Puranas speak of Hiranyakashipu, an asur (demon), who had acquired special boons from Brahma, the creator among the trinity of the Hindu pantheon. One of the boons was that he be not killed by a man (human being), a deva (a divine being)), an animal or anything animate or inanimate. Obviously deva in this context meant demigods. Another boon was that he could not be done away with - in the air or on earth or indoors or outdoors or during day or night. Insulated as he was with these boons, Hiranyakashipu conquered the whole universe and even dethroned Indra, the king of Swarga (the world of devas and the abode of liberated souls from earth). He declared himself to be the almighty and decimated whoever choosing to accept Narayana (or Vishnu, another supreme being of the trinity and lord of maintenance and sustenance of the universe) as his lord. The word ‘Narayana' in paeans, panegyrics and prayers was replaced by Hiranyakashipu with his own name. (The asurs in puranas pay obeisance only to Brahma and Siva, the latter being the third of the trinity entrusted with cosmic destruction. The trinity is at the top of the hierarchy of the pantheon). The demon had tried to kill even his own son Prahlada who was a pious devotee of Vishnu; and on all such occasions, he was saved by the divine interference of the lord Vishnu, without manifesting himself on the scene. Hiranyakashipu's atrocities and misdemeanors began bothering even Brahma and upon the latter's request, Vishnu agreed to kill the demon king. Vishnu, whose opportune incarnations were always for ensuring peace and orderliness in the universe, took the form of Narasimha (half man-half lion).