Avadhuta Foundation, 1993); H. W. L. Poonja, Wake Up
and Roar: Satsang with H. W. L. Poonja (Kula, Hawaii:
Pacific Center, 1992).
Prahlada
Prahlada, son of the demon HIRANYAKASHIPU,
whom VISHNU slew in his “man-lion” incarnation
(NARASIMHA), is known as one of the great devo-
tees of Vishnu.
The story goes that Prahlada would admit,
upon being questioned by his demonic father
in his father’s court, that he was a devotee of
Vishnu, his father’s sworn enemy. At one point,
Hiranyakashipu became enraged and ordered his
courtiers to kill his “traitorous” son. But God
protected Prahlada, who was not harmed by the
many weapons thrown at him. Further enraged,
Hiranyakashipu commanded serpents to fall upon
his disobedient son. The serpents too could not
harm him.
Then Prahlada was made to endure the crush-
ing feet of celestial elephants and again was
unharmed. Hiranyakashipu then sent ferocious
fire upon his son, to no effect, followed by equally
inefficacious poison and a fiery magical female
being. Summoned to the court to explain how
he had survived these ordeals, Prahlada claimed
no work of magic but only the blessing of Lord
Vishnu. His father resumed his efforts, having
the son thrown from the top of the palace and
having an enchanter put a deadly spell on him;
neither attempt succeeded. Prahlada was tossed to
the bottom of the ocean and covered with rocks;
he did not die. Somehow after all this the father
and son were reconciled, though the son con-
tinued to testify that he had Vishnu “within his
heart.” When Vishnu eventually killed his father,
Prahlada became the head of the demons.
Further reading: A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prab-
hupada, Transcendental Teachings of Prahlada Maharaja
(Los Angeles: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1991); Corne-
lia Dimmitt and J. A. B. van Buitenen, Classical Hindu
Mythology: A Reader in the Sanskrit Puranas (Philadel-
phia: Temple University Press, 1978); John Dowson, A
Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion,
Geography, History, and Literature, 12th ed. (Ludhiana:
Lyall Book Depot, 1974).Prajapati
Prajapati, “lord of all born beings,” was a Vedic
divinity of some importance. In the period of the
BRAHMANAS his status rose even higher, as he was
ritually identified with the cosmic PURUSHA, the
source of all reality.
In the Rig Veda, the cosmic Purusha allowed
himself to be dismembered to create all reality.
This story was ritually reenacted each year in
the AGNICHAYANA—the ritual building of the fire
altar—but in the ritual Prajapati’s name is substi-
tuted for Purusha’s. Prajapati retained his aggran-
dized status in the UPANISHADS, but in later Hindu
mythology he reverts to the status of “lord of all
born beings.” In some cases, BRAHMA, the creator
god, takes on his role.Further reading: Jan Gonda, Prajapati’s Relations with
Brahman, Brihaspati and Brahma (Amsterdam: North
Holland, 1989); Frits Staal, C. V. Somayajipad, and M.
Itti Nambudri, Agni: The Vedic Ritual of the Fire Altar
(Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1986).prakriti
In the list of 24 categories of reality in SAMKHYA
and YOGA, prakriti refers to nature or the phenom-
enal universe. It is seen as an eternal reality that
always existed and always will exist. That is to say,
phenomenal reality is not a created entity but is an
eternal real that always was and always will be.
Prakriti is seen as an unconscious force that
creates and dissolves universes; when a universe
is dissolved, prakriti becomes an inert unmanifest
reality, which will once again come forward to
produce a new creation. The task of Samkhya and
most yogas is to learn how to dissociate the intel-K 332 Prahlada