Sri Varaha Narsimha Swamy at
Simhachalam
by
Chandan Yatar Das
Topics
Simhachalam, Vishakhapatnam, Narsimhadeva
Collection
opensource
Language English
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Simha means “lion” and chalam means “hill”. So this is lion’s
hill, the hill of Lord Nrsimhadeva. The Deity here, Sri Varaha Laxmi Nrsimha
Swamy, is popularly known in Sanskrit as Simhadrinatha or in local Telugu
language as Simhadri Appanna (“the Lord of the Lion Hill”). The Sthala Purana
of Simhachalam recounts the history of the great devotee Prahlada Maharaja and
his demonic father, Hiranyakashipu. After many unsuccessful attempts to kill
Sri Prahlada, Hiranyakashipu ordered, as a last resort, to hurl Sri Prahlada
into the sea and place a huge mountain over him. The servants chose to do this
at Simhachalam. Hiranyakashipu’s
servants brought Prahlada to this place, which is north of Visakhapatnam, just
a few kilometres from here is the sea. Hiranyakashipu and his servants, they
took Prahlada, little tiny boy, 5 years old, deep into the sea. They threw him
into the water. Then they took a mountain and covered him to keep him down.
Prahlada Maharaja was not afraid of death. His only fear was to forget Krishna.
Chanting the Holy Names of Krishna, Krishna always protects His devotees. The
Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared before Prahlada, at this very place. He
lifted the mountain and took Prahlada, personally out, with His own hands, and
brought Prahlada to safety. It is also said that
since the Lord jumped at once to rescue Prahlada, the Lord’s lotus feet went
into Patala. The local Sthala Purana says that the darshan of Lord’s lotus feet
is available only to inhabitants of Patala Loka.
hill, the hill of Lord Nrsimhadeva. The Deity here, Sri Varaha Laxmi Nrsimha
Swamy, is popularly known in Sanskrit as Simhadrinatha or in local Telugu
language as Simhadri Appanna (“the Lord of the Lion Hill”). The Sthala Purana
of Simhachalam recounts the history of the great devotee Prahlada Maharaja and
his demonic father, Hiranyakashipu. After many unsuccessful attempts to kill
Sri Prahlada, Hiranyakashipu ordered, as a last resort, to hurl Sri Prahlada
into the sea and place a huge mountain over him. The servants chose to do this
at Simhachalam. Hiranyakashipu’s
servants brought Prahlada to this place, which is north of Visakhapatnam, just
a few kilometres from here is the sea. Hiranyakashipu and his servants, they
took Prahlada, little tiny boy, 5 years old, deep into the sea. They threw him
into the water. Then they took a mountain and covered him to keep him down.
Prahlada Maharaja was not afraid of death. His only fear was to forget Krishna.
Chanting the Holy Names of Krishna, Krishna always protects His devotees. The
Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared before Prahlada, at this very place. He
lifted the mountain and took Prahlada, personally out, with His own hands, and
brought Prahlada to safety. It is also said that
since the Lord jumped at once to rescue Prahlada, the Lord’s lotus feet went
into Patala. The local Sthala Purana says that the darshan of Lord’s lotus feet
is available only to inhabitants of Patala Loka.
After Lord Krishna appeared in His avatar as Nrsimhadeva and
killed demoniac Hiranyakashipu, in the later pastimes, Prahlada Maharaja
came to this place, Simhachalam, because this is one of the places where the
Lord performed the great miracle to protect him. He prayed to Lord Nrsimhadeva,
that I want to worship You, and have darshan of You in that form that You
killed my uncle Hiranyaksha, and my father Hiranyakashipu. Hiranyakashipu. Lord
Krishna reveals Himself according to our consciousness. So just to
please Prahlada Maharaja, the Lord assumed the form of this deity - Varaha
Nrsimha. He has the face of Lord Varahadeva, and He has a body like Lord
Nrsimhadeva, body of a man, and the claws and the tail of a lion. Prahlada
Maharaja began to worship this deity, which self-manifested before him here,
with great, great devotion. In fact he even built a small temple around the
deity.
killed demoniac Hiranyakashipu, in the later pastimes, Prahlada Maharaja
came to this place, Simhachalam, because this is one of the places where the
Lord performed the great miracle to protect him. He prayed to Lord Nrsimhadeva,
that I want to worship You, and have darshan of You in that form that You
killed my uncle Hiranyaksha, and my father Hiranyakashipu. Hiranyakashipu. Lord
Krishna reveals Himself according to our consciousness. So just to
please Prahlada Maharaja, the Lord assumed the form of this deity - Varaha
Nrsimha. He has the face of Lord Varahadeva, and He has a body like Lord
Nrsimhadeva, body of a man, and the claws and the tail of a lion. Prahlada
Maharaja began to worship this deity, which self-manifested before him here,
with great, great devotion. In fact he even built a small temple around the
deity.
