Lord Narasimha, the fourth Avatar of Sri Maha Vishnu, came as a saviour to little Prahalada and the entire Universe, to get rid of Demon King Hiranyakashipu.
Nara-Simha (Man-Lion), the angry Vishnu incarnate had emerged out of a mere stone pillar, to prove to the world that:
1. God is everywhere (from pillar to twig), omnipresent.
2. God saves even the smallest of beings.
3. God punishes the vain, arrogant and foolishly self-indulgent people.
4. God can destroy what he builds and to build self-belief.
5. God hears the earnest pleas of everyone and protects them from evil.
Legend:
Hiranyakashipu, an asura king, was an egoist who insisted on all his subjects that they must worship him as the God, since he defeated all the Devas and was the practical ruler of all the worlds. He was however still in search of Sri Vishnu, who in his third avatar of Kurma (the boar) killed his younger brother Hiranyaksha to save Mother Earth whom he had hidden in Sutala loka (the Netherlands).
Hiranya (gold) Kashipu (soft cushion / cloth), the Golden soft cloth covered one, was a daitya, the son of Diti and Kashyapa, and elder brother of Hiranyaksha. Saddened by his brother's death, he unleashed a reign of terror across all the worlds and ordered is demon-soldiers to destroy anything that is even remotely associated with Vishnu; no yagnyas to be performed, holy people to be killed if they don't worship him as the God. Over a period of time, holy practices stopped and righteous acts had almost ended; all aggrieved sages and righteous people who couldn't take these any more then approached Sri Vishnu to seek help. He assured them that shortly all these demonic acts and the Demon himself will be put to an end by his fourth avatar aided by one of the Demon king's own - Shishta Rakshana and Dushta Shikshana will be done. As He says, everybody must perform sufficient acts of Karma, su-karma (most preferably) or ku-karma (due to bad actions or evil intentions) to reap its benefits. Everyone gets a chance, to choose: the path of righteousness or the path of evil.
Advised by Sage Shukracharya, the Asuras' priest, Hiranyakashipu performed severe penance in the valley of Mandarachal / Himalayas, standing on one toe, to appease Lord Brahma. So severe was his austerity that fire emanated from him, that eventually covered the entire world; Brahma unable to withhold himself, finally had to appear before Hiranyakashipu and grant a very rare and powerful boon, that 'no human or animal nor any being created by Brahma can kill him, at neither day nor night, neither inside nor outside, in any of the worlds, by any weapon.' With this, he became virtually invincible and consequently, very arrogant.
Meanwhile, Gods took this opportunity of Hiranyakashipu's absence and attacked Hiranyakashipu's kingdom; Indra abducted the serpent woman Kayadhu, Hiranyakashipu's wife. Sage Narada accosted Indra, fooled him and took her away to his hermitage after warning Indra about Hiranyakashipu's powers. Kayadhu already had three sons-Samhlada, Anuhlada and Hlada, and was carrying the youngest Prahlada in her womb. Narada, a staunch Vishnu devotee took this opportunity to narrate about religion, path of righteousness, and also Sri Maha Visnhu's gloriousness to Kayadhu; these were, unknown to her, picked up by Prahlada in the womb itself. Shortly after returning from his penance Hiranyakashipu thanked Narada for taking care of his wife and was delighted to see his just born son.
The already pious Prahlada turned out to be a staunch devotee of Sri Maha Vishnu himself, much to the chargin of his father, Hiranyakashipu, whereas his mother was happy that least her last son will not be a sinner akin to her family and other Asuras. Hiranyakashipu tried various Gurus to wean Prahlada away from 'Vishnu state-of-mind' and to make him worship any other God, including his own father, who by now was Lord of the Universe. But Prahlada would heed to none of them and would only chant Sri Vishnu. Angered by this single-minded devotion, his father ordered his soldiers to kill Prahlada; they tried various means - trampling by elephant, hurled from a hill, burnt in a fire, pierced by spears, etc. - but Prahlada was unscathed and returned alive each time.Hiranyakashipu's sister, Holika too burned in the pyre that was set to burn Prahlada even though she was virtually un-burnable.
