Twilight is sacred in Hinduism. It is called गोधूळिवेळ gōdhūḷivēḷ in Marathi or गोधूलिवेला godhūlivelā in Hindi, గొధూళివేళ godhoolivela in Telugu, literally cow dust time. Many rituals, including Sandhyavandanam and Puja, are performed at twilight hour. Eating of food is not advised during this time. Sometimes it is referred to as Asurasandhya vela. It is believed that Asuras are active during these hours. One of the avatars of Lord Vishnu, Narasimha, is closely associated with the twilight period. According to Hindu scriptures, a daemonic king, Hiranakashipa, performed penance and obtained a boon from Brahma that he could not be killed during day or night and neither by human nor animal. Lord Vishnu appeared in a half-man half-lion form (neither human nor animal), ended the life of Hiranakashipa during twilight (neither day nor night).