Prahlada built a temple around the Deity. It is said that after
Prahlada handed over the kingdom to his son, he worshipped the deity
personally. However at the end of Satya Yuga, owing to neglect perhaps, a
huge anthill gathered around the Deity. But at the beginning of another yuga
the Deity was rediscovered by Pururava, the king of the lunar dynasty, who is
mentioned in the 9th Canto of the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Riding with Urvashi, in an
aerial chariot over the hills of the South, Pururava was drawn by a mysterious
power to Simhachalam. So what they explained is that the Supreme Lord was
really disgusted seeing Pururava running around with Urvashi. Something like
that. Because king Puruarva was a descendent of great royalty of Vaishnavas, so
He approached as a boar and interrupted Pururava’s situation. Pururava chased
after the boar. Later on He appeared in a dream to King Pururava, and explained
to him that within His form of Varaha-Narasimha, He is on this mountain, and He
wanted to find Him. So the king was searching everywhere, but he could not find
Him. Then the Lord again appeared to him in a dream and revealed exactly where
He was. The King Pururava rediscovered this deity of Varaha-Narasimha in this
place. He got 1000 kalashas or vessels of water from the river called Gangtal.
It is said that the Ganga when she saw that Lord Nrsimhadeva is living here,
she appeared here just to render service to Him. Then he performed the grand
Abhisheka ceremony. But the Lord informed king Pururava that you have not
rendered the same quality of service as the ants, the ants made this anthill
for Me, to protect Me. The Lord was still in a very angry mood and that anger
created a tremendous heat. He told him I want you to cover My body with
candana. He told him exactly how to do it, and according to that instruction to
this very day the deity is worshipped in that way. The body of the deity is
covered with 480 kg of candana by the end of the year. Lord instructed that one
day a year, on Akshay Tritiya, He would give darshan without candana covering
His body. On Akshay Tritiya the deity is uncovered. By the next day dawn, Lord
is covered with 120 kg of candana over His body. Then on Vaishakha Purnima with
another 120 kg of candana over His body, on Jyeshta Purnima with another 120 kg
of candana, and on Ashadh Purnima with another 120 kg of chandan. So after
Ashadh Purnima you will see the Lord with 480 pounds of Candana covering His
body, and it remains like that until the next time on Akshay Tritiya when they
uncover.
Prahlada handed over the kingdom to his son, he worshipped the deity
personally. However at the end of Satya Yuga, owing to neglect perhaps, a
huge anthill gathered around the Deity. But at the beginning of another yuga
the Deity was rediscovered by Pururava, the king of the lunar dynasty, who is
mentioned in the 9th Canto of the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Riding with Urvashi, in an
aerial chariot over the hills of the South, Pururava was drawn by a mysterious
power to Simhachalam. So what they explained is that the Supreme Lord was
really disgusted seeing Pururava running around with Urvashi. Something like
that. Because king Puruarva was a descendent of great royalty of Vaishnavas, so
He approached as a boar and interrupted Pururava’s situation. Pururava chased
after the boar. Later on He appeared in a dream to King Pururava, and explained
to him that within His form of Varaha-Narasimha, He is on this mountain, and He
wanted to find Him. So the king was searching everywhere, but he could not find
Him. Then the Lord again appeared to him in a dream and revealed exactly where
He was. The King Pururava rediscovered this deity of Varaha-Narasimha in this
place. He got 1000 kalashas or vessels of water from the river called Gangtal.
It is said that the Ganga when she saw that Lord Nrsimhadeva is living here,
she appeared here just to render service to Him. Then he performed the grand
Abhisheka ceremony. But the Lord informed king Pururava that you have not
rendered the same quality of service as the ants, the ants made this anthill
for Me, to protect Me. The Lord was still in a very angry mood and that anger
created a tremendous heat. He told him I want you to cover My body with
candana. He told him exactly how to do it, and according to that instruction to
this very day the deity is worshipped in that way. The body of the deity is
covered with 480 kg of candana by the end of the year. Lord instructed that one
day a year, on Akshay Tritiya, He would give darshan without candana covering
His body. On Akshay Tritiya the deity is uncovered. By the next day dawn, Lord
is covered with 120 kg of candana over His body. Then on Vaishakha Purnima with
another 120 kg of candana over His body, on Jyeshta Purnima with another 120 kg
of candana, and on Ashadh Purnima with another 120 kg of chandan. So after
Ashadh Purnima you will see the Lord with 480 pounds of Candana covering His
body, and it remains like that until the next time on Akshay Tritiya when they
uncover.
The original Deity is situated within the depths of the temple.
