Then suddenly a storm blew which spread the sheets of flames in various directions and so got the smoke blown about. The storm was the work of some divine force. It changed directions so swiftly that the miracle sheet Holika was wrapped in got blown off her body to shroud young Prahlada fully covering him up. In seconds the exposed body of Holika turned into ashes.
But nothing happened to Prahlada as he was wrapped up by the miracle material. Inside, the boy was safe from fire and heat. In there it was cool.
Meanwhile, Hiranyakashipu had departed to his palace taking it granted that in the morning he would find Prahlada dead and turned into ashes while Holika would walk out safe and cool.
In the morning Hiranyakashipu ordered the demon executioners to find the remains of Prahlada in that great heap of ashes and retrieve the alive Holika. The ash was carefully removed by the executioners. What they discovered was astonishing.
There was no trace of Holika and under the ash Prahlada was found alive as if he were sleeping very peacefully under the blankets of ash in the winter chill. The miracle material was wrapped around him.
By then Hiranyakashipu had also arrived to thank and congratulate Holika. He suddenly realised that Holika was dead and the miracle cloth had saved his enemy Prahlada. Anguished and enraged the demon lord was. He had lost his dear sister and his detractor had escaped unscathed. Hiranyakashipu was now at a loss to understand what to do.
His every move against Prahlada was ending up in a miserable failure. He thought of other ways to deal death to Prahlada. The boy was fed poison but it worked as a nectar or tonic for the devotee boy. Infact, after consuming a big bowlful of poison Prahlada had burped as if he had drunk some tasty potion.
Hiranyakashipu grinded his teeth in fury and impotent anger. He analysed that Prahlada had some power that saved him in adverse situations working like an antidote. That power was the wall between the life and the death of the boy.
The demon lord drew consolation in the fact that the boy with such miraculous power was his own son naturally. May be, some powers he inherited from him. But the irony was the boy was a die hard devotee of his enemy Vishnu. The boy worshipped the same Vishnu who had killed Hiranyaksha, his dear brother. Thus, the demon lord undulated between soft sentiments and harsh feelings for his son.
Guru Shanda prayed to the demon lord, “Mighty King! You are the conqueror of the universe. Why are you wasting your power against a child? It is only hurting your reputation and benefiting your enemies. The boy should not worry you.”
“Well said, guru. But it is natural for me to get angry when the boy acts in such a pig headed manner. He is very adamant.”
“My Lord, very soon our father, Guru Shukracharya will be back from his penance mission. He may be able to put sense in the adamant boy. You must stop worrying over Prahlada and his obessession with Vishnu.”
“Tell me what should I do, sir?”
“Let Prahlada remain in the gurukul. He is yet a child. As he matures up he may learn to see difference between enemy and a friend and what is in the interest of the demonic race and what’s not.”
“Alright, guru. Your advise is wise and full of reason. But do everything to keep the mind of our boy away from the thoughts of Vishnu.”
“We will do our best, demon lord. We will engage his mind in demonic traditions, values, philosophy, politics and the statecraft. He will find little chance to think of Vishnu.”
“Alright, I agree with you Acharya Shanda. Keep the boy under your strict control and watch.”
Thus, Prahlada was again sent back to the gurukul with guru Shanda.
