Retribution

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This piece represents the omnipresence of our Dharmic “god”. It’s inspired by the story of Prahlad and how he survived his Demon King father, Hiranyakashipu. The Demon King would torture everyone in his path, he was arrogant and very full of himself. When his brother died, the despair made him seek absolute power to protect his ego from becoming damaged again. After a fierce amount of meditation, he experienced the Lord Brahma who granted him his boon of invincibility.

Being drunk with power, Hiranyakashipu, just like many rulers after him and many before him, felt that he alone deserved access to the Divine. He forbade everyone to worship any other entity besides himself. Although he enforced his will on most the one individual he couldn’t get to let go of the Divine was his own son, Prahlad. The karmic retirbution for his actions was almost poetic to say the least.

Prahlad was more spiritually inclined than most had ever been from a very young age. He embraced life with such tenacity it bothered his father. The Demon King had failed to convince his son to worship him. Having realized this, Hiranyakashipu would start orchestrating various scenarios to kill Prahlad. But every single attempt was met with divine failure, as if the universe itself was protecting the “delinquent” prince.

Finally fed up with not being able to kill his son, Hiranyakashipu decided to murder him himself.

Upon confronting Prahlad he asks “If you’re so confident this God exists, where is he?”

Prahlad calmly responds “He is in everything and everyone, including even your wicked heart.”

At this Hiranyakashipu becomes enraged and points at a pillar in the throne room. “Does he reside in this pillar as well?” he yells.

“He does.” Prahlad responds.

And with that the Demon King smashes the pillar…

From behind the broken pieces the mighty Narasimha avatar of Lord Vishnu emerges. The lion headed avatar tears apart Hiranyakashipu saving Prahlad and the rest of empire from the Demon King’s tyranny.

Before returning to the universe, Lord Narasimha asks if there’s anything he can grant Prahlad. Although reluctant to ask for anything at first, Prahlad finally agrees to make a request.

Prahlad asks the Divine to grant him the boon of relieving him from the burden of “Desire”.

The extent of these desires range from luxuries of the material realm to the desire for spiritual liberation. A devotee only achieves blissful enlightenment when the mind stops forming desires, because only then will they truly be free from suffering.