Sri Varaha Nrsimha Swamy is worshiped always in the form of a shila, except for
on the day of Akshaya Tritiya. On the day of Akshaya Tritiya, the Lord’s
original form of Varaha Nrsimha Swamy is unveiled. This festival is known as
Candana Yatra. The original form of the Lord (Nija roopam) is open for darshan
on Akshaya Tritiya day for 12 hours only. On the night before the Akshaya
Tritiya, the old Candana (sandal) paste is removed and in the early hours of
Akshaya Tritiya the Lord is offered Sahasra Ghatabhiskekam (Abhishekam /
Bathing of the Lord with thousand sacred pots). After that the devotees are
allowed to have the darshan of the Nija roopa of the Lord. After the 12 hours
darshan sandal would be again applied to the Lord immediately. “Nija roopa” is
the darshan seen only on Akshaya Trithiya at start of Candana Yatra, when all
the Candana is removed from the transcendental body of the Lord and then
freshly smeared again. “Nitya roopa” of Sri Varaha Nrsimhadeva Swamy is the
darshan covered with Candana for rest of the year. There is another Deity,
known as the vijaya-murti. This is known by the name of Govinda Raja Swamy.
In the Sri Caitanya Mangal by Sri Locana Das Thakur there is a story of how
this deity got its name Jiyad Narasimha.
Sri Varaha Nrsimha Swamy is worshiped always in the form of a shila, except for
on the day of Akshaya Tritiya. On the day of Akshaya Tritiya, the Lord’s
original form of Varaha Nrsimha Swamy is unveiled. This festival is known as
Candana Yatra. The original form of the Lord (Nija roopam) is open for darshan
on Akshaya Tritiya day for 12 hours only. On the night before the Akshaya
Tritiya, the old Candana (sandal) paste is removed and in the early hours of
Akshaya Tritiya the Lord is offered Sahasra Ghatabhiskekam (Abhishekam /
Bathing of the Lord with thousand sacred pots). After that the devotees are
allowed to have the darshan of the Nija roopa of the Lord. After the 12 hours
darshan sandal would be again applied to the Lord immediately. “Nija roopa” is
the darshan seen only on Akshaya Trithiya at start of Candana Yatra, when all
the Candana is removed from the transcendental body of the Lord and then
freshly smeared again. “Nitya roopa” of Sri Varaha Nrsimhadeva Swamy is the
darshan covered with Candana for rest of the year. There is another Deity,
known as the vijaya-murti. This is known by the name of Govinda Raja Swamy.
In the Sri Caitanya Mangal by Sri Locana Das Thakur there is a story of how
this deity got its name Jiyad Narasimha.
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited Simhachalam in 1510 AD, during
His tour to South India. The famous darshan Arati Song - “Sri Narasimha Jaya
Nrsimha Jaya Jaya Nrsimha….” was sung by Lord Caitanya at this place. In Sri
Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya Lila 8.3-8.9, we find a great deal of information
about Lord Caitanya’s visit to Jiyada-Narasimha Ksetra or Simhachalam.
His tour to South India. The famous darshan Arati Song - “Sri Narasimha Jaya
Nrsimha Jaya Jaya Nrsimha….” was sung by Lord Caitanya at this place. In Sri
Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya Lila 8.3-8.9, we find a great deal of information
about Lord Caitanya’s visit to Jiyada-Narasimha Ksetra or Simhachalam.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur visited Simhachalam in 1905
and again in 1930. In order to commemorate the visit of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
to Simhachalam, on 27 Dec 1930, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati had footprints
of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu installed here. Footprints are at the main entrance
of the temple. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-acarya of
International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) visited Simhachalam
during his stay at Visakhapatnam between 17th to 22nd Feb 1972.
and again in 1930. In order to commemorate the visit of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
to Simhachalam, on 27 Dec 1930, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati had footprints
of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu installed here. Footprints are at the main entrance
of the temple. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-acarya of
International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) visited Simhachalam
during his stay at Visakhapatnam between 17th to 22nd Feb 1972.
Simhachalam is situated 16 km north of Vishakhapatnam and is
easily accessible by local transport. The priests of the Simhachalam temple
belong to the Sri Sampradaya, the line that follows the revered devotee and
philosopher Ramanuja. Simhacalam is one of the 108 places recognized by the Sri
Sampradaya as divya-desams, spiritual places in this material world.. The
hilltop road and the location of the eastern ghat ranges are beautiful and
picturesque. The hills are densely populated with trees like pineapple, cashew,
shrubs and mango groves.
easily accessible by local transport. The priests of the Simhachalam temple
belong to the Sri Sampradaya, the line that follows the revered devotee and
philosopher Ramanuja. Simhacalam is one of the 108 places recognized by the Sri
Sampradaya as divya-desams, spiritual places in this material world.. The
hilltop road and the location of the eastern ghat ranges are beautiful and
picturesque. The hills are densely populated with trees like pineapple, cashew,
shrubs and mango groves.
Places to visit near Vishakhapatnam:
1. Sri Varaha Nrsimha Swamy Temple
2. ISKCON Vishakhapatnam
3. Sri Kurma Ksetra (110 km north of Vishakhapatnam)
4. Rajahmundry (where Lord Chaitanya met Ramananda
Raya; 3 hours from Vishakhapatnam)
Raya; 3 hours from Vishakhapatnam)
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