__NOTOC__ Hiranyaksha ( sa, हिरण्याक्ष, "golden-eyed"), also known as Hiranyanetra ( sa, हिरण्यनेत्र) was an oppressive

Asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated ...

who attacked the heavens and thereafter kidnapped and attempted to destroy the earth goddess in Hindu Puranas.

Legend

Some of the Puranas present Hiranyaksha as the son of Diti and

Kashyapa Kashyapa ( sa, कश्यप}, ) is a revered Vedic sage of Hinduism., Quote: "Kasyapa (Rudra),(Vedic Seer)..." He is one of the Saptarishis, the seven ancient sages of the ''Rigveda''. Kashyapa is the most ancient and venerated rishi, ...

. Kashyapa (Sanskrit: कश्यप ''kaśyapa'') was an ancient sage (rishis), who is one of the Saptarshis in the present

Manvantara A ''manvantara'', in Hindu cosmology, is a cyclic period of time identifying the duration, reign, or age of a Manu, the progenitor of mankind. In each ''manvantara'', seven Rishis, certain deities, an Indra, a Manu, and kings (sons of Manu) ar ...

; with others being

Atri Atri ( sa, अत्रि) or Attri is a Vedic sage, who is credited with composing numerous hymns to Agni, Indra, and other Vedic deities of Hinduism. Atri is one of the Saptarishi (seven great Vedic sages) in the Hindu tradition, and the on ...

Vashishtha Vasishtha ( sa, वसिष्ठ, IAST: ') is one of the oldest and most revered Vedic rishis or sages, and one of the Saptarishis (seven great Rishis). Vashistha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the '' Rigveda''. Vashishtha ...

, Vishvamitra,

Gautama Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

, Jamadagni, and

Bharadwaja Bharadvaja ( sa, भरद्वाज, IAST: ; also spelled Bharadwaja) was one of the revered Vedic sages (maharishi) in Ancient India. He was a renowned scholar, economist, grammarian and physician. He is one of the Saptarishis (seven great ...

. He was the father of the Devas,

s, Nagas and all of humanity. He married

Aditi Aditi (Sanskrit: अदिति, lit. 'boundless' or 'limitless' or 'innocence') is an important Vedic goddess in Hinduism. She is the personification of the sprawling infinite and vast cosmos. She is the goddess of motherhood, conscio ...

, with whom he fathered

Agni Agni (English: , sa, अग्नि, translit=Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu ...

, the

Aditya Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a ...

. With his second wife, Diti, he begot the

Daityas According to ancient scriptures, the daityas (Sanskrit: दैत्य) are a race of asuras, descending from Kashyapa and his wife, Diti. Prominent members of this race include Hiranyaksha, Hiranyakashipu, and Mahabali, all of whom overran the ...

. In this Puranic version, the good Suras and evil Asuras are the children of the same Kashyapa, and there is a constant war between good and evil. Once, Hiranyaksha assaulted the defenceless Mother Earth and pulled her deep into the

cosmic ocean A cosmic ocean or celestial river is a mythological motif found in the mythology of many cultures and civilizations, representing the world or cosmos as enveloped by primordial waters. In ancient creation texts, the primordial waters are often ...

. The demigods appealed to

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

to save the earth goddess and all of creation. Vishnu took the avatar of a man-boar (

Varaha Varaha ( sa, वराह, , "boar") is an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, in the form of a boar. Varaha is generally listed as third in the Dashavatara, the ten principal avatars of Vishnu. Varaha is most commonly associated with the leg ...

) and went to rescue the goddess. Hiranyaksha attempted to obstruct him, after which he was slain by Vishnu. Hiranyaksha had an Elder Brother named

Hiranyakashipu Hiranyakashipu (; also known as Hiranyakashyap) was an Asura king of the ''daityas'' from the Puranic scriptures of Hinduism. His name literally translates to "clothed in gold" (''hiranya'' "gold" ''kashipu'' "soft cushion"), and is often inte ...

, who tried to persecute and abuse his son Prahlada for being a faithful devotee of Lord Vishnu. While Hiranyaksha was slain by

(the boar avatar of Lord Vishnu), his older brother Hiranyakashipu was killed by

Narasimha Narasimha ( sa, नरसिंह, lit=man-lion, ), sometimes rendered Narasingha, is the fourth avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is regarded to have incarnated in the form of a part-lion, part-man being to slay Hiranyakashipu, to end rel ...

