Drawn from the Vishnu Purana, this legend tells of Prahlad, the son of the demon tyrant Hiranyakshapu. Prahlad disobeys his father by worshipping the latter's hated enemy, Vishnu. He undergoes tortures, including being burnt in oil, trampled beneath an elephant and poisoning, until, finally, Vishnu appears from a pillar in his Narasimha guise to overwhelm the demon.
