Page 45 - Moral Stories Vol 1

There once was a rakshasa king,
Hiranyakashipu who had conquered all the three worlds. Since Lord Vishnu had killed his brother, Hiranyakashipu demanded that since he was the sole king of the three worlds, no one should worship Lord Vishnu and commanded everyone to worship him.
But his little son, Prahalad refused to do so. Prahlad was a devotee of Lord Vishnu. Angered by this act of defiance of Prahlad,
Hiranyakashipu ordered his daughter, Holika to kill Prahlad. Holika had the power to walk through fire unharmed. So she picked up Prahlad and walked into a fire with him. Prahlad prayed to Lord Vishnu and was chanting the name of Lord Vishnu when he was taken in the fire. Holika, on the other hand was unaware that her powers against fire were effective only if she entered the fire alone and as a result she perished. Prahlad on the other hand, was saved from the fire.
This story is popular in the North and Central India. During the festival of Holi a large fire is lit and even today there is a practice of hurling cow dung into the fire as if it is hurled at Holika.
Moral: Devotion to God alone can carry a person through any situation in life.
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