yAdagirigutta Sri LakshmiNarsimha Sannidhi

From the Bhakti List Archives

• April 29, 1999


Dear bhAgavathas,

On this auspicious occasion of Sri
LakshmiNarasimha Jayanti, I begin the first in
what, with His Grace, will be a series of postings
on Andhra Pradesh's connections to SriVaishnavam.
Called formally as the Andhra abhimAna sthalam
project, this kainkaryam is the product of members
of the Bhakti forum who have deep rooted
connections to the traditions of SriVaishnavam as
it is continued to be practiced in Andhra.  We
soon will be posting on not only the SriVaishnava
temples of Andhra, but also on the dedicated
achAryans in this state who have yet remained
"silent heros" in the preservation and propogation
of emperumAnAr darshanam.  Sri Venkatesh
Elayavalli has kindly volunteered to place each
posting in his web site (www.srivaishnava.org)

On behalf of all of the volunteers who are
currently involved, I seek the mangalAsasanas of
His Holiness Sri Sri Sri Tridandi Sriman Narayana
Ramanuja Jeear to assure that that this kainkaryam
activity will be a successful and spiritual
fulfilling endeavor for all of us in this forum.

With that, the first of the abhimAna sthalams, one
that has played a special role in my own life, Sri
LakshmiNarasimhan Sannidhi at yAdagirigutta.

 
--------------------------------------------------

srimatE rAmAnujAya namah:


Temple: Sri YAdagirigutta Lakshminarasimha
Sannidhi
Location: 69 km (40 miles) from Hyderabad near the
town of Bhuvanagiri (Bhongir)

moolavar: Jwala Narasimhan, Yoga Narasimhan,
Gandabheranda, LakshmiNarasimhan, Ugra Narasimhan
(pancha Narasimha kshEtram)

utsavar: vAIdya LakshmiNarasimhan, 
kalyAna LakshmiNarasimhan

thAyAr: AndAl

other sannidhis: AzhwArs, Anjaneyar, Sudarshanar

Agama: pAncarAtra

sthala purAnam:

In trEta yugam, there lived a sage by the name of
YAda rishi. The sage was none other than the son 
of the famous Rishyasringa.

Through his father's guidance, YAdarishi had
achieved an intense level of devotion to Sriman
Narayana. Such devotion inspired him to venture 
into the area adjacent to the hill that would 
eventually bear his name to perform tapas to
achieve the vision of the Lord.  

Sriman Narayana, pleased with YAda's tapasyam,
sent Sri Anjaneya to direct the rishi to a holy
spot,
where  the Lord appeared to him in the form of Sri 
LakshmiNarasimhan.  This spot is marked by a
temple  located at the foot of the Yadagiri
hillock,
and is located about 5 km from the present
temple.  There the sage worshipped the Lord  
for many years.

After Yadarishi attained mOksham, a number of
tribals, hearing of the Lord's presence, came 
to worship Him at this temple.  But,
not being very learned, these devotees began to
engage in improper worship.Because of this, Sri 
LakshmiNarasimhan moved into to the hills. 
The tribals searched for many years to find 
their Lord, to no avail.

After many years had passed. the Lord appeared in
the dream of a devout lady among the tribe,
directing  her to a large cavern wherein 
He revealed Himself to all as five majestic 
archAvatharans.

Three of these rupams of SingapirAn,
jwAlanarasimhan, yOganarasimhan, and 
Lakshminarasimhan appear as self-manifesting
images on the wall of the cavern itself.The fourth
form, 
ugranarasimhan, reveals His Fierce Mouth to
us as the wide entrance to the cavern itself. The
fifth form, gandabheranda, is known only by the
presence of an eternal lamp that burns within a
crevice
underneath Sri Anjaneya sannidhi.

As these rupams of the Lord are sometimes
difficult to see in the small crevice inside 
the cavern that serves as His sannidhi,PerumAl 
and ThAyar stand together as large silver
utsavars out of Their soulabhyam as Sri 
LakshmiNarasimhan.  It is this form of the 
Lord and ThAyar that are known and adored 
by all the devotees visiting the Temple.

Over the centuries, and particularly in recent
years, Sri LakshmiNarasimhan has revealed an 
interesting side of His Compassionate Nature by 
taking on the role of a Divine Doctor. Many
devotees tell of vivid dreams in which the Lord
comes to
heal them from chronic or terminal illnesses, and
even
mental or emotional problems.  Often times, the
Lord Himself has imparted mantrOpadEsham to select
devotees in their dreams.  Those visiting the
temple have often come
out of an overwhelming desire to be there,
and just as mysteriously, those leaving the temple
leave with the knowledge and satisfaction that
their illnesses have been cured; a feeling that is
often 
proved true upon their next visit to their 
family physician.  It is for this reason
that the Lord has come to be known as
Sri vAIdya LakshmiNarasimhan.

Sri AndAl samEtha Sri vAIdya LakshmiNarsimha
parabrahmanE namah: