The story is from a short episode in the Vishnu Purana, a holy text of Vaishnavites, that narrates the story of Prahlada, an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu much against the wish of his father Hiranyakashipu, a demon. All of Hiranyakashipu's attempts to change his son's attitude are in vain. Finally, when he decides to kill his son, Lord Vishnu comes to the rescue of the son, in the form of Narasimha (a man-lion form), and kills the king.