Simplified Story Of Lord Nrisimhadeva For Little Children

For the auspicious day of the appearance of Lord Nrisimhadeva, I want to share with you a simplified version of Prahlad – Nrisimhadev story, suitable for tiny children. There are no details about killing Hiranyakashipu and attempts to kill Prahlada mentioned. It focuses on Prahlada’s devotion to the Lord and the fact he was saved because of it.

When my children were very young I would narrate this story to them, but this is the first time that I actually have written it down. I hope it would please little Vaishnavas and encourage them on their path of spiritual development. 

Art by Saragrahi

Prince Prahlad, a great devotee of the Lord

There was once a prince named Prahlad. Ever since he was a boy, he has felt a great attachment to God. When Prahläda was just five years old, he didn’t care much about playing with toys, but he thought about Krishna all the time. Sometimes it seemed to him that he saw Krishna smiling at him, and that would make him happiest.

Unfortunately, little Prahlada had a big problem. His father, Hiranyakashipu, did not like him thinking about Lord

Krishna, who is the original Lord Vishnu. His father was a powerful king of demons, and demons do not like to obey the law of God.

One day Prahlada got old enough to go to school. His father sent him to a prestigious school suitable for a prince. The teachers in school taught him how to be a king by being nice to friends and cruel to enemies. But, Prahlada saw Krishna in the hearts of all living beings and saw everyone as a friend. He didn’t like to see anybody as an enemy.

When his teachers were not around, Prahlada would

speak to his school friends about God and devotional service to Him. Prahlada would tell them: “The Lord is the father of all living beings. If you just love God, He will give you all that you need.”

How did little Prahlad know all these things? There is a secret that explains this. When his mother was pregnant with him, she stayed, for some time, in an ashram of a great sage Narada Muni. During her stay there, she would every day listen to the sage talking about God and devotional service to Him. A child in her womb could hear all that Narada Muni said and felt a great attraction to the Supreme Lord. The words of a pure devotee, such as Narada Muni, are very powerful and can arouse the love of Godhead in the hearts of those who listen to them. That is how Prahlada became a devotee of Krishna from the very beginning of his life.

But, one day little Prahlad got in trouble. His father asked him what he learned in school, and Prahlad innocently started to explain devotional service to Krishna. When his father heard that, he was struck with terrible astonishment and anger. Hiranyakashipu thought that Lord Vishnu is his greatest enemy because Lord Vishnu always protects demigods and pious people from demons. Hiranyakashipu could not believe that his own son feels love and attraction to Lord Vishnu, an enemy of demons! He was so angry that he decided to give up Prahlada and kill him. This is how demons behave – because of any disagreement, they are ready to hurt even their family members. Hiranyakashipu handed over Prahlada to his servants by ordering them to kill him immediately.

While demons tried to kill him in different ways, little Prahlada wholeheartedly prayed to God. He had full faith that Lord Vishnu would save him, and indeed, the servants of Hiranyakashipu could not kill him no matter how they tried. Finally, they brought Prahlad back to his father. Hiranyakashipu got even more furious and decided to kill Prahlada by himself. But the moment he raised the sword at his son, a deafening sound broke through the air. The pillar of the palace cracked and Lord Narasimhadev, God’s incarnation in the form of a half-man, half-lion, jumped out of it.

There was a great fight between the demon Hiranyakashipu and Lord Narasimhadeva. Finally, Lord Narasimha killed the demon with His lion’s claws. All the demigods, devotees, and pious people were joyful because the world has finally gotten rid of Hiranyakashipu’s terrible terror. Prahlad approached Lord Nrisimhadeva to thank Him and offer prayers. Narasimhadev gently patted his head and blessed him. After that, Prahlad became king and ruled the world wisely and justly.

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