Prahlada asserts that Vishnu is the omnipresent, supreme controller of the Universe. Hiranyakashipu asks ‘then why do I not see Him in this pillar in front of me?’ When his son replies that Vishnu is indeed inside the pillar, the king instructs his demons to destroy it. Vishnu bursts out of the pillar in his half-man, half-lion avatar, Narasimha.