Wish to share the following:-
http://narayandasan.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/mattapalli-lords-miracles/
This was an email I received from one of the groups years back (in 2002). Recently, i happened to see this email when I was going through my archives. Felt like sharing it
From: Narasimhan KP (kp*******_at_yahoo.com)
Date: Mon Feb 18 2002 – 00:46:47 PST
Sri Mattapalli Naatham Pranathosmi Nithyam Namaha
Sri Mattapalli Nruhari Charanou Sharanam Prabadhye
Grace of Mattapalli Naathan seen:
One of my friends Mr. Sridhar, 42 yrs, is an ex-serviceman working in a pvt co. He is suffering from diabetes since 31 yrs of age. In Sep.’01 he got a wound in his left leg, which not healed for quite sometime and had to be hospitalized for a week. Repeatedly he got the same trouble and suffering a lot. I have warned him to take some serious step and even suggested him to go to yoga where tremendous improvement can be seen. But he has been claiming lame excuses that he is preoccupied with his official schedule. Even then I have been warning him every now and then.
One day bottom of his left leg [ullangaal] went black and had no sense at all. He approached military hospital where he can be treated free as he is an ex-serviceman. There the doctors asked him till what level his left leg can be amputated whether upto ankle or two, three inches more as the situation is advanced, they said. He got feared and went to a private hospital in Tambaram where 75% of the skin in that area is removed. But even after this he was not assured of any cure. He underwent repeated surgery, nearly eight surgeries took place in the same area in the past four months, and there was no improvement and rather it was even discouraging. On 6.2.02 doctor told him that maximum steps have been taken. There could nothing more to be done in it. If this is not improving still the only go is to go for amputation of his left leg at least till ankle point. Even there is no blood supply to the area below ankle in the left leg. Till now he spent nearly lack of rupees on this.
He got depressed very much and worried about his future life as his son is just being educated. On account of this medication I couldn’t have chance to talk to him personally for a long time. More over he is staying far away and he do not have any phone in his house. He himself came to me on 7.2.02 and explained about all happenings. I gave him a final warning. I asked him to prepare a holy knot praying Lord Mattapallinaathan by chanting Mattapalli Mangalashtakam, saying that this body is not mine and it is yours, I don’t have any go except you, I totally surrender myself to you, from now onwards it is your problem to solve and nothing is mine. I asked him to pray sincerely, whole heartedly fixing Mahaviswaasam on HIM like Prahlad.
On 8.2.02 he took Sankalpam as above. As astonishing to everybody within a week of his prayer he felt very good improvement. He is back with his normal sense in that area. The colour of the skin is becoming normal and even blood supply to that area is improved a lot. Even doctors are baffled with his improvement. Today [18.2.02] he came to me personally and expressed his happiness and thanked me.
I told him that Lord Lakshminrusimhan is an electrical phenomenon as described by Sri Mukkur Swami. Once you touch his feet HE will not leave you to suffer.
Dec 30, 2010
Dec 29, 2010
Power of MantraRajaPatha Slokam and Narasimhar Worship
Wish to share details from the following blog, which moved me a lot.
Personally, once we start meditating on Narasimha deva, we can never move away from Him.
In due course we will definitely feel that we are addicted to Him. Though MantraRaja Patha Slokam is bit long when compared to other small slokams, once we start reciting this, we will feel LOT and LOTs of difference in our thoughts and we will definitely feel closer towards Lord Lakshmi Narasimha.
The power of this sloka gets multifold when we recite this inside temple with full concentration. There is definitely some supreme magic behind this slokam and that is Lakshmi Narasimhar.
Click here for Mantra Raja Patha Slokam with meaning
http://murpriya.blogspot.com/2010/09/mantra-raja-patha-stotram-with-meening.html
Jai Narasimha ....
http://narayandasan.wordpress.com/2010/12/07/interesting-blog-on-narasimha-by-a-shrividya-upasaka/
This entire decade, which serves as a doorway to the new parivR^itti, seems to be nR^isimhamaya. Last night, a gentleman asked what our relation to nR^isiMha was considering our primary outlook to be that of a shAkta. I pointed out to him that pashchimAmnAya (and AgneyAmnAya to an extent) was entirely vaiShNava. Thinking back now, that reply seems superficial as the connection is a lot deeper.
The AchAryas of Sringeri have worshipped Lord Nrisimha as one of their chief upAsya devatA-s. It is not very clear whether this practice is prevalent in the Sri Mutt right from the times of AchArya bhagavatpAda as other AmnAya pIThas such as the govardhana pITha or the jyotirmaTha do not seem to have nR^isiMha as one of the chief upAsyas. Based on a conversation with shrI jayendra sarasvatI, the current AchArya of the kumbhakoNam-kAnchI maTha, nR^isimha is not among their upAsya mantras. It is Sringeri and dvArakA that are associated chiefly with nR^isimhopAsana. The case of dvArakA or bhadrakALI maTha is quite understandable due to its association with shrI padmapAdAcharya, a great upAsaka of Lord nR^ihari. The tAntrika worship of nR^isiMha in thirty-six forms, a practice known as the nR^isiMha vyUha, is the trademark of shrIkrama associated with dvArakA maTha. As for Sringeri, tradition states that the nR^isiMha sAlagrAma worshipped by the AchAryas was handed down the lineage by Adi shankara himself. Starting from the eighth AchArya of the maTha, Acharyas of the holy line have frequently assumed the titles, nR^isiMha or narasimha. The height of nR^imha upAsana in Sringeri seems to have reached during the lifetimes of two of its AchAryas: shrI vrddha nrsimha bhAratI and shrI abhinava vidyA tIrtha. However, unlike the dvArakA maTha, the worship of nR^isiMha is only faintly tAntrik in nature here.
Though nR^simha was fondly worshipped by the shrI sacchidAnanda shivAbhinava nR^isiMha bhAratI and shrI chandrashekhara bhAratI, nR^isiMha was not initially one of the chief upAsya-s of my own Guru shrI KPS. While mantrarAja was one among the hundreds of mantras he was initiated into, his focus, like that of his Guru mahAmahopAdhyAya shrI hAnagal virUpAkSha shAstrigal, was chiefly centered around the mahAmithuna: mahAtripurasundarI and prAsAda parameshvara. A certain incident in his life seems to have propelled him deeply into the upAsana of ramAdhava. While tutoring the pIThAdhipati of svarNavallI maTha at Sonde, a remote place close to gokarNa, shrI KPS began to suffer from mUlavyAdhi. There was severe bleeding and lack of medical attention seemed to indicate that death was certain. Based on divine guidance, he began to petition Lord nR^isiMha for help and was cured wondrously in no time. He later narrated to his disciples, “I was walking steadily towards dakShiNa (yamapurI) and the cry – lakShmInR^isiMha mama dehi karAvalAmbam - did the trick! The Lord held my hands and brought me back from the city of dharmarAja”.
On an uncanny chaturdashI day, he suddenly decided to initiate me into three mantras of the great Lord, primary among which was the mantrarAja, and advised to give as much importance to nR^isiMha as the shrIvidyA mantra in terms of upAsanA. That marked the beginning of a bond with the great Lord, one that would grow beyond my imagination. Strictly devoted to shiva and devI alone and never interested in even taking the name of viShNu, that was how I was and it was about to change. As a symbolic indication of the growing devotion towards shrImannArAyaNa, tuLasI began to grow everywhere around our house and sAlagramas landed in dozens at my place. panchAkSharI which was the chosen mantra that I recited all the time, in sleep and while awake, was replaced effortlessly by the mantrarAja, in spite of resistance from my side. This was probably the Lord’s way of stating the truth that the essence behind the two mahAmantras was not different.
Initially, it seemed rather difficult to recite the mantrarAja and the fact that it was lengthy compared to other mantras did not help either. It was one of those days that I ran into the great bhAgavata shrI mukkUr svAmigal. He was discoursing on the greatness of shrIdevI, the consort of shrImannArAyaNa at Nanganallur and I stood there examining some books and audio tapes that were displayed. svAmigal, all of a sudden, motioned me to come forward and gave prasAdam and declared, “The Lord is standing right behind you! I can see him” It was at that moment that my Guru’s statement, “Recite this always, he will watch your back” seemed to materialize into reality. The Lord has been compassionate to reveal the grace that verily is his presence on every occasion that has required a divine intervention.
In the shrIvidyA krama sampradAya that comes down from shrI padmapAdAchArya through bhagavatI bimbAmbikA, the status of prathama pUjyatva is accorded not to guru or gaNapati but to nR^isiMha, who represents the great Guru svacChanda bhairava. According to tradition, there are five pumrUpas of shrI parAmbA which are trimUrtyAtmaka. They are: shrI nrsimha, shrI svarNAkarShaNa bhairava, shrI shuddha dakShiNAmUrti, shrI dattAtreya and shrI ucChiShTa mahAgaNapati. Due to their association with shrIvidyA, all of these mUrtis are visualized in aruNa varNa with the exception of dakShiNAmUrti (antarlInavimarshaH) and worshipped at particular times of a day. These five forms represent the emanations of svacChanda bhairava in the various yugas for the propagation of brahmavidyA along the five srotas, accompanied by three mahAnAthas: skanda (sUrya, agni), krodha bhaTTAraka (nandin, agastya) and lopAmudrA (kAmarAja). The peculiarity of the bimbAmbikA sampradAya is to accord the status of kAraNa guru to nR^isiMha as the teaching of shrI-krama is believed to have been transmitted by krama-deshika shrI svacChanda bhairava in the form of nR^isiMha to padmapAdAchArya and as the vaiShNavI mahAvidyA bagaLAmukhI to bimbAmbikA.
The glory of nR^isiMha came to the forefront after our visit to Sevvilimedu, a nR^isimha kShetra on the outskirts of kAnchIpuram. The nR^isiMha temple here was in a pathetic condition with the deities dressed in torn vastra-s. After having the darshan of the Lord and undertaking a samkalpa to offer vastram to saundaryavallI and her Lord, we quite forgot about the shrine till a strong reminder from the vajranakha jolted us. Frequent visions of the Lord indicating that his gopuram was on the verge of falling began to recur and he commanded authoritatively to have the gopuram restored. He prodded us to initiate some action and assured that the rest will be taken care of. After overcoming the initial state of disbelief and hesitation, once the activity got kick-started, things proceeded smoothly beyond belief and the restored rAjagopuram of the shrine stands tall today as a sign of assurance from the Great Lord to his children, “I am here for you”.
After the passing of shrI nambUdari appa, the responsibility of overseeing the annual oracle, called the devatA prashna, which is done on the day of chitra viShu fell on our shoulders. A certain devatA, like shUlinI or vanadurgA are invited during a special ritual and their message for the coming year is recorded. There are no specific questions asked but only their message is accepted and followed. As we began to prepare for the new parivR^itti, there was fervor and excitement as to what the oracle would prescribe for the upAsakas within our guru maNDala. As a total departure from the usual proceedings, the invited devatA failed to appear that year and instead, the presence of nR^isiMha was felt. The message from the Lord was simple: kartavyam harikIrtanam. The presence was overwhelming, blissful and not comparable to anything known before. We have tried to spread this message among the upAsakas of our maNDali to the best possible extent and incorporated nAmasmaraNa is numerous ways that fit the framework of our upAsanA. While we wondered why there was no message from the deities or guru maNDala this chitra viShu, a certain elderly gentleman from dakshiNa desha had a vision of the Lord in all his glory and was guided to compose a hymn named gururatnamAlA. The gentleman was also cured of his arthritis and this has been the latest proof of the Lord’s benign grace.
Several other upAsakas I have personally known have recounted their experiences with nR^isiMha and the miraculous ways in which the Lord has touched their lives. Another disciple who received pAdukAnta dIkShA from shrI KPS recounted how, after years of upAsanA, he began to hear the mantrarAja in dream and in his head and was initiated into it in a dream. An elderly and saintly devotee of shrI bhuvaneshvarI had an interesting experience. She was initiated into the mahAvidyA by the paramAcharya of kAnchI-kumbhakonam maTha and completed several crores of japa before attaining the siddhi of the mantra. A few years ago, while she was immersed in japa, her Guru instructed her to perform koTi japa of viShNu sahasranAma followed by a homa and stated that to be the fastest and sure most way to overcome suffering. After completing the japa in the next few years, as she prepared to perform the homa, she was again told by the paramAcharya that the Lord was best worshipped as nR^isiMha in kali yuga and hence she should perform the homa with sudarshana sampuTita nR^isiMha. Prior to this, she was not associated with nR^isiMha in any form. The homa was completed recently as instructed by paramAcharya. Many of our readers seem to have attended this event.
It is neither necessary to accept the truth in these ‘tales’ nor worship the Lord expecting him to prove his presence through such incidents. It is simply sufficient if one dwells, even for a moment, in a contemplative state relishing the rasa of his lIlA; that alone is capable of rejuvenating the life of the modern man that has become rasahIna. As my year-long study of the mAdhyamika Buddhism of nAgarjuna approaches its climax, the insight gained through this study seems to be severely overshadowed by the brilliance of the smile that the Lord has been benignly showering on me. There is a clear message within that smile and I pray it brings me clarity.
Personally, once we start meditating on Narasimha deva, we can never move away from Him.
In due course we will definitely feel that we are addicted to Him. Though MantraRaja Patha Slokam is bit long when compared to other small slokams, once we start reciting this, we will feel LOT and LOTs of difference in our thoughts and we will definitely feel closer towards Lord Lakshmi Narasimha.
The power of this sloka gets multifold when we recite this inside temple with full concentration. There is definitely some supreme magic behind this slokam and that is Lakshmi Narasimhar.
Click here for Mantra Raja Patha Slokam with meaning
http://murpriya.blogspot.com/2010/09/mantra-raja-patha-stotram-with-meening.html
Jai Narasimha ....
http://narayandasan.wordpress.com/2010/12/07/interesting-blog-on-narasimha-by-a-shrividya-upasaka/
This entire decade, which serves as a doorway to the new parivR^itti, seems to be nR^isimhamaya. Last night, a gentleman asked what our relation to nR^isiMha was considering our primary outlook to be that of a shAkta. I pointed out to him that pashchimAmnAya (and AgneyAmnAya to an extent) was entirely vaiShNava. Thinking back now, that reply seems superficial as the connection is a lot deeper.
The AchAryas of Sringeri have worshipped Lord Nrisimha as one of their chief upAsya devatA-s. It is not very clear whether this practice is prevalent in the Sri Mutt right from the times of AchArya bhagavatpAda as other AmnAya pIThas such as the govardhana pITha or the jyotirmaTha do not seem to have nR^isiMha as one of the chief upAsyas. Based on a conversation with shrI jayendra sarasvatI, the current AchArya of the kumbhakoNam-kAnchI maTha, nR^isimha is not among their upAsya mantras. It is Sringeri and dvArakA that are associated chiefly with nR^isimhopAsana. The case of dvArakA or bhadrakALI maTha is quite understandable due to its association with shrI padmapAdAcharya, a great upAsaka of Lord nR^ihari. The tAntrika worship of nR^isiMha in thirty-six forms, a practice known as the nR^isiMha vyUha, is the trademark of shrIkrama associated with dvArakA maTha. As for Sringeri, tradition states that the nR^isiMha sAlagrAma worshipped by the AchAryas was handed down the lineage by Adi shankara himself. Starting from the eighth AchArya of the maTha, Acharyas of the holy line have frequently assumed the titles, nR^isiMha or narasimha. The height of nR^imha upAsana in Sringeri seems to have reached during the lifetimes of two of its AchAryas: shrI vrddha nrsimha bhAratI and shrI abhinava vidyA tIrtha. However, unlike the dvArakA maTha, the worship of nR^isiMha is only faintly tAntrik in nature here.
Though nR^simha was fondly worshipped by the shrI sacchidAnanda shivAbhinava nR^isiMha bhAratI and shrI chandrashekhara bhAratI, nR^isiMha was not initially one of the chief upAsya-s of my own Guru shrI KPS. While mantrarAja was one among the hundreds of mantras he was initiated into, his focus, like that of his Guru mahAmahopAdhyAya shrI hAnagal virUpAkSha shAstrigal, was chiefly centered around the mahAmithuna: mahAtripurasundarI and prAsAda parameshvara. A certain incident in his life seems to have propelled him deeply into the upAsana of ramAdhava. While tutoring the pIThAdhipati of svarNavallI maTha at Sonde, a remote place close to gokarNa, shrI KPS began to suffer from mUlavyAdhi. There was severe bleeding and lack of medical attention seemed to indicate that death was certain. Based on divine guidance, he began to petition Lord nR^isiMha for help and was cured wondrously in no time. He later narrated to his disciples, “I was walking steadily towards dakShiNa (yamapurI) and the cry – lakShmInR^isiMha mama dehi karAvalAmbam - did the trick! The Lord held my hands and brought me back from the city of dharmarAja”.
On an uncanny chaturdashI day, he suddenly decided to initiate me into three mantras of the great Lord, primary among which was the mantrarAja, and advised to give as much importance to nR^isiMha as the shrIvidyA mantra in terms of upAsanA. That marked the beginning of a bond with the great Lord, one that would grow beyond my imagination. Strictly devoted to shiva and devI alone and never interested in even taking the name of viShNu, that was how I was and it was about to change. As a symbolic indication of the growing devotion towards shrImannArAyaNa, tuLasI began to grow everywhere around our house and sAlagramas landed in dozens at my place. panchAkSharI which was the chosen mantra that I recited all the time, in sleep and while awake, was replaced effortlessly by the mantrarAja, in spite of resistance from my side. This was probably the Lord’s way of stating the truth that the essence behind the two mahAmantras was not different.
Initially, it seemed rather difficult to recite the mantrarAja and the fact that it was lengthy compared to other mantras did not help either. It was one of those days that I ran into the great bhAgavata shrI mukkUr svAmigal. He was discoursing on the greatness of shrIdevI, the consort of shrImannArAyaNa at Nanganallur and I stood there examining some books and audio tapes that were displayed. svAmigal, all of a sudden, motioned me to come forward and gave prasAdam and declared, “The Lord is standing right behind you! I can see him” It was at that moment that my Guru’s statement, “Recite this always, he will watch your back” seemed to materialize into reality. The Lord has been compassionate to reveal the grace that verily is his presence on every occasion that has required a divine intervention.