Kayadhu was relieved that since her son was pious, Sri Vishnu was protecting him; but her joy was short lived, as Hiranyakashipu decided to take matters into his own hands and deal with his errant son. When he asked his son, Prahlada where is your lord Vishnu, the little Prahlada solemnly replied to his father, "My Lord is everywhere, in the plants and the abundant nature we enjoy, in all those around us, in me and even in you!"
Enraged, Hiranyakashipu pointed towards a pillar near them and menacingly swaying his mace shouted, "Is your Vishnu in this stone pillar? Will he come to save you from me?", to which Prahlada, in his innocent, calm voice replied, "Yes, dear father, my Lord Vishnu, protector of the entire Universe, is in the pillar as well. If you chant his name in devotion, he will come to save us." Kayadhu, teary-eyed and taking in the conversation, was mutely watching this spectacle unfold between father and son.
The already seething with anger Hiranyakashipu struck the stone pillar with great force ordering Lord Vishnu to appear and save his beloved little devotee from his wrath. Prahlada, devotion personified, called upon Lord Vishnu to appear for his father and fulfill his wish.
Lo! and Behold! There appeared, from the shattered pillar, a strange creature that no one had ever seen or imagined before - A giant lion and man fused together, with eight arms, bloodshot eyes, golden yellow hued muscular body, matted hair and moustache, roaring like a lion, violently swinging his fore-arms with razor sharp, claw-like, long finger nails, holding a Padma (lotus), the Kaumodaki gada (mace), the Panchajanya (conch), the Sudarshana chakra (sacred wheel), the Nandaki sword, the Sarngam (bow) and a Vanamali garland. Prahlada immediately knew that his Lord Vishnu has come to save him and prevent his father from committing any more sins or uttering wrong words against the Lord.
The man-lion, Nara-Simha, walked towards a bewildered Hiranyakashipu who weakly tried attack this unknown creature with his Gada (mace). Narasimha brushed the gada side, then dragged Hiranyakashipu to the threshold of his palace, placed him on his thighs, ripped open the stomach with his bare claw-nails, and drank his blood while wearing the intestines as a garland around his neck. The awe-struck people were mute spectators to this gory event. NaraSimha then roared, I am neither human, nor animal, not god or any being created by Brahma, it is neither day nor night, its the twilight hour; I have placed you on my lap at the threshold of your house, which is neither earth nor sky, I haven't used any weapons to kill you but my nails; thus I haven't showed any disrespect to the boon you have received from Lord Brahma." His deed done, Lord Narasimha angrily walked away leaving the limp body of Hiranyakashipu at the threshold of his palace, even as Kayadhu and Prahlad bowed to him in utter devotion. Thus the fourth avatar of Sri Maha Vishnu rid the universe of misery and brought peace to all.
Such was Narasimha's rage that no God dared to come in front of him to pacify him; not even Goddess Lakshmi could control his anger. Then the Gods decided and presented his ardent devotee Prahlada in front of him; as Prahlada touched his feet, the raging Lion god calmed down. Meanwhile Goddes Lakshmi, peeved that Lord Vishnu in his Narasimha avatar did not heed to her pleas, left Vaikuntha and took birth as a girl of the Chenchu tribal king. Lord Narasimha wandered the earth and reached a place called Ahobilam (in current AP), was completed calmed by Chenchu Lakshmi and stayed there for posterity.
Nothing much at all is known about the fate of Queen Kayadhu after this; Prahlada is said to have been crowned king of Hiranyakashipu's kingdom and ruled very nobly.
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Lord Narasimha is very popularly worshipped across India, in many forms; mainly there are 9 of them called Nava Narasimha:
Ugra-Narasimha, Krodha Narasimha, Vira Narasimha, Vilamba Narasimha, Kopa Narasimha, Yoga Narasimha, Aghora Narasimha, Sudarshana Narasimha, Lakshmi Narasimha; and also in many more forms. A unique form, Varaha Narasimha (a combination of Avatars 3 and 4), is worshipped at Simhachalam, near Visakhapatnam where the idol is completely smeared in sandal paste, to keep the Lord cool.
