According to legend, King Hiranyakashyapu did great penance and earned the boon that he could not be killed by either human or animal. After receiving this boon he began to consider himself immortal and grew arrogant. He demanded that people worship him as God. As luck would have it, his son Prahlad refused to denounce God. Hiranyakashyapu grew furious and meted out cruel punishments on his son and tried to kill him several times. Every time Prahlad surrendered himself to God’s Grace and was saved. One day the King ordered his sister Holika to kill little Prahlad. She possessed a special shawl. As long as she wore it, she would not burn. She burned a pyre, covered herself with the shawl, took Prahlad in her lap and sat in the fire. Prahlad should have burnt but as usual he surrendered his fate to God. Holika’s shawl slipped away from her, covering Prahlad and leading to her death. The next day Hiranyakashyapu decided to kill Prahlad himself. In now famous words he asked Prahlad, if your God is real and exists everywhere at all times then let him show himself inside this pillar. If he doesn’t come I will kill You myself. As soon as he said this, God burst out of the pillar in a form never seen before. He was half man and half lion. He immediately killed Hiranyakashyapu, thus saving his devotee Prahlad.
The day of Holika’s death is celebrated as the first day of Holi. The day of Lord’s manifestation in the Narsimha Avatar (half man half lion) is celebrated as the second day of Holi.
Holi also marks season change in India.