In the shrIvidyA krama sampradAya that comes down from shrI padmapAdAchArya through bhagavatI bimbAmbikA, the status of prathama pUjyatva is accorded not to guru or gaNapati but to nR^isiMha, who represents the great Guru svacChanda bhairava. According to tradition, there are five pumrUpas of shrI parAmbA which are trimUrtyAtmaka. They are: shrI nrsimha, shrI svarNAkarShaNa bhairava, shrI shuddha dakShiNAmUrti, shrI dattAtreya and shrI ucChiShTa mahAgaNapati. Due to their association with shrIvidyA, all of these mUrtis are visualized in aruNa varNa with the exception of dakShiNAmUrti (antarlInavimarshaH) and worshipped at particular times of a day. These five forms represent the emanations of svacChanda bhairava in the various yugas for the propagation of brahmavidyA along the five srotas, accompanied by three mahAnAthas: skanda (sUrya, agni), krodha bhaTTAraka (nandin, agastya) and lopAmudrA (kAmarAja). The peculiarity of the bimbAmbikA sampradAya is to accord the status of kAraNa guru to nR^isiMha as the teaching of shrI-krama is believed to have been transmitted by krama-deshika shrI svacChanda bhairava in the form of nR^isiMha to padmapAdAchArya and as the vaiShNavI mahAvidyA bagaLAmukhI to bimbAmbikA.
The glory of nR^isiMha came to the forefront after our visit to Sevvilimedu, a nR^isimha kShetra on the outskirts of kAnchIpuram. The nR^isiMha temple here was in a pathetic condition with the deities dressed in torn vastra-s. After having the darshan of the Lord and undertaking a samkalpa to offer vastram to saundaryavallI and her Lord, we quite forgot about the shrine till a strong reminder from the vajranakha jolted us. Frequent visions of the Lord indicating that his gopuram was on the verge of falling began to recur and he commanded authoritatively to have the gopuram restored. He prodded us to initiate some action and assured that the rest will be taken care of. After overcoming the initial state of disbelief and hesitation, once the activity got kick-started, things proceeded smoothly beyond belief and the restored rAjagopuram of the shrine stands tall today as a sign of assurance from the Great Lord to his children, “I am here for you”.
After the passing of shrI nambUdari appa, the responsibility of overseeing the annual oracle, called the devatA prashna, which is done on the day of chitra viShu fell on our shoulders. A certain devatA, like shUlinI or vanadurgA are invited during a special ritual and their message for the coming year is recorded. There are no specific questions asked but only their message is accepted and followed. As we began to prepare for the new parivR^itti, there was fervor and excitement as to what the oracle would prescribe for the upAsakas within our guru maNDala. As a total departure from the usual proceedings, the invited devatA failed to appear that year and instead, the presence of nR^isiMha was felt. The message from the Lord was simple: kartavyam harikIrtanam. The presence was overwhelming, blissful and not comparable to anything known before. We have tried to spread this message among the upAsakas of our maNDali to the best possible extent and incorporated nAmasmaraNa is numerous ways that fit the framework of our upAsanA. While we wondered why there was no message from the deities or guru maNDala this chitra viShu, a certain elderly gentleman from dakshiNa desha had a vision of the Lord in all his glory and was guided to compose a hymn named gururatnamAlA. The gentleman was also cured of his arthritis and this has been the latest proof of the Lord’s benign grace.
Several other upAsakas I have personally known have recounted their experiences with nR^isiMha and the miraculous ways in which the Lord has touched their lives. Another disciple who received pAdukAnta dIkShA from shrI KPS recounted how, after years of upAsanA, he began to hear the mantrarAja in dream and in his head and was initiated into it in a dream. An elderly and saintly devotee of shrI bhuvaneshvarI had an interesting experience. She was initiated into the mahAvidyA by the paramAcharya of kAnchI-kumbhakonam maTha and completed several crores of japa before attaining the siddhi of the mantra. A few years ago, while she was immersed in japa, her Guru instructed her to perform koTi japa of viShNu sahasranAma followed by a homa and stated that to be the fastest and sure most way to overcome suffering. After completing the japa in the next few years, as she prepared to perform the homa, she was again told by the paramAcharya that the Lord was best worshipped as nR^isiMha in kali yuga and hence she should perform the homa with sudarshana sampuTita nR^isiMha. Prior to this, she was not associated with nR^isiMha in any form. The homa was completed recently as instructed by paramAcharya. Many of our readers seem to have attended this event.
It is neither necessary to accept the truth in these ‘tales’ nor worship the Lord expecting him to prove his presence through such incidents. It is simply sufficient if one dwells, even for a moment, in a contemplative state relishing the rasa of his lIlA; that alone is capable of rejuvenating the life of the modern man that has become rasahIna. As my year-long study of the mAdhyamika Buddhism of nAgarjuna approaches its climax, the insight gained through this study seems to be severely overshadowed by the brilliance of the smile that the Lord has been benignly showering on me. There is a clear message within that smile and I pray it brings me clarity.
Dec 27, 2010
Ahobilam Nava Narasimhar Temple - Kaaranja Narasimha Swamy
 |
| Kranja Narasimha Swamy, Ahobilam |
- Kranja Narasimhar Swamy Temple is situated at a distance of one kilometer from the Upper Ahobilam.
- Kranja Narasimhar is seen under a tree, called 'Karanja Vruksham' and hence this Narasimhar is called Karanja Narasimha Swamy.
- Hanuman did penance at this place, to see his favorite Lord Rama in Ahobilam. But the Lord appeared as Narasimhar. Hanuman requested him to give darshan as Rama. So Narasimhar gave darshan along with bow and arrow with the Adhisheshan as umbrella (to show that he is MahaVishnu). Lord Hanuman appears in a separate shrine facing Narasimhar with worshiping pose.
Dec 16, 2010
Ahobilam Nava Narasimhar Temple - Krodakara (Varaha) Narasimha Swamy
Krodakara (Varaha) Narasimha Swamy Ahobilam.
Thirumangai Azwar Pasuram (Periya Thirumozhi: 4.4.8) About VarahaAvatharam.
சிலம்பிடைச்சிறுபரல்போல் பெரியமேரு
திருக்குளம்பில் கணகணப்ப திருவாகரம்
குலுங்க நிலமடந்தைதனை இடந்துபுல்கி
கோட்டிடைவைத்தருளிய எங்கோமான்கண்டீர் …..
silampinidai siRu paral pOl periya mEru *
thirukkuLambil kaNakaNappath thiruvAkAram
kulungka * nila madandhai thanai idandhu pulgik *
kOttidai vaiththu aruLiya engkOmAn kaNdIr **
Meaning -
Like a small paral inside silambu, Meru mountain shaked when Shree Varahar took Bhoomi matha in His teeth to rescue Her from hiranyakshan.
VarAha charama slOkams (Varahar Slokam to Bhumadevi to her question about, what is easy means that would help all jeevans on me to reach mOksham)
sthitE manasi susvasthE sarIrE sati yO nara:
dhAtusAmyE sthitE smartA visvarUpam ca maamajam
tatastam mriyamANam tu kAshTha paashaNa sannibham
aham smarAmi mad bhaktam nayAmi paramAm gatim
Oh Bhumi Devi! The entire universe is my body (sarIram). I do not have births or deaths. When my bhakthAs with mahA visvAsam surrender to me, while they are still in a state of tranquil mind and healthy body and reflect about Me as SarvAdharan (root cause of all), niyanthA (one who commands from within) sarva sEshi (the ultimate), aasrayaNeeyan (one who is fit to be worshipped), Sarva VyApthan (all-pervasive) and Nithya sannihithan (One who is always near), then I think of them at their last moments, when they are totally unconscious like a log or a stone and lead them by archirAdhi maargam to My parama padham and bless them to have nithya kaimkarya bhAgyam to Me there.
Bhomimatha Samethe Varahe Narsimha Moorthy Pathame Saranam.
- Kroda means the extruded teeth, Varah Narasimha swamy here in Ahobilam indicates his previous incarnation. He is holding mother earth on His teeth.
- You can find both Varaha Swamy carrying Bhoomadevi and Narasimhar with Lakshmi Devi on His lap.
- Temple is about 1 km from Upper ahobilam main temple
- Nearby there is a cave temple for Shree Ramanujar.
It is believed that Ramanujar wrote Shree Bashyam with Narasimhar blessing
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| Vaaraha Narasimhar Ahobilam - Urchava Moorthy |
Thirumangai Azwar Pasuram (Periya Thirumozhi: 4.4.8) About VarahaAvatharam.
சிலம்பிடைச்சிறுபரல்போல் பெரியமேரு
திருக்குளம்பில் கணகணப்ப திருவாகரம்
குலுங்க நிலமடந்தைதனை இடந்துபுல்கி
கோட்டிடைவைத்தருளிய எங்கோமான்கண்டீர் …..
silampinidai siRu paral pOl periya mEru *
thirukkuLambil kaNakaNappath thiruvAkAram
kulungka * nila madandhai thanai idandhu pulgik *
kOttidai vaiththu aruLiya engkOmAn kaNdIr **
Meaning -
Like a small paral inside silambu, Meru mountain shaked when Shree Varahar took Bhoomi matha in His teeth to rescue Her from hiranyakshan.
VarAha charama slOkams (Varahar Slokam to Bhumadevi to her question about, what is easy means that would help all jeevans on me to reach mOksham)
sthitE manasi susvasthE sarIrE sati yO nara:
dhAtusAmyE sthitE smartA visvarUpam ca maamajam
tatastam mriyamANam tu kAshTha paashaNa sannibham
aham smarAmi mad bhaktam nayAmi paramAm gatim
Oh Bhumi Devi! The entire universe is my body (sarIram). I do not have births or deaths. When my bhakthAs with mahA visvAsam surrender to me, while they are still in a state of tranquil mind and healthy body and reflect about Me as SarvAdharan (root cause of all), niyanthA (one who commands from within) sarva sEshi (the ultimate), aasrayaNeeyan (one who is fit to be worshipped), Sarva VyApthan (all-pervasive) and Nithya sannihithan (One who is always near), then I think of them at their last moments, when they are totally unconscious like a log or a stone and lead them by archirAdhi maargam to My parama padham and bless them to have nithya kaimkarya bhAgyam to Me there.
Bhomimatha Samethe Varahe Narsimha Moorthy Pathame Saranam.
Dec 14, 2010
Ahobilam Nava Narasimhar Temple - Malola Narasimha Swamy
3. Malolan Lakshmi Narasimhar
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| Utsavamoorthi of Malola Narasirnha Swamy |
- Ma - Lakshmi , Lolan - beloved. Malolan - the one beloved to Lakshmi devi. Lord here is seen in sowmya roopam with Lakshmi devi.
- Malola Narasimhar Temple is about 100 steps to a side from Kroda. (Kroda is on the way (rightside) to Jwala). so in a stretch you can cover Ahobila, Jwala, (along with ugra stambam) Krodha, Malola and then back to Ahobila main temple (upper ahobilam).
- History behind Malolan treated as special deity of worship by Ahobila Jeeyars:-
One day, Adhivan SatakopaJeeyar (the first jeeyar) had instructions from Narasimhar to travel with Him from village to village and to spread Vaishnavam.
Jeeyar, though was happy was not sure on which Nrushimha moorthy of ahobilam to be taken during his sanchaarams.
When the Jeeyar closed his eyes in dhyaanam, Malolan narasimhan appeared on Jeeyars hand with a most beautiful smile.
Also note that this malolan has a pathukai(sandal) on his right foot indicating that He is ready to travel with the Jeeyar. Without any doubt, this malolan has the most beautiful majestic smile and a wonderful sweet looking thayar. He sits on the centre of silver mantapam in a dolai with Adhiseshan over his head and Garudar at his sacred feet.
Ahobilam Nava Narasimhar Temple - Ahobila Narasimha Swamy
2. SRI AHOBILAM NARASIMHA SWAMY TEMPLE - AHOBILAM
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| SRI AHOBILAM NARASIMHA SWAMY |
- Ahobila Narasimha Swamy temple is the main temple of all the nava Narasimha temples and is situated in upper ahobilam (8km from lower ahobilam).
- This is the starting point for other major temples in upper ahobilam(Jwala & Ugrastambam, Malola, Kroda, Paavana Narasimhar temples)
- Lord is Ugra Narasimhar, and appear as the one killing hiranyakasipu. This temple is the earliest of all the temple and the lord here is svayambu.
Ahobilam Nava Narasimhar Temple - Jwala Narasimha Swamy
1. JWALA NARASIMHA SWAMY TEMPLE - AHOBILAM
Photos of JWALA NARASIMHA SWAMY TEMPLE - AHOBILAM
பாபநாசினி மகிமை (அஹோபில ஷேத்திர மஹாத்மியத்தில் உள்ளது)
பகவானின் திருவடியினின்றும் வெளிக் கிளம்பிய கங்கை இந்த மலையில் பவநாசினியாக அவதரித்தது. அஹோபில மார்க்கத்தை அடைந்து இந்தப் பவநாசினியைக் கண்ணால் பார்ப்பவன் கோடிக்கணக்கான பிறவியில் செய்த பாவத்தினின்றும் விடுபடுகிறான்.. விஷ்ணுவை நன்கு பூஜித்து அவரது பாத தீர்த்தமான இந்த பவநாசினி தீர்த்தத்தை தலையில் எவன் ப்ரோக்ஷித்துக் கொள்கிறானோ அவன் கங்கையில் ஸ்நானம் செய்த பலனை பெறுகிறான். இந்த தீர்த்தத்தைச் சுத்த மனத்துடன் கையில் எடுத்து இறைவனை ஸ்மரித்து ப்ரோக்ஷித்துக் கொள்பவன் எல்லா பாவங்களினின்றும் விடுபடுகிறான். இந்த தீர்த்தத்தை தலையால் தரித்து பருகுபவன் மனத்திலுள்ள அழுக்கை அகற்றுகிறான். முக்தியையும் பெறுகிறான். இந்த மாதிரி தீர்த்தத்தைக் குடிப்பவனைப் பார்த்தும் பித்ருக்கள் மகிழ்ச்சியடைகின்றனர். பிதாமகர்கள் கூத்தாடுகின்றனர். இந்தத் தீர்த்தத்தின் கரையை அடைபவனே எல்லா பிராயச் சித்தங்களையும் செய்தவனாக ஆகிறான். இந்தத் தீர்த்தத்தைக் கொண்டு சாலக்கிராம பூஜை செய்து, இதைப் பருகுபவன் பிரம்மஹத்தி முதலான பாபங்களினின்றும் விடுபடுகிறான். அந்த க்ஷணத்திலேயே பயனை அளிக்கவல்லது. இந்தத் தீர்த்தம், எல்லா மங்களங்களையும் கொடுக்க வல்லது. மனோ வியாதியையும் உடல் வியாதியையும் அழிக்க வல்லது. எல்லாவற்றுக்கும் மருந்து போன்றது இது. மேலும் துஷ்ட க்ரஹங்களின் கொடுமையையும் மாற்ற வல்லது.
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| Ahobila Jwala Nrushima Swamy |
- This is believed to be the place where Narasimhar tore Hiranyakshan. Note that ugrastambam is just 2km away from here.
- From Ahobila Narasimhar Temple one has to trek along riverstreams and waterfalls for 4 KM and climb about 200steps to reach this place. Don’t miss to take a bath in Bavanasini before entering this temple. This is a sarvarogha nivarini.
- Inside the shrine, you can see Jwala Narasimhar with eight hands, 2 holding shanka, chakram, another 2 holding hiranyasurans body, another 2 tearing of asurans body and another 2 arms holding asurans intestines as garland.
- You can see 2 other narasimhar form, one related to lord chasing asuran and another depicting, narasimhar coming out of the pillar. There is also Gadapam, (enterance of the doorway) where Narasimhar Sat and killed the asuran. Out of this sanctum, has Ratha kundam. The place God washed his hands after killing hiranyakasipu.
- UgraStambam is another 45-1hr trek from this place. Dont miss to visit this place.
Photos of JWALA NARASIMHA SWAMY TEMPLE - AHOBILAM
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| Jwala Narasimha Swamy Ahobilam - Urchavar |
பாபநாசினி மகிமை (அஹோபில ஷேத்திர மஹாத்மியத்தில் உள்ளது)
பகவானின் திருவடியினின்றும் வெளிக் கிளம்பிய கங்கை இந்த மலையில் பவநாசினியாக அவதரித்தது. அஹோபில மார்க்கத்தை அடைந்து இந்தப் பவநாசினியைக் கண்ணால் பார்ப்பவன் கோடிக்கணக்கான பிறவியில் செய்த பாவத்தினின்றும் விடுபடுகிறான்.. விஷ்ணுவை நன்கு பூஜித்து அவரது பாத தீர்த்தமான இந்த பவநாசினி தீர்த்தத்தை தலையில் எவன் ப்ரோக்ஷித்துக் கொள்கிறானோ அவன் கங்கையில் ஸ்நானம் செய்த பலனை பெறுகிறான். இந்த தீர்த்தத்தைச் சுத்த மனத்துடன் கையில் எடுத்து இறைவனை ஸ்மரித்து ப்ரோக்ஷித்துக் கொள்பவன் எல்லா பாவங்களினின்றும் விடுபடுகிறான். இந்த தீர்த்தத்தை தலையால் தரித்து பருகுபவன் மனத்திலுள்ள அழுக்கை அகற்றுகிறான். முக்தியையும் பெறுகிறான். இந்த மாதிரி தீர்த்தத்தைக் குடிப்பவனைப் பார்த்தும் பித்ருக்கள் மகிழ்ச்சியடைகின்றனர். பிதாமகர்கள் கூத்தாடுகின்றனர். இந்தத் தீர்த்தத்தின் கரையை அடைபவனே எல்லா பிராயச் சித்தங்களையும் செய்தவனாக ஆகிறான். இந்தத் தீர்த்தத்தைக் கொண்டு சாலக்கிராம பூஜை செய்து, இதைப் பருகுபவன் பிரம்மஹத்தி முதலான பாபங்களினின்றும் விடுபடுகிறான். அந்த க்ஷணத்திலேயே பயனை அளிக்கவல்லது. இந்தத் தீர்த்தம், எல்லா மங்களங்களையும் கொடுக்க வல்லது. மனோ வியாதியையும் உடல் வியாதியையும் அழிக்க வல்லது. எல்லாவற்றுக்கும் மருந்து போன்றது இது. மேலும் துஷ்ட க்ரஹங்களின் கொடுமையையும் மாற்ற வல்லது.