The priests who worship the Lord in his angry form are Brahmacharis (celibates) due to the utmost sanctity and purity necessary to be maintained by them; an exception is for the teples where Lord Narasimha is depicted inn soumya/yogic form, in medication or accompanied by goddess Lakshmi in the same garbha-griha / sanctum sanctorum.
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Nara-Simha (Man-Lion), the angry Vishnu incarnate had emerged out of a mere stone pillar, to prove to the world that:
1. God is everywhere (from pillar to twig), omnipresent.
2. God saves even the smallest of beings.
3. God punishes the vain, arrogant and foolishly self-indulgent people.
4. God can destroy what he builds and to build self-belief.
5. God hears the earnest pleas of everyone and protects them from evil.
Legend:
Hiranyakashipu, an asura king, was an egoist who insisted on all his subjects that they must worship him as the God, since he defeated all the Devas and was the practical ruler of all the worlds. He was however still in search of Sri Vishnu, who in his third avatar of Kurma (the boar) killed his younger brother Hiranyaksha to save Mother Earth whom he had hidden in Sutala loka (the Netherlands).
Hiranya (gold) Kashipu (soft cushion / cloth), the Golden soft cloth covered one, was a daitya, the son of Diti and Kashyapa, and elder brother of Hiranyaksha. Saddened by his brother's death, he unleashed a reign of terror across all the worlds and ordered is demon-soldiers to destroy anything that is even remotely associated with Vishnu; no yagnyas to be performed, holy people to be killed if they don't worship him as the God. Over a period of time, holy practices stopped and righteous acts had almost ended; all aggrieved sages and righteous people who couldn't take these any more then approached Sri Vishnu to seek help. He assured them that shortly all these demonic acts and the Demon himself will be put to an end by his fourth avatar aided by one of the Demon king's own - Shishta Rakshana and Dushta Shikshana will be done. As He says, everybody must perform sufficient acts of Karma, su-karma (most preferably) or ku-karma (due to bad actions or evil intentions) to reap its benefits. Everyone gets a chance, to choose: the path of righteousness or the path of evil.
Advised by Sage Shukracharya, the Asuras' priest, Hiranyakashipu performed severe penance in the valley of Mandarachal / Himalayas, standing on one toe, to appease Lord Brahma. So severe was his austerity that fire emanated from him, that eventually covered the entire world; Brahma unable to withhold himself, finally had to appear before Hiranyakashipu and grant a very rare and powerful boon, that 'no human or animal nor any being created by Brahma can kill him, at neither day nor night, neither inside nor outside, in any of the worlds, by any weapon.' With this, he became virtually invincible and consequently, very arrogant.
Meanwhile, Gods took this opportunity of Hiranyakashipu's absence and attacked Hiranyakashipu's kingdom; Indra abducted the serpent woman Kayadhu, Hiranyakashipu's wife. Sage Narada accosted Indra, fooled him and took her away to his hermitage after warning Indra about Hiranyakashipu's powers. Kayadhu already had three sons-Samhlada, Anuhlada and Hlada, and was carrying the youngest Prahlada in her womb. Narada, a staunch Vishnu devotee took this opportunity to narrate about religion, path of righteousness, and also Sri Maha Visnhu's gloriousness to Kayadhu; these were, unknown to her, picked up by Prahlada in the womb itself. Shortly after returning from his penance Hiranyakashipu thanked Narada for taking care of his wife and was delighted to see his just born son.
The already pious Prahlada turned out to be a staunch devotee of Sri Maha Vishnu himself, much to the chargin of his father, Hiranyakashipu, whereas his mother was happy that least her last son will not be a sinner akin to her family and other Asuras. Hiranyakashipu tried various Gurus to wean Prahlada away from 'Vishnu state-of-mind' and to make him worship any other God, including his own father, who by now was Lord of the Universe. But Prahlada would heed to none of them and would only chant Sri Vishnu. Angered by this single-minded devotion, his father ordered his soldiers to kill Prahlada; they tried various means - trampling by elephant, hurled from a hill, burnt in a fire, pierced by spears, etc. - but Prahlada was unscathed and returned alive each time.Hiranyakashipu's sister, Holika too burned in the pyre that was set to burn Prahlada even though she was virtually un-burnable.
