Who was Prahlada Maharaja in his previous life?

Compiled by Mahavishnu Dasa

The Glories of observing Sri Nrisimha-caturdasi-vrata

vaisakhasya caturdasyam suklayam sri nrikesari
jatas tad asyam tatpujot-savam kurvita savratam

(Padma Purana)

“Sri Nrisimhadeva appeared on the fourteenth lunar day (Caturdasi-tithi) of the bright fortnight of the month of Vaisakha. So, on this day, it is proper to worship and celebrate the appearance of Nrisimhadeva by following the rules of fasting and others.”

prahlada-klesa nasaya ya hi punya caturdasi
pujayet tatra yatnenahareh prahladam agratah

(from the agamas)

“It is proper to first worship Prahlada before worshipping Nrisimha because the holy fourteenth lunar day of the bright fortnight has appeared in order to remove the distress of Prahlada.”

It is written in the Brihan-narasimha Purana as follows: Prahlada Maharaja desired to know from Sri Nrisimhadeva how he had developed devotion to His lotus feet. Nrisimhadeva replied, “In ancient times, there lived a brahmana named Vasu Sarma in the city of Avanti, who was well-versed in the Vedas. His good wife Susila was famous throughout the three worlds for her virtuous conduct and ideal devotion to her husband. Vasu Sarma fathered five sons in Susila’s womb. His first four sons were learned persons of good conduct and devoted to their father. But you, the youngest son, became attracted to a prostitute and lost your character. You were then known as Vasudeva. Your virtuous conduct was destroyed in the company of that prostitute. Due to a quarrel with the prostitute, on the Nrisimha-caturdasi-tithi both of you stayed awake throughout the night and unknowingly observed a fast. Therefore, both of you obtained the fruits of observing Nrisimha-caturdasi-vrata. The prostitute enjoyed as an Apsara in various ways in heaven and then became My favourite. As the son of Hiranyakasipu, you also took birth as My dear devotee. By observing this fast, Brahma has obtained the power of creation and Mahesvara has obtained the power of destruction of the three worlds. Other people also achieve all kinds of power and perform observance of this vow to fulfil all their desired objectives.”

In his Laghu-bhagavatamrita, Srila Rupa Gosvami has written about the pre-eminence of the Lord’s appearance as Sri Nrisimhadeva, quoting the following reference from Sri Padma Purana:

nrisimha-rama-krishneshu sad-gunyam paripuritam
paravasthas tu te tasya dipad utpanna-dipa-vat

(Padma Purana)

“Nrisimha, Rama and Krishna possess the pre-eminent presence of the totality of sixty attributes. Just as one lamp lights other lamps and then all lamps follow the same nature, similarly, although Rama and Nrisimha are manifested forms from the Prime Supreme Lord Sri Krishna, all three hold the supreme position with sixty attributes.”

The next two verses were composed by Sridhara Svami in his commentary on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1.1 and 10.87.1 respectively:

prahlada-hridayahladam bhaktavidya-vidaranam
sarad-indu-rucim vande parindra-vadanam harim

“Let me 

  my obeisances unto the Supreme lion-faced Lord Sri Hari who is residing within the heart of Prahlada Maharaja as condensed bliss, and who alwaysremoves nescience. His effulgence is like autumnal moonshine.”

vag-isa yasya vadane lakshmir yasya ca vakshasi
yasyaste hridaye samvit tam nrisimham aham bhaje

“On whose lips Sarasvati (the goddess of learning) dances, on whose chest Lakshmidevi resides in the form of a golden line and whose heart is the abode of grand refulgence of the opulence of Absolute Knowledge - I offer my obeisances unto that very object of worship, Sri Nrisimhadeva.”