Dec 12, 2010
Article related to Sri Mukkur Swami's death
From Hindu Newspaper Article dated 2001
Crusader for Hinduism :-
EVEN IN this age of very advanced technology, there are certain
superhuman instances in the field of spiritualism. How else can one explain
this? An extremely obese person had performed the feat of standing waist-deep
in the rapidly flowing waters of a river for nearly 60 hours, meditating on
God, even without sipping a glass of water, as part of his commitment to carry
out a penance. This happened about a year ago in Mattapalli, a village about
150 km from Vijayawada, where the on the banks of the Krishna (in a crevice)
the idol of Narasimha is installed. And the incredible act was performed by a
well-known Vedic scholar, Sri Mukkur Lakshmi Narasimhachariar, whom God took
away to his abode, at the age of 56, just a fortnight ago.
The Pandit had gone round entire India organising 107 Vedic Yagnams over
a period of two decades, to highlight the glory of Hindu traditions and to
enable men to face problems. Thousands had listened to his discourses on a
variety of subjects (the epics, the Puranas, the Upanishads and the Gita) for
months, each lecture spreading over even three hours, with Vedic recitations
preceding them. His aim was to spread Hinduism and make people understand how
they can get over their anxieties by following the teachings in these works.
Inheriting knowledge from his father, who was connected with the
Madurantakam Sanskrit College of Ahobila Math, Sri Lakshmi Narasimhachariar had
education in Kanchipuram up to PUC and then mastered the Vedas and the Vedanta
from his brother who was himself a distinguished preacher of Vedic study. Sri
Lakshmi Narasimhachariar also came under the spell of the 44th Jeeyar Swami of
Ahobila Math and mastered Sanskrit, Telugu and Tamil, had thorough training in
Naalayira Divya Prabhandam and had assimilated all the works of Vedanta Desika
and other illustrious leaders. The profundity of his erudition used to astound
listeners as he quoted from various sources and works not only of Vaishnavism
but also of Adi Sankara, Madhusudana Saraswathi and several other religious
heads. The fact that he had been expounding the term ``Vishnu'' in the
Sahasranamam for 10 days in a year for three years in succession, at the
Asthika Samajam, Alwarpet (Chennai) will reveal how he covered various aspects
of religion and philosophy. He also dwelt on steps of atonement for certain
acts done violating the scriptural codes.
Sri Lakshmi Narasimhachariar's lecture at the Asthika Samajam were taped,
transcribed and published in Kalki. These were later compiled and brought out
in book form by Vanathi Pathippagam entitled ``Kurai Ondrum Illai'', the first
and second volumes of which have gone to more than one edition and sold all
over the world by Tamil people. The third volume has come out recently.
The late scholar had conducted 107 yagams in different parts of India
from Rishikesh to Tuticorin. The first was inaugurated in the Asthika Samajam
about 20 years ago. His 108th (end the last) is due at Ahobilam. A few persons
were prepared to contribute the entire sum required for each yagam but Lakshmi
Narasimhachariar was keen that every Asthika should participate in them. He
never prescribed any remedy for problems as, in his opinion, that would amount
to a commercial proposition and he, a mercenary. In one case, taking permission
from the Lord during his prayer he got a girl cured of a serious malady and as
a result, she is now well- settled in life. Recently he suggested that a famous
Sanskrit hymn, ``Lakshmi Sahasram,'' be recited for 48 days when a miracle did
happen as he expected and a couple got back their vision. ``I am a tool in
helping these devout devotees.'' Never was he anxious to suggest any miraculous
prescription.
It was Sri Mukkur Swami who preached that the ``Leonine form of God'' was
not ``fierce'' as some imagined and popularised Narasimha's worship. After a
brief period of employment in Vijayawada, at his brother's command he took up
the discourse- assignment full-time and made ``Mattappali Narasimha'' a
household name. Tragedy struck when his elder brother who was his teacher in
the Vedas and Sastras, was killed in a road accident near Vijayawada. Sri
Mukkur Swami's daily puja (Aradhana) at his residence in T. Nagar used to take
four to five hours and on and off, he went into a trance. Many of his
programmes fixed in advance were cancelled as he remarked that ``Narasimha''
had not given him permission.
After conducting a Yagam in Mumbai, he came to Chennai and then proceeded
to Kakinada (where he owns a house) where he suffered a massive heart attack
and passed away within an hour. His father- in-law, Sri Thirukkallam Narasimha
Raghavachariar, was also a reputed scholar who too died when he was 58. The
world of religion and Hinduism mourns the loss of a Vedic authority and a
spiritual guide in Sri Mukkur Swami's death.
- DVV
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| Yagna Moorthy Of Mukkoor Swamigal Narasimha Yagyams Mukkur Swamigal has done 107 Narasimha mahayagnas. I strongly believe that he completed the 108th Narasimha Yagyam in Vaikuntam. |
Narasimha Jayanthi - From SriRangaSri 2005 Mail archive
Sri:
SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,
Dear Bhaktas,
For the most sacred occasion of Narasimha Jayanthi, adiyen wishes to share excerpts from the anubhavam of the pre-eminent Nrusimha Upasakar, Mahavidwan Paramapadavasi Sri Mukkur Lakshminarasimhachariar Swamin (For further elaboration, adiyen has included additional notes, with due attribution).
"There is no incarnation of Lord Narayana that is greater than the Nrusimha avataram nor is there a deity that is equal to or greater than Bhagavan Nrusimha. The Vedam is replete with His glory. A sampling of Vedic hymns reflecting this fact can be found in the following places:
1. The Purusha Sooktham of the sama vEdam glorifies Bhagavan Nrusimha in the opening anuvakam through the Rk "sa BhUmim sarvathO vruthvA" referring to His omniscient nature.
2. The shanty mantram of the MundakOpanishad glorifies Bhagavan Nrusimha "Bhadram KarNe BishruNuyAma dhevA: Bhadram PashyEmAkshaBhiryajatrA: SthiraiRangaIsthushTuvAmsastanUBhirvyashema Devahitam YadAyu:
(Meaning: Oh Lord! May we be blessed to hear auspicious sounds with our ears. May our eyes behold all things auspicious. Praising the Lord with sturdy limbs and bodies may we live the full-life span as ordained by the Lord.
3. Further testimony to vedic glorification of Bhagavan
Nrusimha is found in the mantram "svasthina indhrO vruddhasravA :
svasthina pooshA vishva vEdhA: , svastinasthArkshyO arishtanEmi:
svasthinO bruhaspathir dhaDhAtu" May He, who is the Lord of unbounded knowledge, bless us with prosperity. He who is the sustainer of all; May He, who is the source of all Vedas, bless us with prosperity. May He, who confers the wealth of horses and cows bless us with prosperity. May He, who rules over all elements guarantee our welfare.
4. The taittriya Upanishad glorifies Bhagavan Nrusimha
as "BhIshAsmAth vAtha: pavathE BhIshOdhEthi sUrya: BhIshAsmAth agnischEndhrascha mruthyur DhAvathi panchama ithi" Out of fear of the awe-inspiring one (Bhagavan Nrusimha) the wind-God (vAyu)
performs his assigned function; Out of fear of Him, the Sun carries out his prescribed duties; Out of fear of Him, agni (Lord of fire), Indra (king of the Devas) and Yama (God of death) perform their respective duties.
5. The Mahanarayana Upanishad glorifies Bhagavan Nrusimha
through the mantram "ya AtmadhA baladhA yasya vishva upAsathE
prashiSham yasya dhEvA: yasya cChayA amrutam yO mrutyumrutyu: kasmai
dhEvAya haviShA viDhEma" He who bestows refuge to those who seek His protection, He who gives strength to experience Himself, He whose divine command is implicitly obeyed by all beings, He to whom gods like Indra are all subservient, He whom immortality follows like a shadow and He who is death to death itself, to that Lord all creatures may we offer the oblation in form of our atman. This mantram is most important in context of performing SharaNagati to the Lotus feet of Bhagavan Nrusimha and contains several layers of inner meanings.
Bhagavan Nrusimha is further glorified by the vedam as the three
eyed one in the mantram "trayambakam yajAmahE suganDhim pushti
varDhanam urvArugamiva banDhanAth mruthyOrmukshIyamAmruthAth" (We
worship the Supreme Lord [Bhagavan Nrusimha] of the most auspicious name, who is the bestower of might. May thou free me from death as cucumber from the stalk, and grant me immortality.).
The thApanIya Upanishad of the atharvana vedam pays its tribute to Bhagavan Nrusimha as the three eyed one, with the left eye denoting the moon, the right eye denoting the sun and the eye in his forehead denoting Agni (fire).
Swami Desikan highlights this fact through the kamasikAshtakam salutation "thapanEndhvagni nayana:
thApAnapachinOthuna: thApanIya rahasyANAm sAra: kAmAsikA hari:"
Dhivya prabandham pays its tribute to Bhagavan Nrusimha as the three-eyed one through the salutation "mukkaNNapirAn". The thApanIya Upanishad further glorfies Bhagavan Nrusimha as "nithyam Dhanu:
kapardhina:" (he whose arms are ever adorned by a bow known as
pinakam.Therefore, he begets the name pinAki ). This fact is again
confirmed by the vedam Rk "bAhuBhyAm thava DhanvanE". Furthermore, the Mahanarayana Upanishad and the thApanIya Upanishad contain Gayathri mantrams for Bhagavan Nrusimha.
Next, the greatness of Bhagavan Nrusimha is highlighted from the mantra ShAstram. The loftiness of the NrusimhAnustup mantram arises from the fact that it is of Vedic origin.
It is possible to counteract the effect of one veda mantram by the recitation of another. However, the effect of the NrusimhAnushtup mantram cannot be counteracted by uttering any other mantram. Therefore, among mantrams, the NrusimhAnushtup mantram reigns supreme and is thus rightly acclaimed as mantraraja.
The NrusimhAnushtup mantram composed of 11 padams contains 32 syllables (aksharams) representing
the condensed essence of the Brahma Vidyas, which are Upanishadic prescriptions (Upasanas) for attaining Lord Narayana.
Initiation into this mantram by a qualified Acharya, and proper prayOgam of the mantram according to its set norms confers the upasaka with the benefit of practicing the prescriptions of all the 32 Brahma vidyas.
Therefore, it is the favored mantram of mumukshus (those desirous of securing Moksham). As a result, Bhagavan Nrusimha is known as the mumukshu upAsya daivam. Therefore, the salutation nama: is most
befitting for Bhagavan Nrusimha. Swami Desikan describes the significance of the term nama: in the Srimad Rahasyatrayasaram through the salutation "tAram pUrvam". This term denotes the act of
performing surrender (Atmanivedanam or SharaNagati) at the Feet of Bhagavan Nrusimha.
In the tantric form of worship, practiced in KeraLa, Nrusimha Tantrikam reigns supreme.
The ithihasas are replete with glorification of Bhagavan Nrusimha. The Ramayana mentions Nrusimha explicitly in four places.
(1) When Ravana approaches MarIcha for help in abducting Seetha Piratti,
MarIcha says "asamBhavam" (impossible) because Sita Piratti is seated on the lap of Nrusimha
(2) Valmiki glorifies Rama emerging from the cave in the malyavan mountain as "simhO giri guhAshaya:"
(3) While offering words of comfort to Sita Piratti, Hanuman conveys the message "Do not worry. Narasimha will be here shortly to rescue you."
(4) In the ViBhishaNa sharaNagati, Sugriva enquires of Lord
Rama "what if the surrender of ViBhishaNa is a deceitful ploy on the part of the Rakshasas to gain our confidence and kill us while we are caught off guard?. Lord Rama answers this question as "angulyagrENa thAm hanyAm" (Do not worry. If indeed what you say is true, I do not even need my weapons to destroy the asuras. I shall rip them apart with my finger nails. " Swami Desikan discusses this fact quite extensively in the aBhayapradhAna sAram, while treating the ViBhIshaNa sharaNagati.
Bhagavan Nrusimha is extensively glorified in the Vishnu sahasranamam of the MahaBharata.
It is a commonly held belief that Bhishma was rendering a eulogy for Lord Krishna in this exquisite
stotram. However, closer examination will reveal that the Vishnu sahasranamam is a glorification of Bhagavan Nrusimha from start to finish. The first incarnation mentioned in this stotram is Bhagavan Nrusimha through the salutation "nArasimhavapusrImAn kEshava purushottama:" The mane of the lion was beautiful to behold because the man-lion was gentle to His Bhakta, Prahlada, while striking terror in the heart of HiraNyan. In fact Swami Desikan describes the compassionate glances of Bhagavan Nrusimha for Prahlada as a nectarine offering of milk in the kamasikAshtakam salutation "sarOja sadhrushA drushA vyathiBhishajyathE vyajyathE". Swamy Parashara Bhattar refers to this avataram as "Sundara Simha:"
The first stotram of the sahasranamam can be divided into four groups each containing 8 aksharams. The first group of 8 syllables represent the ashtakshara mantram. The next group of salutations containing 8
aksharams when added to the previous 8 produces 16, which is the number of mantrams in the Purusha Sooktam. The next set of 8 syllables added to this gives 24, the number of aksharams in the
sacred Gayathri mantram, which is a pre-requisite for reciting all other veda mantrams. Finally, the 8 aksharams from the last group of salutations when added to 24 produces 32, which is the number of
aksharams in theNrusimhAnushtup mantram!
The vishNu sahasranamam concludes with the salutation sarva praharaNAyuDha Om nama ithi.
Lord Krishna never bore arms during the MahaBharata war. Nor did he adorn himself with weapons while appearing before BhIshma. Therefore, this description does not fit Lord Krishna in the present
instance. However, Bhagavan Nrusimha's finger nails have the power from all of His 5 weapons. Therefore, the concluding salutation of the vishNu sahasranamam is most appropriate for Him. These facts
conclusively demonstrate that it is Bhagavan Nrusimha that is glorified from start to finish in the VishNu sahasranama stotram.
The puraNas wax eloquent on the avataram of Bhagavan Nrusimha (i.e., Bhagavata PuraNam and VishNu PurANam). For example the vishNu purANam contains an exquisite gadyam authored by mArkandEya known as the lingAspOtitha Nrusimha Gadyam (linga=difficulties, AspOtitha=shatter). The Bhagavata purANam glorifies Bhagavan Nrusimha in the seventh skandam.
It may be remembered here that this story was narrated by the greatest Brahmavith (knower of Brahman),
Shuka Brahmam to the foremost among listeners, ParIkshith, who was oblivious to the pangs of hunger, thirst, and sleep. The greatness of Parikshith is that he would not be a mute listener.
In order to gain a good understanding of the narration, he would ask probing questions to Shuka Brahmam. This form of listening is known as prashNa mathi. In the seventh skandam, ParIkshith enquires of Shuka
Brahmam "sama: priya: suhruth Brahman BhUthAnAm Bhagavan svayam indhrasyArThE katham dhaIthyAn avaDhIth viShamOyathA" (Oh kind-hearted Brahman, you say that the Lord is impartial. He is equally
fond of all beings. However in closer examination of your narrative, it seems as though the Lord repeatedly incarnates to favour Indhra and destroy his enemies, the asuras. Does this not mean that the Lord dislikes the asuras?) Shuka Brahman was extremely pleased at this question raised by ParIkshith and his reply in the
verse "apapruShtan thvayA rajan lOkAnAm hitha kAmyayA yathra Bhagavata mAhAthmyam Bhagavad Bhakthi varDhanam" indicates this ("Oh king your question is going to result in the well being of the
entire universe. It seems as though your love for Bhagavatas exceeds even that of Bhagavan). To precisely demonstrate the Lord's impartiality towards all and specifically demonstrate the Lord's love for Prahlada, who was born in the asura clan, Shuka Brahman narrated the Vaibhavam of Bhagavan Nrusimha.
Therefore if ParIkshith's questions were in the manner of "Evam vEdha", Shuka Brahmam's replies were in the manner of "brahmavAdhinO vadhanthi". It is instructive to understand the reason for Bhagavan Nrusimha's AvirBhavam from the pillar. Was this intended to rescue Prahlada from HiraNyan? Sri Mukkur Swami avers most definitely not? To drive home his point Sri Mukku Swam observes that "Was Prahlada not protected when he was poisoned or bitten by snakes or thrown into the flames or trampled upon by elephants? Then why did Bhagavan Nrusimha incarnate as He did and when He did? Sri Mukkur Swamin
answers this by stating that the incarnation of Bhagavan Nrusimha was solely to uphold the words of his Bhagavata-Prahlada (tasmAth sthAmbena dhrushyathE-Indeed He is seen in the pillar) and
subsequently the conditions of Brahma's boon to HiraNyan and rishi Narada-who dissuaded Indra from killing Kayadhu, the wife of HiraNyan, when HiraNyan was engaged in penance.
Testimony in support of this fact can be found in the Bhagavatam salutation "satyam viDhAthum nijabhruthya BhAshitham vyApthim cha BhUthEShvakhilEshu chAthmana: Adhrushyatha athyAdhBhutha
rUpamudhvahan sthambhE sabhAyAm na mrugam na mAnusham", the tribute from Periya Azhwar "andhiyampOdhil arivuruvAgi ariya azhithavanE", and Andal's tiruppavai tribute "yAm vandha kAryam arAyandhu aruLElO rembAvai"
The essence of the puranic tributes is consummately captured in the Nrusimha Karavalambam Stotram composed by H.H. the 44th Azhagiyasingar (Mukkur Azhagiyasingar) of Ahobila Matham-which is
verily the condensed essence of the Nrusimha Vaibhavam. Each verse of this magnificent stothram ends with "lakshminrusimha mamadEhi karAvalambam". For example the verse "sandhIpithAgni vinipAthitha
dhAithyadimba samrakshaNAya vinivarthitha vahni shakthE. BhakthAyadhAru parikalpitha padhmathalpa lakshmInrusimha mamadehi karavalambam" (When the child Prahlada was thrown into the scorching
flames, the grace of Bhagavan Nrusimha transformed the fire into a
bed of lotus petals). The verse "prahlAdhanAsha parichOdhita sarpajAtha chUdamaNipravaradhantha vinAsha hEthO smruthyA thavaIvanavivEdha thanum suBhaktha: lakshmInrusimha mamadEhi
karAvalambam" illustrates the fact that when poisonous serpents were let loose to sting Prahlada, the grace of Lord Narayana caused Prahlada to appear like Garuda, which scared the daylights out of
the serpents.