Kayadhu was relieved that since her son was pious, Sri Vishnu was protecting him; but her joy was short lived, as Hiranyakashipu decided to take matters into his own hands and deal with his errant son. When he asked his son, Prahlada where is your lord Vishnu, the little Prahlada solemnly replied to his father, "My Lord is everywhere, in the plants and the abundant nature we enjoy, in all those around us, in me and even in you!"
Enraged, Hiranyakashipu pointed towards a pillar near them and menacingly swaying his mace shouted, "Is your Vishnu in this stone pillar? Will he come to save you from me?", to which Prahlada, in his innocent, calm voice replied, "Yes, dear father, my Lord Vishnu, protector of the entire Universe, is in the pillar as well. If you chant his name in devotion, he will come to save us." Kayadhu, teary-eyed and taking in the conversation, was mutely watching this spectacle unfold between father and son.
The already seething with anger Hiranyakashipu struck the stone pillar with great force ordering Lord Vishnu to appear and save his beloved little devotee from his wrath. Prahlada, devotion personified, called upon Lord Vishnu to appear for his father and fulfill his wish.
Lo! and Behold! There appeared, from the shattered pillar, a strange creature that no one had ever seen or imagined before - A giant lion and man fused together, with eight arms, bloodshot eyes, golden yellow hued muscular body, matted hair and moustache, roaring like a lion, violently swinging his fore-arms with razor sharp, claw-like, long finger nails, holding a Padma (lotus), the Kaumodaki gada (mace), the Panchajanya (conch), the Sudarshana chakra (sacred wheel), the Nandaki sword, the Sarngam (bow) and a Vanamali garland. Prahlada immediately knew that his Lord Vishnu has come to save him and prevent his father from committing any more sins or uttering wrong words against the Lord.
The man-lion, Nara-Simha, walked towards a bewildered Hiranyakashipu who weakly tried attack this unknown creature with his Gada (mace). Narasimha brushed the gada side, then dragged Hiranyakashipu to the threshold of his palace, placed him on his thighs, ripped open the stomach with his bare claw-nails, and drank his blood while wearing the intestines as a garland around his neck. The awe-struck people were mute spectators to this gory event. NaraSimha then roared, I am neither human, nor animal, not god or any being created by Brahma, it is neither day nor night, its the twilight hour; I have placed you on my lap at the threshold of your house, which is neither earth nor sky, I haven't used any weapons to kill you but my nails; thus I haven't showed any disrespect to the boon you have received from Lord Brahma." His deed done, Lord Narasimha angrily walked away leaving the limp body of Hiranyakashipu at the threshold of his palace, even as Kayadhu and Prahlad bowed to him in utter devotion. Thus the fourth avatar of Sri Maha Vishnu rid the universe of misery and brought peace to all.
Such was Narasimha's rage that no God dared to come in front of him to pacify him; not even Goddess Lakshmi could control his anger. Then the Gods decided and presented his ardent devotee Prahlada in front of him; as Prahlada touched his feet, the raging Lion god calmed down. Meanwhile Goddes Lakshmi, peeved that Lord Vishnu in his Narasimha avatar did not heed to her pleas, left Vaikuntha and took birth as a girl of the Chenchu tribal king. Lord Narasimha wandered the earth and reached a place called Ahobilam (in current AP), was completed calmed by Chenchu Lakshmi and stayed there for posterity.
Nothing much at all is known about the fate of Queen Kayadhu after this; Prahlada is said to have been crowned king of Hiranyakashipu's kingdom and ruled very nobly.