, the fourth avatar of Lord Vishnu. Their sister was

Holika Holika ( sa, होलिका, translit=Hōlikā), also known as Simhika, is an asuri in Hinduism. She is the sister of the asura-kings Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha, and the aunt of Prahlada. The legend of '' Holika Dahan'' (Holika's bur ...

, who tried to kill her nephew by attempting to immolate him, but got burnt herself and killed. In some texts including the ''

Bhagavata Purana The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in S ...

'', Hiranyaksha is an incarnation of one of the dwarapalas (gatekeepers) of Vishnu named

Vijaya Vijaya may refer to: Places * Vijaya (Champa), a city-state and former capital of the historic Champa in what is now Vietnam * Vijayawada, a city in Andhra Pradesh, India People * Prince Vijaya of Sri Lanka (fl. 543–505 BC), earliest recorde ...

's guardians

Jaya-Vijaya In Hinduism, Jaya and Vijaya are the two '' dvarapalakas'' (gatekeepers) of the abode of Vishnu, known as Vaikuntha (meaning ''place of eternal bliss''). Due to a curse by the four Kumaras, they were forced to undergo multiple births as mortals ...

, were cursed by 4 ''kumara'' sages (Brahma's sons) to incarnate on

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

either 3 times as enemies of Lord

, or 7 times as devotees of Lord

. They chose to take birth on earth thrice. During their first births, (during

Satya Yuga ''Satya Yuga'' ( ''Krita Yuga''), in Hinduism, is the first and best of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by ''Kali Yuga'' of the previous cycle and followed by ''Treta Yuga''. ''Satya Yuga'' lasts for 1,728,000 yea ...

), they were born as Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha. During their second births, (during

Treta Yuga ''Treta Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the second and second best of the four '' yugas'' (world ages) in a '' Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Krita (Satya) Yuga'' and followed by '' Dvapara Yuga''. ''Treta Yuga'' lasts for 1,296,000 years (3,600 divine ye ...

), they were born as

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. ...

and

Kumbhakarna Kumbhakarna (Sanskrit: कुम्भकर्ण, lit. ''pot-eared'') is a powerful rakshasa and younger brother of Ravana from the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Despite his gigantic size and appetite, he is described as a virtuous character an ...

. During their third births (during Dvapara Yuga), they were born as

Shishupala Shishupala ( sa, शिशुपाल, lit. ''protector of children'', IAST: ''Śiśupāla''; sometimes spelt Sisupala) was the king of the Chedi kingdom, and an antagonist in the Mahabharata. He was the son of King Damaghosha and Srutashubha, ...

and

Dantavakra Dantavakra ( sa, दन्तवक्र, lit=crooked-teeth) is the king of Karusha in Hinduism. Dantavakra is the third and last birth of Vishnu's gatekeeper, Vijaya, while his brother Jaya is Shishupala. Legend Puranas According to the P ...

Origins and significance

This Hindu legend has roots in the Vedic literature such as ''Taittariya Samhita'' and ''Shatapatha Brahmana'', and is found in many post-Vedic texts. Debala Mitra, ’Varāha Cave at Udayagiri – An Iconographic Study’, ''Journal of the Asiatic Society'' 5 (1963): 99-103; J. C. Harle, ''Gupta Sculpture'' (Oxford, 1974): figures 8-17. These legends depict goddess earth (Bhudevi, Prithvi) in an existential crisis, where neither she nor the life she supports can survive. She is drowning and overwhelmed in the cosmic ocean. Vishnu emerges in the form of a man-boar avatar. He, as the protagonist of the legend, descends into the ocean and finds her. She hangs onto his tusk, and he lifts her out to safety. Good wins, the crisis ends, and Vishnu once again fulfills his cosmic duty. The Varaha legend has been one of many archetypal legends in the Hindu text embedded with the theme of right versus wrong, good versus evil symbolism, and of someone willing to go to the depths and do what is necessary to rescue the righteous and uphold dharma.

References

*''Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend'' () by Anna Dhallapiccola

External links

Hiranyaksha, Hiraṇyākṣa, Hiranya-aksha: definitions
{{Hindu Deities and Texts Daityas Rakshasa Characters in the Bhagavata Purana

Legend

Origins and significance

See also

References

External links