It is particularly instructive to recall Swami Desikan's tribute in the Garuda dandakam in this context "nagEndhra pIdAshruNI BhavabhAsvannaKhashrENayE". Another verse in the Karavalamba StOtram of importance on a puraNic note is "sUthadhidhattha vishapAnasamAnakAla nAmAmruthEna paripAlitha
dhaIthyaputhra prahlAdhadEha parirakshaNa jAgarUka lakshmInrusimha
mamadEhi karAvalambam" (When HiraNyan ordered his wife to feed Prahlada with poison [kArpOdhaka sarpa visham], Prahlada gladly partook of this offering. This is saluted in the Bhagavata puraNam
as "anukUlE jagannAtham visham pathyam BhavEn mama" [Oh Mother! Do not cry or feel sad. You carry out the orders of my father. The Lord of the Universe, who is helpful to me, will transform this offering
into nutritious food.]. Finally, the verse "shaIlAgraBhAga pathamAna
hiraNyadimba samrakshaNAya mrudhuBhUtha DharADhinAtha dhAithyEndhra
puthra hrudhayAsana mangalAnga lakshmInrusimha mamadEhikarAvalambam"
(The VishNu puraNam summarizes this as : HiraNyan ordered that Prahlada be thrown down from a cliff. As the child fell, he did not for a moment think of the impending death as a result of his fall. Instead, he clutched hard at his heart out of concern that Lord Narayana, who is seated therein, would come to harm due to the fall. Bhumidevi, greatly moved by this sight reasons to herself "This child is least concerned about his impending doom. Instead his focus is the well being of my husband [Lord Narayana], who is seated in
his heart. Should I not therefore, make his landing gentle?"
Accordingly, Bhumidevi transformed herself into an extremely soft patch to facilitate a smooth landing for Prahlada.). The puraNic anuBhavam is eloquently saluted in simple Sanskrit by H.H. the 44th
Azhagiyasingar. The Agamas too are replete with glorification of Bhagavan Nrusimha.
The Ahribudhnya samhitha, an important text of the PancharAthra Agama discusses all aspects of iconography, consecration and sacrifices for Bhagavan Nrusimha and outlines the procedure for His
worship.
The Mantrarajapada stOtram appearing in the Ahirbudhnya Samhita is an elaboration of the individual padams of the NrusimhAnushtup mantram.
The opening verse of this stotram contains
the blessed NrusimhAnushtup mantram. Verses 2-5 describe the svarUpam of Bhagavan Nrusimha. In verse 6 Ahirbudhnyan is blessed with the darshana SouBhAgyam of Bhagavan Nrusimha. Verses 7-10
describe the elevated protection afforded by Bhagavan Nrusimha. The
formal SharaNagati of Ahirbudhnyan is discussed in verses 11 and 12, while verse 13 summaizes the benefits of reciting this magnificent stotram (Phalashruthi). An elaboration of the individual verses of
this stotram can be found in adiyen's postings on the Malolan net between September and November 1998. Swami Desikan repeatedly refers to verses 11 and 12 of this stotram in Srimad Rahasya
trayasAram and glorifies Ahirbudhnyan as sarvajnyan (all knowing one).
The Azhwars wax eloquent in their praise of Bhagavan Nrusimha:
1. For example PeriyAzhwar maps the entire mantrarajapada Stotram into Tamil in his glorification of Bhagavan Nrusimha
2. Tirumangai Azhwar sings his glory in the singavElkundram verses
3. Swami NammAzhwar, who is an avowed lover of Lord Krishna, desires to see none other than Bhagavan Nrusimha even in Srivaikuntam (en singapirAn perumai).
Swami Desikan in the Padhuka Sahasram uses the Nrusimha avataram to denote the inseparability of
the Padhukas (Satari Soori/Swami NammAzhwar) from the Lord's Lotus Feet.
Swami Desikan declares "In some incarnations, the Lord bears a subset of his weapons. In some others he bears all his weapons. However, no matter what exclusion criteria (vikalpam) apply to the
weapons none apply to the Padhukas! As Bhagavan Nrusimha He demonstrates that even without weapons he is always accompanied by the Padhukas clinging to His Feet!" The connection of Swami
NammAzhwar to Bhagavan Nrusimha is exemplified by the fact that Acharyas adorning the Peetam of Sri Ahobila Matham (pre-eminent Aradhakas of Bhagavan Nrusimha) use the signature Satakopa Sri. The
founding Acharya of Sri Ahobila Matham bears the name Adivan
Satakopan.
In seeking the hand of Lord Krishna, Rukmini conveys her appeal in the form of 7 verses in the Srimad Bhagavatam. Significantly not once in these verses does She mention Lord Krishna by name. Instead
Rukmini employs the salutation "kAlE Nrusimha". This is because She is apprehensive of Lord Krishna's propensity for uttering innovative lies.
Sri Andal attests to this fact in the Brindavana Pasuram through the salutation `mAlAy pirandhanambiyE mAlE.sheyummanALanE eLApoygaL uraippanE ingaipOhakandIrE." Again while describing the
Laaja Homam of Her wedding ceremony, Sri Andal refers to Bhagavan Nrusimha in the vAraNam Ayiram verse as "Arimukhan Achyuthan" (The lion faced one who does not slip from His position, namely, rushing
to the rescue of those who have sought refuge in Him). From these references it is clear that the Lord sought after by Sri Devi (Rukmini Thayar) and by BhU Devi (Since Andal is an Amsham of BhUmi piratti) is Bhagavan Nrusimha.
Furthermore, Prapanna Jana Kootasthar, Swami NammAzhwar desires to behold none other than
SingapirAn in Srivaikuntam. These facts are sufficient to establish that Lord Nrusimha is the supreme Lord. Swami Desikan seeks the bountiful blessings of Bhagavan Nrusimha through the kamasikAshtakam
verse "thvayi rakshathi rakshakaI: kimanyaI: thvayichArakshathirakshakaI: kimanyaI: ithinischithaDhI:
shrayAminithyAm nruharE vEgavathI thatAshrayamthvAm" (When You have decided to protect someone, where is the need for other protectors? If you have decided not to protect someone, of what use are other
protectors? Resolving thus, I surrender unto You Oh Bhagavan Nrusimha, who has taken residence on the banks of the Vegavathi river).
Prakritham Srimad Azhagiyasingar noted in his upanyasam "Lord Ranganatha is revered as periya perumal due to his worship by Lord Rama. However, Bhagavan Nrusimha, who was worshipped by Lord Rama as
well as by Lord Srinivasa is celebrated as Periya Periya Perumal."
H.H. Srimad InjimEdu Azhagiyasingar would unfailingly mention in his upanyasams that "Ranganatha is no doubt great! However he suffers from one fault. Lord Rama worshipped Him and the next day was
banished to the forest. On the other hand behold the greatness of Bhagavan Nrusimha! He was worshipped by the nomad Srinivasa, who roamed the forest. As a result, He became nithya Sri and stands on
top of the Venkatachalam Hill" This eulogy needs to be understood in the context of nahi-nindha nyAyam. More precisely, to illustrate the greatness of a person, he is compared to someone of similar caliber
and then it is demonstrated that the former tops the latter.
However, this is in no way belittling or derogatory to the latter. The worship of Bhagavan Nrusimha by Lord Srinivasa is eloquently documented in the Venkatachala mahAthmyam. Specifically, at the time
of his wedding to Padmavathi Thayar Srinivasa was seated in the altar ready to perform the wedding rites. Agni personally undertook the preparation of food for the occasion. When the food was ready
for offering as naivedyam, Brahma had a question "Who should the food be offered to when Bhagavan Himself was present?" Lord Srinivasa answered this as "ahObila nrusimhAya pUjAm kruthvA yathA
viDhi"
Finally, we note that Bhadram is the name of Bhagavan Nrusimha, while Bhadra is the name for Thayar. The Bhadram (protection) afforded jointly by Bhagavan Nrusimha and Thayar is that of unfailing coming to the rescue of those who surrender to His Lotus Feet (sharaNagata rakshakathvam).
Consequently, Prapannas are assured of the benefit of Moksham at the end of their earthly
existence. This is referred to in the Mantrarajapada stOtram salutation "shriyAcha BhadhrayAjuShta: yastham Bhadram namAmyaham"
Adiyen concludes this article with salutations to Bhagavan Nrusimha from the PrADhurBhAva Nrusimha Gadyam (Swami Desikan refers to this tribute in the Dashavatara Stotram
verse "yathprADhurBhavanAdhavandhya jatarA yAdhrichikAdhvEdhasAm")
MahApraBhavasri narayaNa nArasimha:
narayaNa vIra Simha:
naryaNa krUrasimha:
naryaNa dhivyasimha:
naryaNa vyAGhra simha:
naryaNa pucChasimha:
naryaNa pUrNa simha:
naryaNa roUdhrasimha:
BhIshaNa Bhadra simha:
vihvala nEthra simha:
brumhitha BhUtha simha:
nirmala chitthasimha:
nirjitha kAlasimha:
kalpitha kalpasimha:
kAmadhakAmasimha:
BhuvanaIkapUrNa simha:
KAlAgni rudhrasimha:
anantharUpa rAjasimha:
jayasimharUpasimha:
narasimharUpasimha:
raNasimharUpasimha:
mahAsimharUpasimha:
aBhayankararUpasimha:
hiraNyakashipuhArisimha:
prahlAdhavaradasimha:
BhakthaBhIshtadhAyi simha:
LakshmInrusimha rUpasimha:
athyAdhBhutha rUpasimha:
shrInrusimhOdhEva:
svAthi samBhavAn tiruvadigaLE SharaNam,
Namo Narayana,
SriMuralidhara Dasan
SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,
Dear Bhaktas,
For the most sacred occasion of Narasimha Jayanthi, adiyen wishes to share excerpts from the anubhavam of the pre-eminent Nrusimha Upasakar, Mahavidwan Paramapadavasi Sri Mukkur Lakshminarasimhachariar Swamin (For further elaboration, adiyen has included additional notes, with due attribution).
"There is no incarnation of Lord Narayana that is greater than the Nrusimha avataram nor is there a deity that is equal to or greater than Bhagavan Nrusimha. The Vedam is replete with His glory. A sampling of Vedic hymns reflecting this fact can be found in the following places:
1. The Purusha Sooktham of the sama vEdam glorifies Bhagavan Nrusimha in the opening anuvakam through the Rk "sa BhUmim sarvathO vruthvA" referring to His omniscient nature.
2. The shanty mantram of the MundakOpanishad glorifies Bhagavan Nrusimha "Bhadram KarNe BishruNuyAma dhevA: Bhadram PashyEmAkshaBhiryajatrA: SthiraiRangaIsthushTuvAmsastanUBhirvyashema Devahitam YadAyu:
(Meaning: Oh Lord! May we be blessed to hear auspicious sounds with our ears. May our eyes behold all things auspicious. Praising the Lord with sturdy limbs and bodies may we live the full-life span as ordained by the Lord.
3. Further testimony to vedic glorification of Bhagavan
Nrusimha is found in the mantram "svasthina indhrO vruddhasravA :
svasthina pooshA vishva vEdhA: , svastinasthArkshyO arishtanEmi:
svasthinO bruhaspathir dhaDhAtu" May He, who is the Lord of unbounded knowledge, bless us with prosperity. He who is the sustainer of all; May He, who is the source of all Vedas, bless us with prosperity. May He, who confers the wealth of horses and cows bless us with prosperity. May He, who rules over all elements guarantee our welfare.
4. The taittriya Upanishad glorifies Bhagavan Nrusimha
as "BhIshAsmAth vAtha: pavathE BhIshOdhEthi sUrya: BhIshAsmAth agnischEndhrascha mruthyur DhAvathi panchama ithi" Out of fear of the awe-inspiring one (Bhagavan Nrusimha) the wind-God (vAyu)
performs his assigned function; Out of fear of Him, the Sun carries out his prescribed duties; Out of fear of Him, agni (Lord of fire), Indra (king of the Devas) and Yama (God of death) perform their respective duties.
5. The Mahanarayana Upanishad glorifies Bhagavan Nrusimha
through the mantram "ya AtmadhA baladhA yasya vishva upAsathE
prashiSham yasya dhEvA: yasya cChayA amrutam yO mrutyumrutyu: kasmai
dhEvAya haviShA viDhEma" He who bestows refuge to those who seek His protection, He who gives strength to experience Himself, He whose divine command is implicitly obeyed by all beings, He to whom gods like Indra are all subservient, He whom immortality follows like a shadow and He who is death to death itself, to that Lord all creatures may we offer the oblation in form of our atman. This mantram is most important in context of performing SharaNagati to the Lotus feet of Bhagavan Nrusimha and contains several layers of inner meanings.
Bhagavan Nrusimha is further glorified by the vedam as the three
eyed one in the mantram "trayambakam yajAmahE suganDhim pushti
varDhanam urvArugamiva banDhanAth mruthyOrmukshIyamAmruthAth" (We
worship the Supreme Lord [Bhagavan Nrusimha] of the most auspicious name, who is the bestower of might. May thou free me from death as cucumber from the stalk, and grant me immortality.).
The thApanIya Upanishad of the atharvana vedam pays its tribute to Bhagavan Nrusimha as the three eyed one, with the left eye denoting the moon, the right eye denoting the sun and the eye in his forehead denoting Agni (fire).
Swami Desikan highlights this fact through the kamasikAshtakam salutation "thapanEndhvagni nayana:
thApAnapachinOthuna: thApanIya rahasyANAm sAra: kAmAsikA hari:"
Dhivya prabandham pays its tribute to Bhagavan Nrusimha as the three-eyed one through the salutation "mukkaNNapirAn". The thApanIya Upanishad further glorfies Bhagavan Nrusimha as "nithyam Dhanu:
kapardhina:" (he whose arms are ever adorned by a bow known as
pinakam.Therefore, he begets the name pinAki ). This fact is again
confirmed by the vedam Rk "bAhuBhyAm thava DhanvanE". Furthermore, the Mahanarayana Upanishad and the thApanIya Upanishad contain Gayathri mantrams for Bhagavan Nrusimha.
Next, the greatness of Bhagavan Nrusimha is highlighted from the mantra ShAstram. The loftiness of the NrusimhAnustup mantram arises from the fact that it is of Vedic origin.
It is possible to counteract the effect of one veda mantram by the recitation of another. However, the effect of the NrusimhAnushtup mantram cannot be counteracted by uttering any other mantram. Therefore, among mantrams, the NrusimhAnushtup mantram reigns supreme and is thus rightly acclaimed as mantraraja.
The NrusimhAnushtup mantram composed of 11 padams contains 32 syllables (aksharams) representing
the condensed essence of the Brahma Vidyas, which are Upanishadic prescriptions (Upasanas) for attaining Lord Narayana.
Initiation into this mantram by a qualified Acharya, and proper prayOgam of the mantram according to its set norms confers the upasaka with the benefit of practicing the prescriptions of all the 32 Brahma vidyas.
Therefore, it is the favored mantram of mumukshus (those desirous of securing Moksham). As a result, Bhagavan Nrusimha is known as the mumukshu upAsya daivam. Therefore, the salutation nama: is most
befitting for Bhagavan Nrusimha. Swami Desikan describes the significance of the term nama: in the Srimad Rahasyatrayasaram through the salutation "tAram pUrvam". This term denotes the act of
performing surrender (Atmanivedanam or SharaNagati) at the Feet of Bhagavan Nrusimha.
In the tantric form of worship, practiced in KeraLa, Nrusimha Tantrikam reigns supreme.
The ithihasas are replete with glorification of Bhagavan Nrusimha. The Ramayana mentions Nrusimha explicitly in four places.
(1) When Ravana approaches MarIcha for help in abducting Seetha Piratti,
MarIcha says "asamBhavam" (impossible) because Sita Piratti is seated on the lap of Nrusimha
(2) Valmiki glorifies Rama emerging from the cave in the malyavan mountain as "simhO giri guhAshaya:"
(3) While offering words of comfort to Sita Piratti, Hanuman conveys the message "Do not worry. Narasimha will be here shortly to rescue you."
(4) In the ViBhishaNa sharaNagati, Sugriva enquires of Lord
Rama "what if the surrender of ViBhishaNa is a deceitful ploy on the part of the Rakshasas to gain our confidence and kill us while we are caught off guard?. Lord Rama answers this question as "angulyagrENa thAm hanyAm" (Do not worry. If indeed what you say is true, I do not even need my weapons to destroy the asuras. I shall rip them apart with my finger nails. " Swami Desikan discusses this fact quite extensively in the aBhayapradhAna sAram, while treating the ViBhIshaNa sharaNagati.
Bhagavan Nrusimha is extensively glorified in the Vishnu sahasranamam of the MahaBharata.
It is a commonly held belief that Bhishma was rendering a eulogy for Lord Krishna in this exquisite
stotram. However, closer examination will reveal that the Vishnu sahasranamam is a glorification of Bhagavan Nrusimha from start to finish. The first incarnation mentioned in this stotram is Bhagavan Nrusimha through the salutation "nArasimhavapusrImAn kEshava purushottama:" The mane of the lion was beautiful to behold because the man-lion was gentle to His Bhakta, Prahlada, while striking terror in the heart of HiraNyan. In fact Swami Desikan describes the compassionate glances of Bhagavan Nrusimha for Prahlada as a nectarine offering of milk in the kamasikAshtakam salutation "sarOja sadhrushA drushA vyathiBhishajyathE vyajyathE". Swamy Parashara Bhattar refers to this avataram as "Sundara Simha:"
The first stotram of the sahasranamam can be divided into four groups each containing 8 aksharams. The first group of 8 syllables represent the ashtakshara mantram. The next group of salutations containing 8
aksharams when added to the previous 8 produces 16, which is the number of mantrams in the Purusha Sooktam. The next set of 8 syllables added to this gives 24, the number of aksharams in the
sacred Gayathri mantram, which is a pre-requisite for reciting all other veda mantrams. Finally, the 8 aksharams from the last group of salutations when added to 24 produces 32, which is the number of
aksharams in theNrusimhAnushtup mantram!
The vishNu sahasranamam concludes with the salutation sarva praharaNAyuDha Om nama ithi.
Lord Krishna never bore arms during the MahaBharata war. Nor did he adorn himself with weapons while appearing before BhIshma. Therefore, this description does not fit Lord Krishna in the present
instance. However, Bhagavan Nrusimha's finger nails have the power from all of His 5 weapons. Therefore, the concluding salutation of the vishNu sahasranamam is most appropriate for Him. These facts
conclusively demonstrate that it is Bhagavan Nrusimha that is glorified from start to finish in the VishNu sahasranama stotram.
