Prahladacharita
Encyclopedia
Prahlādacharitam is a Sanskrit
Kavya
, written in Champu
style by the Sanskrit scholar Darsanakalanidhi Rama Varma Parikshith Thampuran
( former Maharaja of Cochin). It is the story of Asura prince Prahlāda
, who was a beloved devotee of Vishnu
and to save him Vishnu takes the Avatar
of Narasimha
.
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
Kavya
Kavya
Kavya refers to the Sanskrit literary style used by Indian court poets flourishing from the first half of the seventh century AD. This literary style is characterised by abundant usage of figures of speech, metaphors, similes, and hyperbole to create its emotional effects...
, written in Champu
Champu
Champu or Champu-Kavya is a genre in Sanskrit literature. It consists of a mixture of prose and poetry passages , with verses interspersed among prose sections...
style by the Sanskrit scholar Darsanakalanidhi Rama Varma Parikshith Thampuran
Rama Varma Parikshith Thampuran
Darsanakalanidhi Parikshith Thampuran was the last official ruler of the Cochin princely state. On 1 July 1949, Travancore and Cochin merged together and Travancore-Cochin State came into existence and the kingdom and the rulership came to an end. He ruled the kingdom for a period of one year and...
( former Maharaja of Cochin). It is the story of Asura prince Prahlāda
Prahlada
Prahlada is a character from the Puranic texts of Hinduism, wherein he is famed for his exclusive devotion to Vishnu, despite attempts in the story by his father, Hiranyakashipu, to turn him to the contrary...
, who was a beloved devotee of Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
and to save him Vishnu takes the Avatar
Avatar
In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....
of Narasimha
Narasimha
Narasimha or Nrusimha , also spelt as Narasingh and Narasingha, whose name literally translates from Sanskrit as "Man-lion", is an avatar of Vishnu described in the Puranas, Upanishads and other ancient religious texts of Hinduism...
.