When in ancient times countless living beings multiplied, the Earth became weak under the burden of mountains and forests and the creatures that bred on it. She could not bear this burden and, falling into the depths of Patala, plunged into the water there. Then, to save her, Vishnu turned into a huge boar, with a body like a dark thundercloud and eyes that sparkled like stars. He went down to Patala and, prying the earth with his fang, pulled it out of the water and lifted it up. The mighty asura Hiranyaksha, son of Diti, was at that time in Patala; he saw a giant boar carrying earth on its tusk, from which streams of water flowed, flooding the underground palaces of asuras and nagas. And Hiranyaksha attacked the boar in order to take the land from him and take possession of it. Vishnu, in the form of a boar, defeated the great asura in battle. Then he took the land out of Patala and established it in the middle of the ocean so that it would never sink again.
But, raising the ground, the Boar made a hole in it with his hoof and planted his seed there. And since he did this at an inopportune time, a terrible fruit was born from the union of the Boar and the Earth. Deep, deep in the bowels of the earth, in the cavity made by the Boar’s hoof, a terrible fetus remained; Its name is Naraka, Hell, and sinners fall into its abode after death and suffer the most severe torment there for their atrocities.
Another time, Vishnu incarnated on earth when its well-being was threatened by the king of the asuras, Hiranyakasipu, the elder brother of Hiranyaksha. Having become proud of his power, Hiranyakasipu, the son of Diti, left the path of virtue and began to cruelly oppress living beings. Hiranyakasipu's son, the pious Prahlada, condemning his father's villainy, turned to the veneration of Vishnu. In vain did the king of the Asuras try to force his son to renounce virtue. Finally, he ordered his servants to kill the prince. But Prahlada, seeing the danger threatening him, turned to Vishnu with a prayer; and the swords and spears of Hiranyakasipu's cruel servants became dull from the blows to his body, without causing him the slightest harm. At the order of the king, Prahlada was thrown under the feet of angry elephants, but even here he remained unharmed; he was thrown into a ditch full of poisonous snakes, but their bites were powerless against the protection granted to him by virtue. Hiranyakasipu tried to poison him, then wanted to burn him, but neither poison nor fire could destroy the prince of the asuras. The royal servants threw Prahlada from the high tower of the palace - he sank unharmed to the ground, as if on a soft bed.
Bound, he was thrown into the depths of the sea - but even at the bottom of the ocean he continued to glorify Vishnu. Then the king of the asuras imprisoned him.
The evil Hiranyakasipu was not afraid of anyone, for he had once received the gift of invulnerability from the Progenitor. As a reward for his long and grueling asceticism, Brahma made him irresistible to gods and asuras, to people and animals. But Vishnu came to the aid of his devotee and suffering Prahlada. He incarnated on earth in the form of neither human nor beast - half lion, half man - and appeared in the halls of Hiranyakasipu. Seeing the strange creature, the lord of the asuras rushed at him, shaking his trident, but the man-lion threw Hiranyakasipu to the ground and tore him to shreds with his claws. Then Vishnu freed the virtuous Prahlada from prison and again restored justice on earth.
After the death of Hiranyakasipu, his son Prahlada became the king of the Daityas and Danavas. Thanks to his piety and asceticism, he gained great power, and the gods could not defeat him. On the advice of Brihaspati, Indra appeared to Prahlada in the guise of a brahmana and asked him for his virtue as a gift. The pious king could not refuse the brahmana. His virtue came out of him in the form of a shadow and entered into Indra. Only then was the lord of the gods able to defeat Prahlada.
The son of Prahlada was Virochana, the son of Virochana was the powerful Vali, who later became the king of the asuras. In piety, Vali surpassed his grandfather and all those living in the three worlds. By the power of his piety and asceticism, he gained power over the universe. And the sky, and the earth, and the underground countries belonged to him, and the gods themselves fell under the rule of the king of the asuras.
Offended by the humiliation of her sons, Aditi appealed to Vishnu: “Only you can return the kingdom to your brother Indra. Help the gods, your brothers, O wise one!” Then Vishnu turned into a dwarf and came to Vali, the ruler of the universe, and asked him for as much space as he could measure in three steps. “Refuse him,” Ushanas, the son of Bhrigu, advised the king. But the proud and generous Bali did not listen to the advice of his wise mentor and agreed to give the dwarf as much space as he asked. Then the dwarf grew immeasurably before the eyes of the shocked Vali; and with one step he crossed the celestial spheres, and with the second he covered the entire earth at once. Vishnu did not take the third step; at the request of Brahma, he spared the noble Bali and left the underworld, Patala, in his possession. So the gods regained power over the universe, while the asuras were expelled to the underworld.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru