hiranyaksha and the weaponless wild boar lasted many years. It was a fierce match, but finally, the boar killed Hiranyaksha, saving Bhu Devi and consequently the earth from his dark rule.

  Thus Vishnu fulfilled his prophecy in the avatar of Varaha.

  People everywhere sighed with relief and contentment, happy to have got rid of Hiranyaksha. However, there was still Hiranyakashipu to be dealt with.

  At the time of Hiranyaksha’s death, Hiranyakashipu had been away from the kingdom. When he came back and learnt about his brother’s fate, Hiranyakashipu immediately departed for the realm of the gods and performed a severe penance to please Brahma.

  Delighted with his sincerity, Brahma revealed himself and asked Hiranyakashipu, ‘What do you desire, my beloved devotee?’

  Like almost every other asura, Hiranyakashipu replied, ‘I want to be immortal.’

  Brahma refused, as usual.

  ‘In that case,’ said Hiranyakashipu, ‘please bless me so that I cannot die at the hands of a human or an animal, in the morning or at night, inside or outside the house.’

  ‘So be it,’ said Brahma.

  Hiranyakashipu’s wife, Kayadhu, who was pregnant with their child at the time, was a kind and devout woman. She did not approve of her husband’s ways and was forever begging him not to trouble his subjects.

  One day, while Hiranyakashipu was away from the capital in his quest to conquer other kingdoms, Indra invaded the city.

  Kayadhu had no choice but to flee. On the way, she met the travelling sage Narada, who took pity on her and offered her a place to stay—his ashram—until things settled down. Kayadhu was grateful for the shelter.

  As Narada was an ardent follower of Vishnu, the ashram was filled with prayers and bhajans sung in Vishnu’s praise. The child in Kayadhu’s womb could hear all this as well as all the stories of Vishnu’s glory. By the time the child was born, he was already devoted to Vishnu. Sage Narada fondly named the newborn Prahlada.

  Meanwhile, Hiranyakashipu had seized many kingdoms and come back victorious to his capital, only to find out that Indra had destroyed his palace and that his wife now resided in Narada’s ashram. He rushed to the ashram to see his wife and son and, after thanking the sage profusely, brought his family back to the capital.

  Hiranyakashipu was furious at the gods, and his vendetta against Vishnu in particular grew more intense. He thought, ‘Indra had the gall to ruin my home and capital in my absence only because of Vishnu’s support. Vishnu is my enemy and from this day on, I will not allow anyone to say his name in my kingdom.’

  Years passed and Prahlada grew into a happy and cheerful child. Still a Vishnu devotee, he would keep chanting, ‘Vishnu is the best supreme being.’

  When he went to his gurukul, his teacher tried his best to dissuade him from chanting that, following Hiranyakashipu’s instructions, but Prahlada smiled and said simply, ‘That is not the truth.’ No matter what anyone said, he just repeated what he had learnt when he was in his mother’s womb back at Narada’s ashram.

  Once, when he was visiting his parents, his father took the boy in his arms and asked him affectionately, ‘My child, you must have studied many things in your gurukul. Tell me, what have you learnt?’

  ‘Dear father, Vishnu is the greatest force that exists. He is kind and forgiving, and we should be the same. If you have faith in him, the journey of life will become much easier.’

  Shaken by what he had just heard, Hiranyakashipu threw Prahlada to the ground. Kayadhu came running to find out what was happening and was alarmed to see her husband’s face red with anger.

  Prahlada, however, was not perturbed. He just picked himself up, folded his hands and began chanting, ‘Om Narayana.’

  Hiranyakashipu summoned his son’s gurus and questioned them, ‘What have you been teaching my young son? One of you is responsible for putting these thoughts into his head! How dare you teach my child to chant the name of my sworn enemy? Tell me, who is the culprit? He will be punished severely!’

  ‘No, sir,’ replied the scared teachers. ‘We haven’t taught him anything about Vishnu. In fact, he is the one who teaches us. The truth is that he is a good boy and we have never seen him throw a tantrum or take advantage of his princely status. He studies all subjects equally diligently and we have no complaints except one—he refuses to listen to us when it comes to Vishnu. Otherwise, he is the picture of perfection.’

  Hiranyakashipu calmed down and thought for a while. Finally he decided to give Prahlada’s teachers another chance to take the boy’s mind off Vishnu.

  Time passed but nothing changed, and Hiranyakashipu soon lost his patience. ‘How can my own flesh and blood chant my enemy’s name day and night? If my subjects come to learn of this, they will lose their respect for me. I must teach Prahlada a lesson.’

  Later, when Prahlada came to see his father, Hiranyakashipu said to him, ‘I must punish you severely for your blind faith in Vishnu. I cannot spare you simply because you are my son. You are completely mistaken, Prahlada. He is not the supreme being nor will he ever come to your rescue.’

  Prahlada only said calmly, ‘Do what you will with me, Father, but I know that Vishn