-------------------------------------------------
Lord Narasimha is very popularly worshipped across India, in many forms; mainly there are 9 of them called Nava Narasimha:
Ugra-Narasimha, Krodha Narasimha, Vira Narasimha, Vilamba Narasimha, Kopa Narasimha, Yoga Narasimha, Aghora Narasimha, Sudarshana Narasimha, Lakshmi Narasimha; and also in many more forms. A unique form, Varaha Narasimha (a combination of Avatars 3 and 4), is worshipped at Simhachalam, near Visakhapatnam where the idol is completely smeared in sandal paste, to keep the Lord cool.
The priests who worship the Lord in his angry form are Brahmacharis (celibates) due to the utmost sanctity and purity necessary to be maintained by them; an exception is for the teples where Lord Narasimha is depicted inn soumya/yogic form, in medication or accompanied by goddess Lakshmi in the same garbha-griha / sanctum sanctorum.
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| Sri Ugra Narasimha Temple, Maddur |
A very small but beautiful temple, Sri Ugra Narasimha Temple at Maddur, near Bangalore prompted me to write this piece about The Angry God. This avatar shows that while Shiva is mostly attributed to destruction, the benign Lord Sri Vishnu also can become angry in case of absolute crisis and bestow peace to the Universe, without any collateral damage. I haven't come across any other form of Vishnu that was angry and took Avatar for lok-kalyan (may be Parashurama? but he had a personal grudge).
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Sri Ugra Narasimha Temple of Maddur has its own legend and is very unique in itself.
The Legend: During the end of Mahabaratha war and the Dwapara yuga, Arjuna is said to have requested Sri Krishna to see his angry side, to which Sri Krishna declined as it is not in his character to be angry, ever. In turn, Lord Brahma obliged and installed the mesmerising idol of Sri Ugra Narasimha at a place called Arjunapuri. Sage Kadamba had performed penance at this place and the river tributary here is called Kadamba-nadi; now river Shimsha flows nearby.
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| Ugra Narasimha sculpted on one of the temple pillars |
The uniqueness: The idol here has 8 hands and 3 eyes! The Lord is shown as tearing Hiranyakashipu with 2 hands and other 6 hands are adorned with Sri Vishnu's weapons as mentioned earlier on this page at the time of his Avatar's emergence. Garuda is standing to his left and Bhakta Prahlada to his right.
The lord's temple is flanked by 2 other temples dedicated to 2 versions of Lakshmi, Soumya Nayaki and Narasimha Nayaki. There is also a shrine of Srinivasa and immediately thereafter of mathey Yashoda holding a young Krishna in her arms and breast-feeding him; Lord Brahma is seen held from little Lord Sri Krishna's nabhi. Yet another shrine is of Sri Pattabhi Rama, with Sita and Lakshmana where Lord Hanuman is standing to his left holding his tail in left hand and covering his mouth with his right, which is said to be the humility with which we must address our elders.
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| Sri Pattabhi Rama Shrine |
The Temple has a vaikuntha dwaram that is opened 15 days after Sankranti as per calendar followed by Sri Vaishnavaites'.
The temple architecture is a mix of Vijayanagar, Hoysala and Dravidian styles, with recent renovations and additions done by the Palegars. Though not as grand as any of their other illustrious places of worship by them, this temple too has its share of fine sculptures and ornate pillars, though unfortunately painted in peach-coloured distemper!
Between the 16th and the 18th Centuries when this region was being governed by the Palegaras (chieftains of Vijayanagar empire), it is said that gunpowder and explosives of warfare were manufactured and stored here, hence the name Maddu-uru, the place of explosives.
Maddur is 80 kms away from Bangalore, more famous for its crispy Maddur-wada, and is also the tender coconut capital of India!
A must visit place.
A must visit place.
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| Sri Hanuman on Garuda Sthambha |
Disclaimer: The information mentioned here is drawn from stories of my grandmother, mother and family, as also a bit of research online and from local lore. The views / narrative are my own and not copied from anywhere; any similarity is purely coincidental. I have shot the photographs by myself and own them; please do not copy; but in case anyone finds them interesting and wants to use, please be kind enough to give credit the genuine source.