The puraNas wax eloquent on the avataram of Bhagavan Nrusimha (i.e., Bhagavata PuraNam and VishNu PurANam). For example the vishNu purANam contains an exquisite gadyam authored by mArkandEya known as the lingAspOtitha Nrusimha Gadyam (linga=difficulties, AspOtitha=shatter). The Bhagavata purANam glorifies Bhagavan Nrusimha in the seventh skandam.
It may be remembered here that this story was narrated by the greatest Brahmavith (knower of Brahman),
Shuka Brahmam to the foremost among listeners, ParIkshith, who was oblivious to the pangs of hunger, thirst, and sleep. The greatness of Parikshith is that he would not be a mute listener.
In order to gain a good understanding of the narration, he would ask probing questions to Shuka Brahmam. This form of listening is known as prashNa mathi. In the seventh skandam, ParIkshith enquires of Shuka
Brahmam "sama: priya: suhruth Brahman BhUthAnAm Bhagavan svayam indhrasyArThE katham dhaIthyAn avaDhIth viShamOyathA" (Oh kind-hearted Brahman, you say that the Lord is impartial. He is equally
fond of all beings. However in closer examination of your narrative, it seems as though the Lord repeatedly incarnates to favour Indhra and destroy his enemies, the asuras. Does this not mean that the Lord dislikes the asuras?) Shuka Brahman was extremely pleased at this question raised by ParIkshith and his reply in the
verse "apapruShtan thvayA rajan lOkAnAm hitha kAmyayA yathra Bhagavata mAhAthmyam Bhagavad Bhakthi varDhanam" indicates this ("Oh king your question is going to result in the well being of the
entire universe. It seems as though your love for Bhagavatas exceeds even that of Bhagavan). To precisely demonstrate the Lord's impartiality towards all and specifically demonstrate the Lord's love for Prahlada, who was born in the asura clan, Shuka Brahman narrated the Vaibhavam of Bhagavan Nrusimha.
Therefore if ParIkshith's questions were in the manner of "Evam vEdha", Shuka Brahmam's replies were in the manner of "brahmavAdhinO vadhanthi". It is instructive to understand the reason for Bhagavan Nrusimha's AvirBhavam from the pillar. Was this intended to rescue Prahlada from HiraNyan? Sri Mukkur Swami avers most definitely not? To drive home his point Sri Mukku Swam observes that "Was Prahlada not protected when he was poisoned or bitten by snakes or thrown into the flames or trampled upon by elephants? Then why did Bhagavan Nrusimha incarnate as He did and when He did? Sri Mukkur Swamin
answers this by stating that the incarnation of Bhagavan Nrusimha was solely to uphold the words of his Bhagavata-Prahlada (tasmAth sthAmbena dhrushyathE-Indeed He is seen in the pillar) and
subsequently the conditions of Brahma's boon to HiraNyan and rishi Narada-who dissuaded Indra from killing Kayadhu, the wife of HiraNyan, when HiraNyan was engaged in penance.
Testimony in support of this fact can be found in the Bhagavatam salutation "satyam viDhAthum nijabhruthya BhAshitham vyApthim cha BhUthEShvakhilEshu chAthmana: Adhrushyatha athyAdhBhutha
rUpamudhvahan sthambhE sabhAyAm na mrugam na mAnusham", the tribute from Periya Azhwar "andhiyampOdhil arivuruvAgi ariya azhithavanE", and Andal's tiruppavai tribute "yAm vandha kAryam arAyandhu aruLElO rembAvai"
The essence of the puranic tributes is consummately captured in the Nrusimha Karavalambam Stotram composed by H.H. the 44th Azhagiyasingar (Mukkur Azhagiyasingar) of Ahobila Matham-which is
verily the condensed essence of the Nrusimha Vaibhavam. Each verse of this magnificent stothram ends with "lakshminrusimha mamadEhi karAvalambam". For example the verse "sandhIpithAgni vinipAthitha
dhAithyadimba samrakshaNAya vinivarthitha vahni shakthE. BhakthAyadhAru parikalpitha padhmathalpa lakshmInrusimha mamadehi karavalambam" (When the child Prahlada was thrown into the scorching
flames, the grace of Bhagavan Nrusimha transformed the fire into a
bed of lotus petals). The verse "prahlAdhanAsha parichOdhita sarpajAtha chUdamaNipravaradhantha vinAsha hEthO smruthyA thavaIvanavivEdha thanum suBhaktha: lakshmInrusimha mamadEhi
karAvalambam" illustrates the fact that when poisonous serpents were let loose to sting Prahlada, the grace of Lord Narayana caused Prahlada to appear like Garuda, which scared the daylights out of
the serpents.
It is particularly instructive to recall Swami Desikan's tribute in the Garuda dandakam in this context "nagEndhra pIdAshruNI BhavabhAsvannaKhashrENayE". Another verse in the Karavalamba StOtram of importance on a puraNic note is "sUthadhidhattha vishapAnasamAnakAla nAmAmruthEna paripAlitha
dhaIthyaputhra prahlAdhadEha parirakshaNa jAgarUka lakshmInrusimha
mamadEhi karAvalambam" (When HiraNyan ordered his wife to feed Prahlada with poison [kArpOdhaka sarpa visham], Prahlada gladly partook of this offering. This is saluted in the Bhagavata puraNam
as "anukUlE jagannAtham visham pathyam BhavEn mama" [Oh Mother! Do not cry or feel sad. You carry out the orders of my father. The Lord of the Universe, who is helpful to me, will transform this offering
into nutritious food.]. Finally, the verse "shaIlAgraBhAga pathamAna
hiraNyadimba samrakshaNAya mrudhuBhUtha DharADhinAtha dhAithyEndhra
puthra hrudhayAsana mangalAnga lakshmInrusimha mamadEhikarAvalambam"
(The VishNu puraNam summarizes this as : HiraNyan ordered that Prahlada be thrown down from a cliff. As the child fell, he did not for a moment think of the impending death as a result of his fall. Instead, he clutched hard at his heart out of concern that Lord Narayana, who is seated therein, would come to harm due to the fall. Bhumidevi, greatly moved by this sight reasons to herself "This child is least concerned about his impending doom. Instead his focus is the well being of my husband [Lord Narayana], who is seated in
his heart. Should I not therefore, make his landing gentle?"
Accordingly, Bhumidevi transformed herself into an extremely soft patch to facilitate a smooth landing for Prahlada.). The puraNic anuBhavam is eloquently saluted in simple Sanskrit by H.H. the 44th
Azhagiyasingar. The Agamas too are replete with glorification of Bhagavan Nrusimha.
The Ahribudhnya samhitha, an important text of the PancharAthra Agama discusses all aspects of iconography, consecration and sacrifices for Bhagavan Nrusimha and outlines the procedure for His
worship.
The Mantrarajapada stOtram appearing in the Ahirbudhnya Samhita is an elaboration of the individual padams of the NrusimhAnushtup mantram.
The opening verse of this stotram contains
the blessed NrusimhAnushtup mantram. Verses 2-5 describe the svarUpam of Bhagavan Nrusimha. In verse 6 Ahirbudhnyan is blessed with the darshana SouBhAgyam of Bhagavan Nrusimha. Verses 7-10
describe the elevated protection afforded by Bhagavan Nrusimha. The
formal SharaNagati of Ahirbudhnyan is discussed in verses 11 and 12, while verse 13 summaizes the benefits of reciting this magnificent stotram (Phalashruthi). An elaboration of the individual verses of
this stotram can be found in adiyen's postings on the Malolan net between September and November 1998. Swami Desikan repeatedly refers to verses 11 and 12 of this stotram in Srimad Rahasya
trayasAram and glorifies Ahirbudhnyan as sarvajnyan (all knowing one).
The Azhwars wax eloquent in their praise of Bhagavan Nrusimha:
1. For example PeriyAzhwar maps the entire mantrarajapada Stotram into Tamil in his glorification of Bhagavan Nrusimha
2. Tirumangai Azhwar sings his glory in the singavElkundram verses
3. Swami NammAzhwar, who is an avowed lover of Lord Krishna, desires to see none other than Bhagavan Nrusimha even in Srivaikuntam (en singapirAn perumai).
Swami Desikan in the Padhuka Sahasram uses the Nrusimha avataram to denote the inseparability of
the Padhukas (Satari Soori/Swami NammAzhwar) from the Lord's Lotus Feet.
Swami Desikan declares "In some incarnations, the Lord bears a subset of his weapons. In some others he bears all his weapons. However, no matter what exclusion criteria (vikalpam) apply to the
weapons none apply to the Padhukas! As Bhagavan Nrusimha He demonstrates that even without weapons he is always accompanied by the Padhukas clinging to His Feet!" The connection of Swami
NammAzhwar to Bhagavan Nrusimha is exemplified by the fact that Acharyas adorning the Peetam of Sri Ahobila Matham (pre-eminent Aradhakas of Bhagavan Nrusimha) use the signature Satakopa Sri. The
founding Acharya of Sri Ahobila Matham bears the name Adivan
Satakopan.
In seeking the hand of Lord Krishna, Rukmini conveys her appeal in the form of 7 verses in the Srimad Bhagavatam. Significantly not once in these verses does She mention Lord Krishna by name. Instead
Rukmini employs the salutation "kAlE Nrusimha". This is because She is apprehensive of Lord Krishna's propensity for uttering innovative lies.
Sri Andal attests to this fact in the Brindavana Pasuram through the salutation `mAlAy pirandhanambiyE mAlE.sheyummanALanE eLApoygaL uraippanE ingaipOhakandIrE." Again while describing the
Laaja Homam of Her wedding ceremony, Sri Andal refers to Bhagavan Nrusimha in the vAraNam Ayiram verse as "Arimukhan Achyuthan" (The lion faced one who does not slip from His position, namely, rushing
to the rescue of those who have sought refuge in Him). From these references it is clear that the Lord sought after by Sri Devi (Rukmini Thayar) and by BhU Devi (Since Andal is an Amsham of BhUmi piratti) is Bhagavan Nrusimha.
Furthermore, Prapanna Jana Kootasthar, Swami NammAzhwar desires to behold none other than
SingapirAn in Srivaikuntam. These facts are sufficient to establish that Lord Nrusimha is the supreme Lord. Swami Desikan seeks the bountiful blessings of Bhagavan Nrusimha through the kamasikAshtakam
verse "thvayi rakshathi rakshakaI: kimanyaI: thvayichArakshathirakshakaI: kimanyaI: ithinischithaDhI:
shrayAminithyAm nruharE vEgavathI thatAshrayamthvAm" (When You have decided to protect someone, where is the need for other protectors? If you have decided not to protect someone, of what use are other
protectors? Resolving thus, I surrender unto You Oh Bhagavan Nrusimha, who has taken residence on the banks of the Vegavathi river).
Prakritham Srimad Azhagiyasingar noted in his upanyasam "Lord Ranganatha is revered as periya perumal due to his worship by Lord Rama. However, Bhagavan Nrusimha, who was worshipped by Lord Rama as
well as by Lord Srinivasa is celebrated as Periya Periya Perumal."
H.H. Srimad InjimEdu Azhagiyasingar would unfailingly mention in his upanyasams that "Ranganatha is no doubt great! However he suffers from one fault. Lord Rama worshipped Him and the next day was
banished to the forest. On the other hand behold the greatness of Bhagavan Nrusimha! He was worshipped by the nomad Srinivasa, who roamed the forest. As a result, He became nithya Sri and stands on
top of the Venkatachalam Hill" This eulogy needs to be understood in the context of nahi-nindha nyAyam. More precisely, to illustrate the greatness of a person, he is compared to someone of similar caliber
and then it is demonstrated that the former tops the latter.
However, this is in no way belittling or derogatory to the latter. The worship of Bhagavan Nrusimha by Lord Srinivasa is eloquently documented in the Venkatachala mahAthmyam. Specifically, at the time
of his wedding to Padmavathi Thayar Srinivasa was seated in the altar ready to perform the wedding rites. Agni personally undertook the preparation of food for the occasion. When the food was ready
for offering as naivedyam, Brahma had a question "Who should the food be offered to when Bhagavan Himself was present?" Lord Srinivasa answered this as "ahObila nrusimhAya pUjAm kruthvA yathA
viDhi"
Finally, we note that Bhadram is the name of Bhagavan Nrusimha, while Bhadra is the name for Thayar. The Bhadram (protection) afforded jointly by Bhagavan Nrusimha and Thayar is that of unfailing coming to the rescue of those who surrender to His Lotus Feet (sharaNagata rakshakathvam).
Consequently, Prapannas are assured of the benefit of Moksham at the end of their earthly
existence. This is referred to in the Mantrarajapada stOtram salutation "shriyAcha BhadhrayAjuShta: yastham Bhadram namAmyaham"
Adiyen concludes this article with salutations to Bhagavan Nrusimha from the PrADhurBhAva Nrusimha Gadyam (Swami Desikan refers to this tribute in the Dashavatara Stotram
verse "yathprADhurBhavanAdhavandhya jatarA yAdhrichikAdhvEdhasAm")
MahApraBhavasri narayaNa nArasimha:
narayaNa vIra Simha:
naryaNa krUrasimha:
naryaNa dhivyasimha:
naryaNa vyAGhra simha:
naryaNa pucChasimha:
naryaNa pUrNa simha:
naryaNa roUdhrasimha:
BhIshaNa Bhadra simha:
vihvala nEthra simha:
brumhitha BhUtha simha:
nirmala chitthasimha:
nirjitha kAlasimha:
kalpitha kalpasimha:
kAmadhakAmasimha:
BhuvanaIkapUrNa simha:
KAlAgni rudhrasimha:
anantharUpa rAjasimha:
jayasimharUpasimha:
narasimharUpasimha:
raNasimharUpasimha:
mahAsimharUpasimha:
aBhayankararUpasimha:
hiraNyakashipuhArisimha:
prahlAdhavaradasimha:
BhakthaBhIshtadhAyi simha:
LakshmInrusimha rUpasimha:
athyAdhBhutha rUpasimha:
shrInrusimhOdhEva:
svAthi samBhavAn tiruvadigaLE SharaNam,
Namo Narayana,
SriMuralidhara Dasan
Adbhuta KesarI
Mail from Sadagopaniyengar in one of the vaishnava forum:-
Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama:
"Adbhuta KesarI"
Emperuman's avatArAs are innumerable. "ajAyamAnO bahudhA vijAyatE" says
the Purusha Sukta, confirming that the Lord, who is beyond birth and death
resulting from Karma, takes birth time and again of His own volition, for the
purpose of protecting the righteous, destroying evil and for re-establishing
Dharma on a firm footing. In the process, He descends to this world of sorrow
and suffering, assuming forms as lowly as those of a fish, turtle, boar, etc.
"en nindra yOniyumAi pirandAi imayOr talaivA!" marvels Sri Nammazhwar at the
Lord's infinite mercy which moves Him to adopt such demeaning forms, solely for
our sake. The so-called "DasAvatArAs" are only ten of the numerous forms the
Lord has assumed over the ages- there are quite a few others like the HayagrIva
and Hamsa avatArAs, which too are quite popular.
We are thus presented with a wide choice of the Lord's forms to choose
from, for the purpose of meditation and worship. True, we could very well prefer
to fix our thoughts on the Paramapadanathan, the eternal form of the Lord as He
is to be found in Sri Vaikuntam, the one acclaimed by Sri Satakopa as "Adi
amsOdi uru" (the primordial form). However, we would prefer to plump for some
avatArA, which makes the Lord appear much more real, having happened right in
this world of ours, at specific locations which still stand glorious testimony
to the reality of avatArAs. Here, we are confronted by such a bewildering
variety of forms the Lord has assumed from time to time, that we are hard put to
choose one. If we consider the principal ten avatArAs, some would discard the
Matsya, Koorma and VarAha avatArAs as preferred moortthis for worship, in view
of their representing lower life forms. However much we may bring our devotion
to bear, it is difficult to worship a fish, turtle or boar ("mAnam ilA pandri").
Some are also uncomfortable with the human avatArAs of the Lord such as those
as Sri Rama, Sri Krishna, Sri Balarama and Sri Parasurama, as all these are
comparatively inferior avatArAs due to the Lord having undergone a ten-month
imprisonment in the mother's womb, like any other mortal being. Not only that,
He has also subjected Himself to mortality, though of His own volition, in the
process of winding up these avatArAs.
Applying the process of elimination, we arrive at the only avatArA that is free
from the aforesaid defects- the NrsimhAvatAra. Looked at from any angle, this
appears to be the ideal avatArA, evoking in us love, fear and devotion, all at
the same time. It is the avatAra where the Lord displayed all the qualities of
the Supreme Being, in full measure-the "Poorna avatAra", so to say. It was not
long-drawn like some of the other forms, and was short and sweet. During the
short period of its currency, this avatArA achieved what was accomplished in the
other avatArAs, and much more. It has the distinction of one of the few forms of
Sriman Narayana to be eulogized by the Shruti.
Shall we look at some of the features that make this "Seeriya Singam" matchless
in glory?
1. All the other avatArAs consist of a single life form, either human like
Sri Rama or Sri Krishna, or animal like the Matsya, Koorma and Varaha avatArAs.
Sri Nrsimha was a unique combination of a man and a lion, combining the best
feature of both the races-the ferocity and invincibility of a lion and the
infinite mercy and love only a human being is capable of. Apart from being a
"Seeriya Singam", He was also an "ALari"(man-lion). Each avatArA might be unique
in its own way, but Sri Nrsimha is a matchless mixture of Man and Beast.
2. Major avataras like those of Sri Rama and Sri Krishna were assumed only
upon the specific request of parties affected by asurAs and the like. Sri
Nrisimha's appearance was totally voluntary. Nobody appealed to Him to descend
to the earth for his or her protection; there was no cry of distress. One who
gives upon request is indeed a great man, but greater still is the one who give
unasked, saving the devotee the ignominy of issuing an SOS.
3. While most of the other assumed forms of the Lord were premeditated and
planned in advance (we hear of the Lord dispatching various dEvatAs to the world
to be born at strategic locations, before He Himself is born in AyOdhya), that
of the Man-Lion is a totally impromptu avatArA, unrehearsed, unprepared,
prompted by the need of the moment and totally spontaneous.
