Hiranyaksha
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In Hinduism, Hiranyaksha was an Asura of the Daitya race, and a King of Dravida who was killed by Lord Vishnu after he (Hiranyaksha) took the Earth to the bottom of the ocean. His name in Sanskrit literally means "Goldeneye".
Vishnu assumed the form of a white boar (Sri Varaha) and dived into the water to lift the Earth, in the process slaying Hiranyaksha who was obstructing Him. The battle lasted one thousand years.
He had an older brother named Hiranyakashipu who, after having undertaken penances which made him incredibly powerful and invincible unless several conditions were met, was later slain by Lord Narasimha, another avatar of Vishnu..
Reference
- Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend (ISBN 0500510881) by Anna Dhallapiccola
| Hinduism | Hindu mythology | Itihasa |
|
|---|---|
| Male Deities: Shiva | Brahma | Vishnu | Rama | Krishna | Ganesha | Kartikeya | Hanuman | Lakshman | Indra | Surya | | |
| Female Deities: Gayatri | Saraswati | Lakshmi | Parvati | Durga | Shakti | Kali | Sita | Vaishno Devi | Radha | | |
| Texts: Vedas | Upanishads | Puranas | Ramayana | Mahabharata | |
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