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VENKATADRI NARASIMHAN

From the Bhakti List Archives

V.Srimahavishnu • June 13, 1999 


      
SrI ranganAtha parabrahmaNE namah.

        Dear BhAgavatas,
      
     My praNAmams to you all. Let me now right on SrI sundara narasimhar
(also yOga narasimhar) at Lord SrInivAsa's temple, Tirumalai.

skAnda puarANa says:

puNyE swAmi sarastIrE paSchimE nruharim harim
bhaktyA paramayA yuktah pUjayAmAsa Sankarah||

Rough translation(R T): On the bank of the pushkariNI, did Sankara worship
Lord narasimha, with utmost devotion.

vAmana purANa says:
 
nIlakanthastu tattIrE dhyAyan nruharimAdarAt
umayA saha viSvESah kanchitkAlamuvAsavai||

R T: On that bank (of the holy pushkariNI), meditating on Lord nruhari,
Siva stayed alongwith umA, for quite some time.

SrI vEnkatESwara ashtOttaram- vArAha purANam  says:"sadbhakta
nIlakanthArchya nrusimhAya namO namah", and thus pays obeisances to Lord
VEnkatESwara worshipped in the form of nrusimha by the parama bhAgavata
Siva.

mArkandEya purANa says:

Aruhyam vEnkatam Sailam madhyE mArgam dadarSaha
narasimha guhAsthAnam lOka vikhyAta vaibhavam
lakshmI nrusimha! prahlAda varada!+anantavaibhava!
dAsAnudAsam dEvESa! mAm pAhi madhusUdana!
iti praNamya SuddhEna swAmi pushkariNIm gatah||

R T: Ascending the hill of TiruvEnkatam, did mArkandEya visit  en route
the world-famous cave "narasimha guhA", offered the above prayer (as
mentioned in the SlOka), and left for  swAmi pushkariNI, with one SUddha
(disciple of sage agastya).

    
  Thus SrI narasimha, who appeared before Siva, had been there in a cave
for thousands of years. A temple was built for Him later. But this
nArasimhan was an ugra mUrti without pirAtti. So having Him in a
separate temple may have adverse effect on the prosperity of the temple
of SrInivAsa perumAL, presiding deity of TiruvEngadam DD. This was all
from the point of view of Agamas and allied SAstras. Hence the divine
order of BhagavdrAmAnuja was to shift Him to an upAlaya, to the north-east
of the temple of SrInivAsa, facing towards the vimAnam of the
sanctum-sanctorum. 

                              rAmAnujO vijayatE yatirAja rAjah
                                    adiyEn (meaning?)
                                       Vishnu