4. Going by the Shruti's dictum, "PrajApati: charati garbhE anta:" "anta:
pravishtam KartAram Etam"( the Lord dwells in all the beings as the antaryAmI"),
it is only the NrsimhAvatAra which qualifies as a poorNa avatara, as it is only
in this form that the Lord was present in all beings sentient and otherwise,
ready to leap out from wherever Hiranya would challenge Him to. No one knew
where the asurA would expect Prahlada to demonstrate the omnipresence of
SriHari. This uncertainty prompted the Lord to be present at all places and in
all beings in the form of Nrsimha, so that He could manifest Himself without
delay from wherever He was required to. Swami Desikan confirms this when he
says, "TrilOkyam Etat akhilam Nrsimha garbham". No other avatara could claim
the distinction of antaryAmitvam in the assumed form, though the Lord is ever
present everywhere.
5. The usual motive behind avatArAs is three-fold, as laid down by the
Gitacharya-
"ParitthrANAya sadhoonAm, vinAsAya cha dushkritAm, dharma samstthApAnArtthAya"
(Protection of the good, destruction of evil and reestablishment of
righteousness). The object behind Nrsimhavatara was indeed unique: though all
the aforesaid three purposes were achieved, Srimad Bhagavatam lists a fourth and
most important motive-that of proving the word of a staunch devotee to be true
("Satyam vidhAtum nija bhritya bhAshitam"). It was an avatara taken for the
primary purpose of confirming Prahlada's statement that SriHari existed
everywhere-"ThooNilum iruppAn, thurumbilum iruppAn".
The Lord, though under no obligation to affirm the lad's averment, took all the
trouble to assume an unheard-of form, solely to prove His devotee to be true. It
is this Bhakta vAtsalyam of the Lord, who could not bear to see His votary's
words falsified, that moves us to tears.
6.Sri Nrsimhavatara is the only avatara where the predominant emotion displayed
by the Lord was anger. One could say that this is hardly a distinction, anger
being one of the base feelings, and prudence lies in its control rather than
exhibition. However, righteous anger, directed at injustice and inequality is
indeed a virtue and its display the bounden duty of every right-thinking soul.
By this standard, the ferocity that Sri Nrisimha brought to bear on the
unrepentant Hiranya was indeed called-for and justified, and by far exceeds the
dimensions of emotion displayed by the Lord in any other avatara.
7. In all other avataras, the Lord had to resort to weapons to destroy
His adversaries- the Bow Kodandam as Sri Rama, the Sudarsanam as Sri Krishna,
the axe as Sri Parasurama, and the plough as Sri Balarama. Sri Nrsimhavatara is
unique in that the Lord had no need for any aid from weapons for confronting and
obliterating Hiranya. He tore the asurA apart with His bare nails.
8. Sri Rama might have been the perfectly proportioned man, Sri Krishna the
spitting image of Manmatha (the God of Beauty). However, Sri Nrsimha is the
Beautiful One, eulogized as much for His ferocious beauty as for anything
else-"azhagiyAn tAnE, ari uruvan tAnE" says Sri Nammazhwar, paying eloquent
tribute to this Beautiful Beast.
9. When it comes to tributes from that impartial and impeccable source, the
Shruti, it is Sri Nrsimha who scores again, for, though other avataras might
have found mention in the Vedas, it is Sri Nrsimhavatara which is accorded pride
of place by being eulogized right at the beginning, in the ShAnti PAthA, in the
mantra beginning with "Bhadram karNEbhi: shruNuyAma DEvA:". This beautiful
mantra is the ShAnti PatA for Sri Nrsimha TapAnIyA, Prasna, MandUkya,
AtharvashikhA Upanishads, apart from the aruNa prasna of the YajurvEda
AraNyakam.
Sri Shankara confirms that the term "Bhadram" indicates Sri Nrsimha
only, in the Mantraraja pada stotram-
"SarvOpi yam samAshritya sakalam bhadram asnutE
SriyA cha BhadrayA jushta: ya: tam Bhadram namAmyaham"
10. Other avataras of the Lord may be the dispensers of all auspiciousness
(MangaLam), but it is Sri Nrisimha who is mangaLam personified, for He is
"Bhadram".
11. Sri Nrsimha is truly the "Peria Perumal", because He was worshipped by
Srinivasa, the Lord of Seven Hills, on the occasion of His wedding with Sri
Padmavathi. While Sri Rama, who worshipped Sri Ranganatha (thus affording Him
the status of "Peria Perumal") on the eve of His coronation, lost His Princehood
and was banished to the forests for 14 long years, Srinivasa, who worshipped Sri
Nrsimha, was transformed from being a mere caveman of Thirumala to "Srinivasa"
or the abode of Sri Mahalakshmi (by virtue of His wedding Sri Padmavathi).
12. Sri NrikEsari is the only form of the Lord where He sported three eyes.
It is perhaps due to all these glories unique to this extraordinary
avatara that Sri Nrisimha is eulogized by the KavitArkika KEsarI as "Kaschit
adbhuta KesarI"
All poetry, all praise, to be worth the name, should be about Sri
Nrsimha, declares Sri Thirumangai Mannan with firm conviction-
"KoodA IraNiyanai koor ugirAl marvidanda
OdA adal ariyai umbarAr kOmAnai
TOdAr narum tuzhAi mArvanai ArvatthAl
PAdAdAr pAttu endrum pAttalla kEttAmE"
That Sri Nrisimha is verily the Paramatma whose eulogy the entire Veda
mantras are, is borne out by the tribute paid by Sri SAyaNAchArya, the author of
the famous VEda Bhashya. Before embarking on his onerous and ambitious project
of commenting on the vast Vedic literature, by dedicating the "MangaLAcharaNam"
to this magnificent moortthi, Sri SAyaNa makes it clear that praying to Sri
Nrsimha ensures an auspicious beginning and unhindered completion of the task on
hand. This is reiterated in his "NayaprakAsikA" by Sri MEghanAdAri Suri-
"SmritE sakala kalyANa bhAjanam yatra jAyatE
Purusham tam ajam vrajAmi sharaNam Harim"
If even ignorant animals pay obeisance to this Lord, ("PaingaN Anai kombu
kondu patthimayAl, adikkeezh sengaN Ali ittu irainjum SingavEL kundramE") should
we not, as enlightened human beings endowed with the wisdom of choice and
preference, make Sri Nrisimha the Lord of our choice and devote our lives to His
kainkaryam?
Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri
Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
Dasan, sadagopan
Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama:
"Adbhuta KesarI"
Emperuman's avatArAs are innumerable. "ajAyamAnO bahudhA vijAyatE" says
the Purusha Sukta, confirming that the Lord, who is beyond birth and death
resulting from Karma, takes birth time and again of His own volition, for the
purpose of protecting the righteous, destroying evil and for re-establishing
Dharma on a firm footing. In the process, He descends to this world of sorrow
and suffering, assuming forms as lowly as those of a fish, turtle, boar, etc.
"en nindra yOniyumAi pirandAi imayOr talaivA!" marvels Sri Nammazhwar at the
Lord's infinite mercy which moves Him to adopt such demeaning forms, solely for
our sake. The so-called "DasAvatArAs" are only ten of the numerous forms the
Lord has assumed over the ages- there are quite a few others like the HayagrIva
and Hamsa avatArAs, which too are quite popular.
We are thus presented with a wide choice of the Lord's forms to choose
from, for the purpose of meditation and worship. True, we could very well prefer
to fix our thoughts on the Paramapadanathan, the eternal form of the Lord as He
is to be found in Sri Vaikuntam, the one acclaimed by Sri Satakopa as "Adi
amsOdi uru" (the primordial form). However, we would prefer to plump for some
avatArA, which makes the Lord appear much more real, having happened right in
this world of ours, at specific locations which still stand glorious testimony
to the reality of avatArAs. Here, we are confronted by such a bewildering
variety of forms the Lord has assumed from time to time, that we are hard put to
choose one. If we consider the principal ten avatArAs, some would discard the
Matsya, Koorma and VarAha avatArAs as preferred moortthis for worship, in view
of their representing lower life forms. However much we may bring our devotion
to bear, it is difficult to worship a fish, turtle or boar ("mAnam ilA pandri").
Some are also uncomfortable with the human avatArAs of the Lord such as those
as Sri Rama, Sri Krishna, Sri Balarama and Sri Parasurama, as all these are
comparatively inferior avatArAs due to the Lord having undergone a ten-month
imprisonment in the mother's womb, like any other mortal being. Not only that,
He has also subjected Himself to mortality, though of His own volition, in the
process of winding up these avatArAs.
Applying the process of elimination, we arrive at the only avatArA that is free
from the aforesaid defects- the NrsimhAvatAra. Looked at from any angle, this
appears to be the ideal avatArA, evoking in us love, fear and devotion, all at
the same time. It is the avatAra where the Lord displayed all the qualities of
the Supreme Being, in full measure-the "Poorna avatAra", so to say. It was not
long-drawn like some of the other forms, and was short and sweet. During the
short period of its currency, this avatArA achieved what was accomplished in the
other avatArAs, and much more. It has the distinction of one of the few forms of
Sriman Narayana to be eulogized by the Shruti.
Shall we look at some of the features that make this "Seeriya Singam" matchless
in glory?
1. All the other avatArAs consist of a single life form, either human like
Sri Rama or Sri Krishna, or animal like the Matsya, Koorma and Varaha avatArAs.
Sri Nrsimha was a unique combination of a man and a lion, combining the best
feature of both the races-the ferocity and invincibility of a lion and the
infinite mercy and love only a human being is capable of. Apart from being a
"Seeriya Singam", He was also an "ALari"(man-lion). Each avatArA might be unique
in its own way, but Sri Nrsimha is a matchless mixture of Man and Beast.
2. Major avataras like those of Sri Rama and Sri Krishna were assumed only
upon the specific request of parties affected by asurAs and the like. Sri
Nrisimha's appearance was totally voluntary. Nobody appealed to Him to descend
to the earth for his or her protection; there was no cry of distress. One who
gives upon request is indeed a great man, but greater still is the one who give
unasked, saving the devotee the ignominy of issuing an SOS.
3. While most of the other assumed forms of the Lord were premeditated and
planned in advance (we hear of the Lord dispatching various dEvatAs to the world
to be born at strategic locations, before He Himself is born in AyOdhya), that
of the Man-Lion is a totally impromptu avatArA, unrehearsed, unprepared,
prompted by the need of the moment and totally spontaneous.
4. Going by the Shruti's dictum, "PrajApati: charati garbhE anta:" "anta:
pravishtam KartAram Etam"( the Lord dwells in all the beings as the antaryAmI"),
it is only the NrsimhAvatAra which qualifies as a poorNa avatara, as it is only
in this form that the Lord was present in all beings sentient and otherwise,
ready to leap out from wherever Hiranya would challenge Him to. No one knew
where the asurA would expect Prahlada to demonstrate the omnipresence of
SriHari. This uncertainty prompted the Lord to be present at all places and in
all beings in the form of Nrsimha, so that He could manifest Himself without
delay from wherever He was required to. Swami Desikan confirms this when he
says, "TrilOkyam Etat akhilam Nrsimha garbham". No other avatara could claim
the distinction of antaryAmitvam in the assumed form, though the Lord is ever
present everywhere.
5. The usual motive behind avatArAs is three-fold, as laid down by the
Gitacharya-
"ParitthrANAya sadhoonAm, vinAsAya cha dushkritAm, dharma samstthApAnArtthAya"
(Protection of the good, destruction of evil and reestablishment of
righteousness). The object behind Nrsimhavatara was indeed unique: though all
the aforesaid three purposes were achieved, Srimad Bhagavatam lists a fourth and
most important motive-that of proving the word of a staunch devotee to be true
("Satyam vidhAtum nija bhritya bhAshitam"). It was an avatara taken for the
primary purpose of confirming Prahlada's statement that SriHari existed
everywhere-"ThooNilum iruppAn, thurumbilum iruppAn".
The Lord, though under no obligation to affirm the lad's averment, took all the
trouble to assume an unheard-of form, solely to prove His devotee to be true. It
is this Bhakta vAtsalyam of the Lord, who could not bear to see His votary's
words falsified, that moves us to tears.
6.Sri Nrsimhavatara is the only avatara where the predominant emotion displayed
by the Lord was anger. One could say that this is hardly a distinction, anger
being one of the base feelings, and prudence lies in its control rather than
exhibition. However, righteous anger, directed at injustice and inequality is
indeed a virtue and its display the bounden duty of every right-thinking soul.
By this standard, the ferocity that Sri Nrisimha brought to bear on the
unrepentant Hiranya was indeed called-for and justified, and by far exceeds the
dimensions of emotion displayed by the Lord in any other avatara.
7. In all other avataras, the Lord had to resort to weapons to destroy
His adversaries- the Bow Kodandam as Sri Rama, the Sudarsanam as Sri Krishna,
the axe as Sri Parasurama, and the plough as Sri Balarama. Sri Nrsimhavatara is
unique in that the Lord had no need for any aid from weapons for confronting and
obliterating Hiranya. He tore the asurA apart with His bare nails.
8. Sri Rama might have been the perfectly proportioned man, Sri Krishna the
spitting image of Manmatha (the God of Beauty). However, Sri Nrsimha is the
Beautiful One, eulogized as much for His ferocious beauty as for anything
else-"azhagiyAn tAnE, ari uruvan tAnE" says Sri Nammazhwar, paying eloquent
tribute to this Beautiful Beast.
9. When it comes to tributes from that impartial and impeccable source, the
Shruti, it is Sri Nrsimha who scores again, for, though other avataras might
have found mention in the Vedas, it is Sri Nrsimhavatara which is accorded pride
of place by being eulogized right at the beginning, in the ShAnti PAthA, in the
mantra beginning with "Bhadram karNEbhi: shruNuyAma DEvA:". This beautiful
mantra is the ShAnti PatA for Sri Nrsimha TapAnIyA, Prasna, MandUkya,
AtharvashikhA Upanishads, apart from the aruNa prasna of the YajurvEda
AraNyakam.
Sri Shankara confirms that the term "Bhadram" indicates Sri Nrsimha
only, in the Mantraraja pada stotram-
"SarvOpi yam samAshritya sakalam bhadram asnutE
SriyA cha BhadrayA jushta: ya: tam Bhadram namAmyaham"
10. Other avataras of the Lord may be the dispensers of all auspiciousness
(MangaLam), but it is Sri Nrisimha who is mangaLam personified, for He is
"Bhadram".
11. Sri Nrsimha is truly the "Peria Perumal", because He was worshipped by
Srinivasa, the Lord of Seven Hills, on the occasion of His wedding with Sri
Padmavathi. While Sri Rama, who worshipped Sri Ranganatha (thus affording Him
the status of "Peria Perumal") on the eve of His coronation, lost His Princehood
and was banished to the forests for 14 long years, Srinivasa, who worshipped Sri
Nrsimha, was transformed from being a mere caveman of Thirumala to "Srinivasa"
or the abode of Sri Mahalakshmi (by virtue of His wedding Sri Padmavathi).
12. Sri NrikEsari is the only form of the Lord where He sported three eyes.
It is perhaps due to all these glories unique to this extraordinary
avatara that Sri Nrisimha is eulogized by the KavitArkika KEsarI as "Kaschit
adbhuta KesarI"
All poetry, all praise, to be worth the name, should be about Sri
Nrsimha, declares Sri Thirumangai Mannan with firm conviction-
"KoodA IraNiyanai koor ugirAl marvidanda
OdA adal ariyai umbarAr kOmAnai
TOdAr narum tuzhAi mArvanai ArvatthAl
PAdAdAr pAttu endrum pAttalla kEttAmE"
That Sri Nrisimha is verily the Paramatma whose eulogy the entire Veda
mantras are, is borne out by the tribute paid by Sri SAyaNAchArya, the author of
the famous VEda Bhashya. Before embarking on his onerous and ambitious project
of commenting on the vast Vedic literature, by dedicating the "MangaLAcharaNam"
to this magnificent moortthi, Sri SAyaNa makes it clear that praying to Sri
Nrsimha ensures an auspicious beginning and unhindered completion of the task on
hand. This is reiterated in his "NayaprakAsikA" by Sri MEghanAdAri Suri-
"SmritE sakala kalyANa bhAjanam yatra jAyatE
Purusham tam ajam vrajAmi sharaNam Harim"
If even ignorant animals pay obeisance to this Lord, ("PaingaN Anai kombu
kondu patthimayAl, adikkeezh sengaN Ali ittu irainjum SingavEL kundramE") should
we not, as enlightened human beings endowed with the wisdom of choice and
preference, make Sri Nrisimha the Lord of our choice and devote our lives to His
kainkaryam?
Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri
Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
Dasan, sadagopan
Dec 7, 2010
Devarmalai ugra Narasimhar
The Moolavar is Sri Kathir Narasinga Perumal also called as "Ugra Narasimhar". The Lord sits with folded left leg, showing Agvanamudra (inviting His bhaktas towards Him) with left hand, and the right hand showing the Abhaya Hastham, which clearly tells us that He is there for all of his bhaktas. The upper two hands hold Sangu and Chakkaram. The presence of "Thri Nethra" (third eye) is a rare manifestation.
The thaayar is Sri Kamalavalli Thaayar found in a separate sannadhi.
The Kadhir Narasinga Perumal temple situated at Devarmalai about 35 Kms from Karur, Tamilnadu, India is said to be around 2500 years old and renovated from time to time by the erstwhile kingdoms of Naickers, Pandiyas etc. The names of rulers Krishnadeva Rayar, Kariappa Naicker and Sakkamma Naicker does deserve mention in the renovation of the temple from time to time about 700 years ago.
It is believed that the furious Lord Narasimha after the "Hiranya Samhara" was intercepted by the Devars and Maharishis at this place and hence was known as "Devarmari" formerly, now called Devarmalai. The Devars solaced him and Maharishis with the holy water obtained from the "Moksha theertham" which they created there.
The "Moksha theertham" is nearby the temple with idols of Sri Rama, Seetha Devi, Sri Lakshmana and Sri Hanuman in its walls. By taking both in Moksha theertham (also called as Brahma (or) Aakasa theertham) it is believed that all the Dosham related to Sani are cleared.
The holy shrine built as per the "Agama Sasthras" comprises of the Mahamandapam, Artha Mandapam and Karuvarai separately for the presiding deity Sri Kadhir Narasinga Perumal and Goddess Kamalavalli thaayar, the Urchava Mandapas, the majestic Dwajasthambams, the idols of Lord Lakshmi Narayana Perumal and Mahavishnu, separate Sannadhis for Sri Garudalwar, Sri Ramanujar, and Sri Bairavar etc.
