Hiranyaksha’s Family Tree

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Family

• Diti(parent),Kashyapa(parent),Hiranyakashipu(sibling)— Marriage

  Kashyapa and Diti conceived the twin Daitya brothers Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha, whose tyranny over gods and men would require Vishnu to descend twice as Varaha and Narasimha to destroy them.

Slain by

• Varaha

  Varaha, the boar incarnation of Vishnu, battled Hiranyaksha for a thousand celestial years at the bottom of the cosmic ocean and slew the demon with a blow of his mace, then raised the drowned Earth back to the surface on his tusks.

Member of

• Asuras

  The Asura race counts among its ranks the mightiest adversaries of the gods — Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha, the invulnerable Daitya brothers who seized heaven and earth; Bali, the generous king who conquered Indra's realm; Vritra, the drought-serpent who swallowed the cosmic waters; and Mahishasura, the shape-shifting buffalo demon who drove the Devas from their thrones.

Associated with

• Brahma

  Brahma granted Hiranyaksha a boon of great power after his penance, which emboldened the demon to drag the earth into the cosmic ocean. Vishnu as Varaha rescued the earth and slew him.