The birth of the asura twins Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakasipu to Diti at Pradosha Kala is accompanied by evil portents, says the Bhagavata Purana.
Sage Kashyapa foresees this as indicative of their asura nature and of their enmity to the Lord. He consoles Diti that her sons would be fortunate to die at the hands of the Lord. Together these twins exemplify ahamkara and mamakara, the sense of ‘I’ and ‘Mine,’ the typical asura nature, that is the root cause of all troubles, pointed out Sri Ramanujam in a discourse. Ahamkara and mamakara go hand in hand and cannot be separated and stand as an obstacle to salvation. The sense of I and Mine has to be nipped in the bud, lest it should grow into mammoth proportions. The desire to possess first arises, and this breeds the consciousness of ownership. Desire feeds on itself and multiplies at great speed and strength. Both Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakasipu are driven by the desire for unrestrained ownership and possession of objects, places and people. Hiranyaksha covets the whole world and brags about his prowess. He thinks there is none who is worthy to oppose him and hides the earth in the ocean. The Lord incarnates as Yagna Varaha and rescues and places the earth on the sun’s orbit.
It is shown that it is a huge fallacy to think one owns anything at all in this world as everything is the Lord’s. This Varaha form of the Lord is hailed as the very essence of the Vedas and all yagnas. There is nothing to be attained by Him in all the worlds nor does He need to be involved in yagna or karma. Yet He is forever tirelessly engaged in the upkeep of the worlds. Practice of yagna, karma or penance helps one to give up the sense of ego and realised souls know that by His grace alone this renunciation is possible.