Please refer :-
http://www.divyadesam.com/hindu-deities/sri-narasimhar/temples/sri-kadhir-narasinga-perumal-devarmalai-1.shtml
Shree Suktham with Meaning, PDF
Requesting Jadhaveda (Lakshmi Pathi , Narasimha ) for Lakshmi Kadaksham
hiraNyavarNaam hariNeem suvarNa rajatasrajaam |
candraam hiraNmayeem lakshmeem jaatavedo ma aavaha ||1
O Agni dev ( O Jaat ved),
Of the form of gold (hiranya varnaa),
Of yellow / turmeric colour (harini),
Wearing rosary of gold and silver lotus flowers (suvarna rajat srajaam)
Giver of bliss to all beings (chandraam)
Of the form of deer / doe (hiranya-mayim)
Bring that Lakshmi who fulfils all desired wishes (Jaat vedo ma aavaha) || 1 ||
May this Divine consort of Yours with the golden hue saluted as CandrA, HiraNmayee, HariNee and Lakshmee become accessible to adiyEn with Your intervention!
taam ma aavaha jaatavedo lakshmeemanapa gaamineem: |
yasyaam hiraNyam vindeyam gaamaSvam purushaanaham: ||2||
O Agni dev ( O Jaat ved),
Call and bring to me that indestructible Lakshmi Devi (an-pagaa-mini)
By whose (Yasyaam)
Substance (Substance)
Is obtained (Vindeyam)
Men & Women (Purushaanaham)
By calling that Lakshmi Devi, may I become possessor of gold, cow, horse, children, friends,
servants
The prayer is: "Jaata vEdO! taam anapagaamineem lakshmeem ma Avaha!" Please make it possible for Her to appear before adiyEn and sit near adiyEn to receive adiyEn’s ArAdhanam and listen to adiyEn’s prayerful request for being blessed with all types of aiswaryams.
aSvapoorvaam rathamadhyaam hastinaadaprabodineem|
Sriyam deveem upahvaye SrImaa devee jushataam: || 3 ||
Seated in the middle of the chariot (ratha madhyaam) of horses in the front (aSva-purvaam) making proclamations by the trumpets of elephants (hasti naad prabodhinim)
I call for luminous devine Lakshmi That Lakshmi may tend to me || 3 |
Upahvaye- I invoke
kaam sosmitaam hiraNyapraakaaraam
aardraam jvalanteem trptaam tarpayanteem
padme sthitaam padmavarNaam
tvamihopahvaye Sriyam: || 4|
Of the subject in speech and mind (kaam)
Of form beyond description by speech – form of Brahm
Of mild smile (aa-smeetaa)
Of the form of deer / doe (hiranya- praakaaraa)
Of light complexion (aardhraam)
Luminous (jvalantim)
Fulfiller of desires (trup-taam)
Fulfiller of devotees’ desired goals (tarpa-yantim)
Seated on Lotus (padma-sthitaam)
Of the form of lotus (padma-varanaam)
That (taam)
Lakshmi (Sriyam)
Near me (Iha)
I do call (Up-havaye)
She is the embodiment of Bliss. She is the goal for all, who want to climb out of the ditch of SamsAram. She is the One, who listens to all those appeals with a smiling face and responds. She resides in the palace with golden ramparts and has a cool heart full of divine compassion for the suffering jeevans.
She fills the world with radiance through Her JyOthir-maya ThirumEni. She is immensely pleased even with the slightest amount of Kaimkaryam and grants huge boons desired by Her devotees ranging from worldly wealth, Kaivalyam and Moksham. She sits on a lotus, whose petals match Her hue and softness. adiyEn
prays to this most compassionate Sri Devi known for the ease of approach to Her by the suffering Jeevans. adiyEn prays for Her to be near me.
candraam prabhaasaam yaSasaa jvalanteem
Sriyam loke devajushTaamudaaraam:
taam padmanEmeem SaraNamaham prapadye
alakshmeer me naSyataam tvaam vrNe || 5
Luminous like the Moon (Chandraam)
Of the form of (pra-bhaasaam)
Shining bright with success / fame (yash-saa jvalantim)
Prayed by Indra and devas (dev jushtaam)
Benevolent form
Of the form of Lotus (padminim)
Desirous (Ee)
That (taam) Lakshmi
I take refuge of (sharanam aham pra-padhye)
May my a-Lakshmi (poverty) be destroyed (a-Lakshmir-me nashyataam)
May She out of Her infinite compassion drive away all the
obstacles and amangaLams (alakshmi) standing in the way of gaining the desired
PurushArthams! May She chase away all my sins quickly! adiyEn prays to Her as
my caring Mother to fulfill my desires! "tamm padmanEmeem SaraNamaham
prapadyE, alakshmeer mE naSyatAm" is the prayer of the Jeevan here.
aadityavarNe tapaso adhi jaato
vanaspatistava vrksho atha bilva:
tasya phalaani tapasaa nudantu
maayaantaraayaaSca baahyaa alakshmee: ||6|
Of the form of Surya – Sun (aaditya-varane)
From the effect of your penance came the tree Bilva (tapaso adhim jaato vanas-pati stava
vruksho bilva-ha)
May the fruits of Bilva destroy the a-Lakshmi (poverty) within and without me (tasya falaani tapasaa nudantu maayaa antaraa yaas-cha baahyaa a-Lakshmi-hi)
upaitu maam devasakha: keertiSca maNinaa saha
raadurbhUto asmi raashTresmin keertim rddhim dadaatu mE || 7
Kuber (Keeper deity of Wealth)(Dev-sakhaa-haa)
Daughter of Daksha (Kirti)
Together with the lot of foremost Chintaa-mani
2 and jewels (mani naa saha)
May come to me (Maam Upeitu)
Where I am born in this country (aham asmin raashtre praa-dur bhoot-ha)
Give me fame and wealth (kirtim rudhim dadaatu me)
Oh Lakshmi! Please make it possible for the friend of the eternally liberated souls (nithya sooris), Your Lord, arrive near adiyEn. adiyEn should be blessed to have the aisvaryam of praise worthy fame and gems as well as other forms of wealth. Since adiyEn has taken birth in the kingdom that is favored by You, You must bless me with abundant wealth of every kind.
kshutpipaasaamalaam jyeshThaam
alakshmeem naaSayaamyaham:
abhUtim asamrddhim ca
sarvaan nirNuda mE grhaat 8
The initial meeting of hunger and thirst (kshutpi-paasa-amlaa)
By older (Jyeshtha) A-lakshmi (poverty) sister
I am destroying (aham naash-yaami)
Non possession (a-sampati) non-wealth (a-samrudhi) all together
Remove from my home (ma gruhaad nir-nad)
Oh SrI Devi! May adiyEn be empowered by You to be free from sufferings caused by hunger, thirst, desire for sensual pleasures and all other amangaLams (inauspiciousness) associated with JyEshtai (the one who arose out of the milky ocean before You)! Oh Lakshmi! Please chase away all enemies that stand in the way of growth in my prosperity (wealth, grains, servants) from my house! The prayer here is "abhUthim sarvAm asamrddhim ca mE grhAt nirNuda".
gandhadvaaraam duraadharshaam nityapushTaam kareeshiNeem
Isvareem sarvabhUtaanaam taamihopahvaye Sriyam: 9
Of the attribute of fragrance (gandh dvaaraa)
Un-defeatable (duraa dharshaa)
Always satisfied with food (nitya pushtaam)
With plenty of animals
The regulator chief of all beings (sarva bhootaanaam isvarim)
That Lakshmi (taam Sriyam)
I invite here (iha up-havaye)
Oh Sri Devi! You are worshipped well with fragrant sandal paste, incense and all other ParimaLams as poojA dhravyams. You bless your devotees with lasting fame. You are easy to approach by those with pure hearts. You are paripoorNaanugraha dhAyee with never diminishing aisvaryam like a well ploughed, fertile
field. You have the power to complete all the tasks that You undertake without interruption. You are the Mistress of all the chEtanms and enter into them and direct them. adiyEn prays to You, SrI Devi of limitless Vaibhavam, to stay near me to maintain my house filled with Vaidhika and laukika SrI.
manasa: kaamamaakUtim vaaca: satyamaSeemahi
paSUnaagum rUpamannasya mayi SrI: Srayataam yaSa: 10
Bequeath (srayataam ) To me (mayi) Desires in the mind (manasa-ha kaamam) Commitment (aa-kutim)
Truth of speech (satyam) Milk from cows (pashunaam rupam) Edible foods (annasya rupam)
May we get (ashim ahi) Wealth (Sri) success (yasha) fame (kirti)
Oh SrI Devi! May we be blessed with all the things sought by our mind and
imagination and those requested through our vaak (speech) such as cattle, food
and drinks through Your anugraham! May Sri Devi of such illustrious Vaibhavam
grant this servant of Hers all these wealth and a high level of fame!
kardamEna prajaa bhUtaa mayi sambhava kardama
Sriyam vaasaya mE kulE maataram padmamaalineem: 11
Who became with progenous (prajaa bhutaa) by son Kardam (Karda men) May dwell (sam bhav) In my abode (mayi) Kardam Son of Lakshmi (Kardam he) Lakshmi (Sriyam) Bearing the garland of lotus flowers (padma maalinim) Make That mother (Maataram) reside in my dynasty (vaasaya me kule) \
Oh Kardama PrajApati! Is it not so that Mahaa Lakshmi was adopted by you, who has control over our indhriyams (sensory faculty)? May thou make it possible for Your daughter, Mahaa Lakshmi be full of compassion towards this worshipper of Hers! May the Mother of the Universe, Mahaa Lakshmi adorning the lotus garland reside permanently in our Kulam and never leave us!
aapa: srjantu snigdhaani cikleeta vasa mE gruhE
ni ca deveem maataram Sriyam vaasaya mE kulE || 12
O deity of water (aapa-ha)
Make available delicate substances (Sra-jantu snig-dhaani)
O Chiklit (rushi) reside in my abode (me gruhe vasa)
Your devine mother Sri (devim maataram Sriyam)
Make reside in my dynasty (mayi nivaasaya kule)
Oh Cikleetar guarding the inner chambers of the Lord! Ghee, Milk, Honey and
Oil should flow abundantly in adiyEn’s house since the Lord and His divine
Consort reside here. Oh Cikleeta! You should also reside in adiyEn’s house as its
protector. May Thou protect very well the Mother of the Universe residing at
adiyEn’s house, who creates this universe as a sport and makes Herself available
to all readily!
ArdrAm pushkariNeem pushTim
pingaLAm padmamAlineem
candrAm hiraNmayeem lakshmeem
jaatavEdhO ma Avaha 13
Fragrant (aarddhram) Residing at the front like elephants trunk (push-karini) with lotus / lotus branch
Nourishing (pushtim) of yellow complexion (pingalaa) Adorned by garland of lotus flowers (padma maalinim)
O Agni (jaatved) bring gold form Lakshmi showering nectar, like Moon, for me (Chandraam hiranya mayim Lakshmim Jaatvedo ma aavaha)
aardraam ya:kariNeem yashTim
suvarNaam hemamaalineem
sooryaam hiraNmayeem lakshmeem
jaatavEdo ma aavaha 14
O Agni (jaatved), Fragrant like aardhraam (aardhraam)
Bearing staff of righteousness (yaha karini)
Of beautiful form adorned with golden garland (su-varnaa hem maalinim)
Lakshmi, luminous like the golden Sun bearing wealth (Suryaam hiranya mayi Lakshmi)
Call for me (May She with Your anugraham stay right next to us!)
taam ma aavaha jaatavedo
lakshmeem anapagaamineem
yasyaam hiraNyam prabhUtam gaavo
daasyoSvaan vindeyam purushaanaham: || 15
O Agni (jaatved), bring to me (taam ma aavaha)
In-destructible Lakshmi (Lakshmim an-pagaaminim)
So I may attain plenty of gold (yasyaam hiranyaam pra-bhutam)
Cows, servants, horses and progeny (gaavo daasyo asvaan videyam purushaana ham)
Oh Omnipotent Lord! Please bless us to have this Mahaa Lakshmi of the
greatest Vaibhavam next to us without any interruption! May adiyEn be blessed
to receive from Her abundant wealth of all kinds like Gold, cattle, equine transport (Vaahanams like horse) and male as well as female servants!
padmapriyE padmini padma hastE
padmAlayE padma daLAyatAkshi
viSvapriyE vishNUmanOnukUlE
tvat paada padmam mayi sannidhatsva 16
Hey Goddess Padmini,
Who likes lotus flowers,
Who holds lotus flower in her hand,
Who lives in lotus flower,
Who has broad eyes like the petal of lotus flower,
Who is the darling of the entire world,
Who is dearest to Lord Vishnu,
Please keep your holy feet on me.
Sriyai jaata Sriya aaniryaaya
Sriyam vayo janitrbhyo dadhaatu
Sriyam vasaanaa amrtatvamaayan
bhajanti sadya: samitaa mitadyUn (satyA savitA nrtadyUn) 17
adiyEn has been created to enjoy the wealth of service to Your Lord
(Bhagavath Kaimkarya sampath). Oh SrI Devi! May Thou bless adiyEn with my
true svaroopam that is hidden by the insentient part, which in turn will enable
me to practice the means for Moksham (Sva nija Sesha roopa AvirbhAva hEtu)!
May adiyEn be blessed with lasting wealth and extended life to practice the
MokshOpAyams successfully with Svroopa Jn~Anam. Oh SrI Devi! Those of us,
who live every moment with thoughts (chinthanai) about You will reach the
immortal state. At the end of our bodily existence, we will attain Sri Vaikuntam
and would be rid of hunger, thirst, sins, aging, death and sorrow, an unique state
shared with the Supreme Brahman, Your Lord (Parama Pada naathan). We would
be blessed to gain whatever we desire and are not stopped by anyone to engage
in nithya Kaimkaryam to You both and enjoy ParipoorNa BrahmAnandham at
Your Supreme abode.
Sriya yEvainam tat SriyAmAdadhAti
santatam rcaa vashaT krtyam sandhattam
sandheeyate prajayaa paSubhi:
ya yEvam veda 18
Those who perform upAsanA (meditation) with these Rg Veda Khila Mantrams
will enchant always the inseparable divine couple of Parama Padam (dhivya
Mithunam) and would be blessed with children, grandchildren, cows, horses and
undiminishing wealth and enjoy their lives here.
Om mahaadevyai ca vidmahe vishNupatnii ca dheemahi
tanno lakshmee: pracodayaat:
hari: Om
May we be blessed to perform the upAsana to gain the anugraham of Periya
PirAtti (Sri Devi)! May we meditate on the dharma Pathni of the Lord without
let! For success in our Saadhanaa, we pray to Her. She is the dharma Pathni of
the Lord assisting Him in the Yaagam of granting the four kinds of
PurushArthams as the Caturvida PurushArtha Yaaga Dheekshitan’s dhivya
Mahishi. May She fulfill our prayers by motivating us to meditate on Her!
Om Saanti: Saanti: Saanti:
Links
Sri Suktam in Tamil http://www.prapatti.com/slokas/tamil/sriisuuktam.pdf
Shree Sooktham in English http://www.prapatti.com/slokas/english/sriisuuktam.pdf
Shree Sooktam Explanation from Oppaliappan kovil Sri Varadhachari Sadagopan http://www.ibiblio.org/sadagopan/ahobilavalli/ss.pdf
Sri Sooktam Video
Sri Suktham Rendered by Sri Mukkur LakshmiNarasimhachariyar
Nice Pictorial way of explanation for SriSuktam
ॐ हिरण्यवर्णां हरिणीं सुवर्णरजतस्रजाम् |
चन्द्रां हिरण्मयीं लक्ष्मीं जातवेदो म आवह ||१||
तां म आवह जातवेदो लक्ष्मीमनपगामिनीम् |
यस्यां हिरण्यं विन्देयं गामश्वं पुरुषानहम् ||२||
अश्वपूर्वां रथमध्यां हस्तिनादप्रबोधिनीम् |
श्रियं देवीमुपह्वये श्रीर्मादेवीर्जुषताम् ||३||
कां सोस्मितां हिरण्यप्राकारामार्द्रां ज्वलन्तीं तृप्तां तर्पयन्तीम् |
पद्मे स्थितां पद्मवर्णां तामिहोपह्वये श्रियम् ||४||
चन्द्रां प्रभासां यशसा ज्वलन्तीं श्रियं लोके देवजुष्टामुदाराम् |
तां पद्मिनीमीं शरणमहं प्रपद्येऽलक्ष्मीर्मे नश्यतां त्वां वृणे ||५||
आदित्यवर्णे तपसोऽधिजातो वनस्पतिस्तव वृक्षोऽथ बिल्वः |
तस्य फलानि तपसा नुदन्तु मायान्तरायाश्च बाह्या अलक्ष्मीः ||६||
उपैतु मां देवसखः कीर्तिश्च मणिना सह |
प्रादुर्भूतोऽस्मि राष्ट्रेऽस्मिन् कीर्तिमृद्धिं ददातु मे ||७||
क्षुत्पिपासामलां ज्येष्ठामलक्ष्मीं नाशयाम्यहम् |
अभूतिमसमृद्धिं च सर्वां निर्णुद मे गृहात् ||८||
गंधद्वारां दुराधर्षां नित्यपुष्टां करीषिणीम् |
ईश्वरीं सर्वभूतानां तामिहोपह्वये श्रियम् ||९||
मनसः काममाकूतिं वाचः सत्यमशीमहि |
पशूनां रूपमन्नस्य मयि श्रीः श्रयतां यशः ||१०||
कर्दमेन प्रजाभूता मयि सम्भव कर्दम |
श्रियं वासय मे कुले मातरं पद्ममालिनीम् ||११||
आपः सृजन्तु स्निग्धानि चिक्लीत वस मे गृहे |
नि च देवीं मातरं श्रियं वासय मे कुले ||१२||
आर्द्रां पुष्करिणीं पुष्टिं पिङ्गलां पद्ममालिनीम् |
चन्द्रां हिरण्मयीं लक्ष्मीं जातवेदो म आवह ||१३||
आर्द्रां यः करिणीं यष्टिं सुवर्णां हेममालिनीम् |
सूर्यां हिरण्मयीं लक्ष्मीं जातवेदो म आवह ||१४||
तां म आवह जातवेदो लक्ष्मीमनपगामिनीम् |
यस्यां हिरण्यं प्रभूतं गावो दास्योऽश्वान्विन्देयं पुरुषानहम् ||१५||
 |
| Sri Amruthaval |
hiraNyavarNaam hariNeem suvarNa rajatasrajaam |
candraam hiraNmayeem lakshmeem jaatavedo ma aavaha ||1
O Agni dev ( O Jaat ved),
Of the form of gold (hiranya varnaa),
Of yellow / turmeric colour (harini),
Wearing rosary of gold and silver lotus flowers (suvarna rajat srajaam)
Giver of bliss to all beings (chandraam)
Of the form of deer / doe (hiranya-mayim)
Bring that Lakshmi who fulfils all desired wishes (Jaat vedo ma aavaha) || 1 ||
May this Divine consort of Yours with the golden hue saluted as CandrA, HiraNmayee, HariNee and Lakshmee become accessible to adiyEn with Your intervention!
