Introduction
Hiranyaksha, "golden-eyed", is an Asura, the son of Kashyapa and Diti and the elder brother of Hiranyakashipu. He is remembered chiefly as the demon whose defeat of the earth prompted Vishnu's incarnation as the boar Varaha.
This article follows the Puranic tradition. Where a detail differs between texts, the article says so.
Family
- Father: Kashyapa
- Mother: Diti
- Siblings: Vishnu, Surya, Indra, Varuna, Mitra, Aryaman, Bhaga, Dhata, Amsha, Pushan, Tvashtri, Savitri, Garuda, Aruna, Hiranyakashipu, Vasuki, Karkotaka, Kaliya
Origin
As one of Diti's sons, Hiranyaksha belongs to the Daitya line of Asuras. He performed austerities and won great power and near-invincibility, becoming proud and cruel, oppressing gods and sages alike.
Seizing the earth
In the Bhagavata and Vishnu Puranas, Hiranyaksha carried the Earth (Bhudevi) down to the depths of the cosmic ocean, either to hide her or as an act of conquest. Deprived of the earth, the gods appealed to Vishnu, who took the form of the boar Varaha, dived into the waters, fought Hiranyaksha for what is described as a thousand years, and finally killed him, raising the earth on his tusks.
Brother's revenge
His brother Hiranyakashipu, enraged by his death, undertook severe austerities to gain power to avenge him, which led in turn to the boon that made him nearly invincible, and eventually to his own death at Vishnu's hands as Narasimha.
Earlier birth in tradition
In the Vaishnava theology of Jaya and Vijaya, Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu are identified as the first of the three earthly births of Vishnu's two gatekeepers, cursed by the four Kumaras; in their next births they become Ravana and Kumbhakarna, and in the third, Shishupala and Dantavakra.