taam ma aavaha jaatavedo lakshmeemanapa gaamineem: |
yasyaam hiraNyam vindeyam gaamaSvam purushaanaham: ||2||
O Agni dev ( O Jaat ved),
Call and bring to me that indestructible Lakshmi Devi (an-pagaa-mini)
By whose (Yasyaam)
Substance (Substance)
Is obtained (Vindeyam)
Men & Women (Purushaanaham)
By calling that Lakshmi Devi, may I become possessor of gold, cow, horse, children, friends,
servants
The prayer is: "Jaata vEdO! taam anapagaamineem lakshmeem ma Avaha!" Please make it possible for Her to appear before adiyEn and sit near adiyEn to receive adiyEn’s ArAdhanam and listen to adiyEn’s prayerful request for being blessed with all types of aiswaryams.
aSvapoorvaam rathamadhyaam hastinaadaprabodineem|
Sriyam deveem upahvaye SrImaa devee jushataam: || 3 ||
Seated in the middle of the chariot (ratha madhyaam) of horses in the front (aSva-purvaam) making proclamations by the trumpets of elephants (hasti naad prabodhinim)
I call for luminous devine Lakshmi That Lakshmi may tend to me || 3 |
Upahvaye- I invoke
kaam sosmitaam hiraNyapraakaaraam
aardraam jvalanteem trptaam tarpayanteem
padme sthitaam padmavarNaam
tvamihopahvaye Sriyam: || 4|
Of the subject in speech and mind (kaam)
Of form beyond description by speech – form of Brahm
Of mild smile (aa-smeetaa)
Of the form of deer / doe (hiranya- praakaaraa)
Of light complexion (aardhraam)
Luminous (jvalantim)
Fulfiller of desires (trup-taam)
Fulfiller of devotees’ desired goals (tarpa-yantim)
Seated on Lotus (padma-sthitaam)
Of the form of lotus (padma-varanaam)
That (taam)
Lakshmi (Sriyam)
Near me (Iha)
I do call (Up-havaye)
She is the embodiment of Bliss. She is the goal for all, who want to climb out of the ditch of SamsAram. She is the One, who listens to all those appeals with a smiling face and responds. She resides in the palace with golden ramparts and has a cool heart full of divine compassion for the suffering jeevans.
She fills the world with radiance through Her JyOthir-maya ThirumEni. She is immensely pleased even with the slightest amount of Kaimkaryam and grants huge boons desired by Her devotees ranging from worldly wealth, Kaivalyam and Moksham. She sits on a lotus, whose petals match Her hue and softness. adiyEn
prays to this most compassionate Sri Devi known for the ease of approach to Her by the suffering Jeevans. adiyEn prays for Her to be near me.
candraam prabhaasaam yaSasaa jvalanteem
Sriyam loke devajushTaamudaaraam:
taam padmanEmeem SaraNamaham prapadye
alakshmeer me naSyataam tvaam vrNe || 5
Luminous like the Moon (Chandraam)
Of the form of (pra-bhaasaam)
Shining bright with success / fame (yash-saa jvalantim)
Prayed by Indra and devas (dev jushtaam)
Benevolent form
Of the form of Lotus (padminim)
Desirous (Ee)
That (taam) Lakshmi
I take refuge of (sharanam aham pra-padhye)
May my a-Lakshmi (poverty) be destroyed (a-Lakshmir-me nashyataam)
May She out of Her infinite compassion drive away all the
obstacles and amangaLams (alakshmi) standing in the way of gaining the desired
PurushArthams! May She chase away all my sins quickly! adiyEn prays to Her as
my caring Mother to fulfill my desires! "tamm padmanEmeem SaraNamaham
prapadyE, alakshmeer mE naSyatAm" is the prayer of the Jeevan here.
aadityavarNe tapaso adhi jaato
vanaspatistava vrksho atha bilva:
tasya phalaani tapasaa nudantu
maayaantaraayaaSca baahyaa alakshmee: ||6|
Of the form of Surya – Sun (aaditya-varane)
From the effect of your penance came the tree Bilva (tapaso adhim jaato vanas-pati stava
vruksho bilva-ha)
May the fruits of Bilva destroy the a-Lakshmi (poverty) within and without me (tasya falaani tapasaa nudantu maayaa antaraa yaas-cha baahyaa a-Lakshmi-hi)
upaitu maam devasakha: keertiSca maNinaa saha
raadurbhUto asmi raashTresmin keertim rddhim dadaatu mE || 7
Kuber (Keeper deity of Wealth)(Dev-sakhaa-haa)
Daughter of Daksha (Kirti)
Together with the lot of foremost Chintaa-mani
2 and jewels (mani naa saha)
May come to me (Maam Upeitu)
Where I am born in this country (aham asmin raashtre praa-dur bhoot-ha)
Give me fame and wealth (kirtim rudhim dadaatu me)
Oh Lakshmi! Please make it possible for the friend of the eternally liberated souls (nithya sooris), Your Lord, arrive near adiyEn. adiyEn should be blessed to have the aisvaryam of praise worthy fame and gems as well as other forms of wealth. Since adiyEn has taken birth in the kingdom that is favored by You, You must bless me with abundant wealth of every kind.
kshutpipaasaamalaam jyeshThaam
alakshmeem naaSayaamyaham:
abhUtim asamrddhim ca
sarvaan nirNuda mE grhaat 8
The initial meeting of hunger and thirst (kshutpi-paasa-amlaa)
By older (Jyeshtha) A-lakshmi (poverty) sister
I am destroying (aham naash-yaami)
Non possession (a-sampati) non-wealth (a-samrudhi) all together
Remove from my home (ma gruhaad nir-nad)
Oh SrI Devi! May adiyEn be empowered by You to be free from sufferings caused by hunger, thirst, desire for sensual pleasures and all other amangaLams (inauspiciousness) associated with JyEshtai (the one who arose out of the milky ocean before You)! Oh Lakshmi! Please chase away all enemies that stand in the way of growth in my prosperity (wealth, grains, servants) from my house! The prayer here is "abhUthim sarvAm asamrddhim ca mE grhAt nirNuda".
gandhadvaaraam duraadharshaam nityapushTaam kareeshiNeem
Isvareem sarvabhUtaanaam taamihopahvaye Sriyam: 9
Of the attribute of fragrance (gandh dvaaraa)
Un-defeatable (duraa dharshaa)
Always satisfied with food (nitya pushtaam)
With plenty of animals
The regulator chief of all beings (sarva bhootaanaam isvarim)
That Lakshmi (taam Sriyam)
I invite here (iha up-havaye)
Oh Sri Devi! You are worshipped well with fragrant sandal paste, incense and all other ParimaLams as poojA dhravyams. You bless your devotees with lasting fame. You are easy to approach by those with pure hearts. You are paripoorNaanugraha dhAyee with never diminishing aisvaryam like a well ploughed, fertile
field. You have the power to complete all the tasks that You undertake without interruption. You are the Mistress of all the chEtanms and enter into them and direct them. adiyEn prays to You, SrI Devi of limitless Vaibhavam, to stay near me to maintain my house filled with Vaidhika and laukika SrI.
manasa: kaamamaakUtim vaaca: satyamaSeemahi
paSUnaagum rUpamannasya mayi SrI: Srayataam yaSa: 10
Bequeath (srayataam ) To me (mayi) Desires in the mind (manasa-ha kaamam) Commitment (aa-kutim)
Truth of speech (satyam) Milk from cows (pashunaam rupam) Edible foods (annasya rupam)
May we get (ashim ahi) Wealth (Sri) success (yasha) fame (kirti)
Oh SrI Devi! May we be blessed with all the things sought by our mind and
imagination and those requested through our vaak (speech) such as cattle, food
and drinks through Your anugraham! May Sri Devi of such illustrious Vaibhavam
grant this servant of Hers all these wealth and a high level of fame!
kardamEna prajaa bhUtaa mayi sambhava kardama
Sriyam vaasaya mE kulE maataram padmamaalineem: 11
Who became with progenous (prajaa bhutaa) by son Kardam (Karda men) May dwell (sam bhav) In my abode (mayi) Kardam Son of Lakshmi (Kardam he) Lakshmi (Sriyam) Bearing the garland of lotus flowers (padma maalinim) Make That mother (Maataram) reside in my dynasty (vaasaya me kule) \
Oh Kardama PrajApati! Is it not so that Mahaa Lakshmi was adopted by you, who has control over our indhriyams (sensory faculty)? May thou make it possible for Your daughter, Mahaa Lakshmi be full of compassion towards this worshipper of Hers! May the Mother of the Universe, Mahaa Lakshmi adorning the lotus garland reside permanently in our Kulam and never leave us!
aapa: srjantu snigdhaani cikleeta vasa mE gruhE
ni ca deveem maataram Sriyam vaasaya mE kulE || 12
O deity of water (aapa-ha)
Make available delicate substances (Sra-jantu snig-dhaani)
O Chiklit (rushi) reside in my abode (me gruhe vasa)
Your devine mother Sri (devim maataram Sriyam)
Make reside in my dynasty (mayi nivaasaya kule)
Oh Cikleetar guarding the inner chambers of the Lord! Ghee, Milk, Honey and
Oil should flow abundantly in adiyEn’s house since the Lord and His divine
Consort reside here. Oh Cikleeta! You should also reside in adiyEn’s house as its
protector. May Thou protect very well the Mother of the Universe residing at
adiyEn’s house, who creates this universe as a sport and makes Herself available
to all readily!
ArdrAm pushkariNeem pushTim
pingaLAm padmamAlineem
candrAm hiraNmayeem lakshmeem
jaatavEdhO ma Avaha 13
Fragrant (aarddhram) Residing at the front like elephants trunk (push-karini) with lotus / lotus branch
Nourishing (pushtim) of yellow complexion (pingalaa) Adorned by garland of lotus flowers (padma maalinim)
O Agni (jaatved) bring gold form Lakshmi showering nectar, like Moon, for me (Chandraam hiranya mayim Lakshmim Jaatvedo ma aavaha)
aardraam ya:kariNeem yashTim
suvarNaam hemamaalineem
sooryaam hiraNmayeem lakshmeem
jaatavEdo ma aavaha 14
O Agni (jaatved), Fragrant like aardhraam (aardhraam)
Bearing staff of righteousness (yaha karini)
Of beautiful form adorned with golden garland (su-varnaa hem maalinim)
Lakshmi, luminous like the golden Sun bearing wealth (Suryaam hiranya mayi Lakshmi)
Call for me (May She with Your anugraham stay right next to us!)
taam ma aavaha jaatavedo
lakshmeem anapagaamineem
yasyaam hiraNyam prabhUtam gaavo
daasyoSvaan vindeyam purushaanaham: || 15
O Agni (jaatved), bring to me (taam ma aavaha)
In-destructible Lakshmi (Lakshmim an-pagaaminim)
So I may attain plenty of gold (yasyaam hiranyaam pra-bhutam)
Cows, servants, horses and progeny (gaavo daasyo asvaan videyam purushaana ham)
Oh Omnipotent Lord! Please bless us to have this Mahaa Lakshmi of the
greatest Vaibhavam next to us without any interruption! May adiyEn be blessed
to receive from Her abundant wealth of all kinds like Gold, cattle, equine transport (Vaahanams like horse) and male as well as female servants!
padmapriyE padmini padma hastE
padmAlayE padma daLAyatAkshi
viSvapriyE vishNUmanOnukUlE
tvat paada padmam mayi sannidhatsva 16
Hey Goddess Padmini,
Who likes lotus flowers,
Who holds lotus flower in her hand,
Who lives in lotus flower,
Who has broad eyes like the petal of lotus flower,
Who is the darling of the entire world,
Who is dearest to Lord Vishnu,
Please keep your holy feet on me.
Sriyai jaata Sriya aaniryaaya
Sriyam vayo janitrbhyo dadhaatu
Sriyam vasaanaa amrtatvamaayan
bhajanti sadya: samitaa mitadyUn (satyA savitA nrtadyUn) 17
adiyEn has been created to enjoy the wealth of service to Your Lord
(Bhagavath Kaimkarya sampath). Oh SrI Devi! May Thou bless adiyEn with my
true svaroopam that is hidden by the insentient part, which in turn will enable
me to practice the means for Moksham (Sva nija Sesha roopa AvirbhAva hEtu)!
May adiyEn be blessed with lasting wealth and extended life to practice the
MokshOpAyams successfully with Svroopa Jn~Anam. Oh SrI Devi! Those of us,
who live every moment with thoughts (chinthanai) about You will reach the
immortal state. At the end of our bodily existence, we will attain Sri Vaikuntam
and would be rid of hunger, thirst, sins, aging, death and sorrow, an unique state
shared with the Supreme Brahman, Your Lord (Parama Pada naathan). We would
be blessed to gain whatever we desire and are not stopped by anyone to engage
in nithya Kaimkaryam to You both and enjoy ParipoorNa BrahmAnandham at
Your Supreme abode.
Sriya yEvainam tat SriyAmAdadhAti
santatam rcaa vashaT krtyam sandhattam
sandheeyate prajayaa paSubhi:
ya yEvam veda 18
Those who perform upAsanA (meditation) with these Rg Veda Khila Mantrams
will enchant always the inseparable divine couple of Parama Padam (dhivya
Mithunam) and would be blessed with children, grandchildren, cows, horses and
undiminishing wealth and enjoy their lives here.
Om mahaadevyai ca vidmahe vishNupatnii ca dheemahi
tanno lakshmee: pracodayaat:
hari: Om
May we be blessed to perform the upAsana to gain the anugraham of Periya
PirAtti (Sri Devi)! May we meditate on the dharma Pathni of the Lord without
let! For success in our Saadhanaa, we pray to Her. She is the dharma Pathni of
the Lord assisting Him in the Yaagam of granting the four kinds of
PurushArthams as the Caturvida PurushArtha Yaaga Dheekshitan’s dhivya
Mahishi. May She fulfill our prayers by motivating us to meditate on Her!
Om Saanti: Saanti: Saanti:
Links
Sri Suktam in Tamil http://www.prapatti.com/slokas/tamil/sriisuuktam.pdf
Shree Sooktham in English http://www.prapatti.com/slokas/english/sriisuuktam.pdf
Shree Sooktam Explanation from Oppaliappan kovil Sri Varadhachari Sadagopan http://www.ibiblio.org/sadagopan/ahobilavalli/ss.pdf
Sri Sooktam Video
Sri Suktham Rendered by Sri Mukkur LakshmiNarasimhachariyar
ॐ हिरण्यवर्णां हरिणीं सुवर्णरजतस्रजाम् |
चन्द्रां हिरण्मयीं लक्ष्मीं जातवेदो म आवह ||१||
तां म आवह जातवेदो लक्ष्मीमनपगामिनीम् |
यस्यां हिरण्यं विन्देयं गामश्वं पुरुषानहम् ||२||
अश्वपूर्वां रथमध्यां हस्तिनादप्रबोधिनीम् |
श्रियं देवीमुपह्वये श्रीर्मादेवीर्जुषताम् ||३||
कां सोस्मितां हिरण्यप्राकारामार्द्रां ज्वलन्तीं तृप्तां तर्पयन्तीम् |
पद्मे स्थितां पद्मवर्णां तामिहोपह्वये श्रियम् ||४||
चन्द्रां प्रभासां यशसा ज्वलन्तीं श्रियं लोके देवजुष्टामुदाराम् |
तां पद्मिनीमीं शरणमहं प्रपद्येऽलक्ष्मीर्मे नश्यतां त्वां वृणे ||५||
आदित्यवर्णे तपसोऽधिजातो वनस्पतिस्तव वृक्षोऽथ बिल्वः |
तस्य फलानि तपसा नुदन्तु मायान्तरायाश्च बाह्या अलक्ष्मीः ||६||
उपैतु मां देवसखः कीर्तिश्च मणिना सह |
प्रादुर्भूतोऽस्मि राष्ट्रेऽस्मिन् कीर्तिमृद्धिं ददातु मे ||७||
क्षुत्पिपासामलां ज्येष्ठामलक्ष्मीं नाशयाम्यहम् |
अभूतिमसमृद्धिं च सर्वां निर्णुद मे गृहात् ||८||
गंधद्वारां दुराधर्षां नित्यपुष्टां करीषिणीम् |
ईश्वरीं सर्वभूतानां तामिहोपह्वये श्रियम् ||९||
मनसः काममाकूतिं वाचः सत्यमशीमहि |
पशूनां रूपमन्नस्य मयि श्रीः श्रयतां यशः ||१०||
कर्दमेन प्रजाभूता मयि सम्भव कर्दम |
श्रियं वासय मे कुले मातरं पद्ममालिनीम् ||११||
आपः सृजन्तु स्निग्धानि चिक्लीत वस मे गृहे |
नि च देवीं मातरं श्रियं वासय मे कुले ||१२||
आर्द्रां पुष्करिणीं पुष्टिं पिङ्गलां पद्ममालिनीम् |
चन्द्रां हिरण्मयीं लक्ष्मीं जातवेदो म आवह ||१३||
आर्द्रां यः करिणीं यष्टिं सुवर्णां हेममालिनीम् |
सूर्यां हिरण्मयीं लक्ष्मीं जातवेदो म आवह ||१४||
तां म आवह जातवेदो लक्ष्मीमनपगामिनीम् |
यस्यां हिरण्यं प्रभूतं गावो दास्योऽश्वान्विन्देयं पुरुषानहम् ||१५||