Simhacalam ,the hill of the lion

[Paramananda das]

dear devotees

Please accept my humble obaisences

All glories to Srila Prabhupada

In Simhacalam  in South India,Lord Varaha Narasimha is getting a new covering of Chandan in May, as instructed by Lord Varaha Narasimha Himself in Treta yuga

 to Urvasi and 

King Pururava (they are mentioned in the 9th Canto and in the Aila Gita of the 11 Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam). According to the Sthala Purana there they once looked for this

 Deity of Varaha Narasimha as they where flying around enjoying themselves in a heavenly airplane in the beginning of Treta yuga  ,Urvasi had witnessed the installation of 

Varaha Narasimha ,the selfmanifested deity that appeared before  Prahlada Maharaja(then installed by Prahlada and Lord Brahma himself and all the devas,

 including the apsaras like Urvasi etc) .This took place in Satya yuga.

This is the place where Prahlada Maharaja was thrown of the cliff into the Ocean, this pastimes is also explained in great detail in Narasimha purana.There is a painting of

 Jadurani where Prahlada Maharaja is saved by Krsna from the fall and Srila Prabhupada commented that Prahlada Maharaja had a transcendental body and could not be

 harmed, this also is seen in the Narasimha Purana where it is explained Prahlada Maharaja was not harmed by  being thrown in the ocean, and according to the

 Sthala Purana there at Simhacalal (the hill of the lion), Lord Narasimha appeared as Half Varaha half Narasimha, the face is that of Lord Varaha and the body of Lord Narasimha,

 this was to reassure Prahlada Maharaja that just as Hiranyakasa  had been killed by  Lord Varaha his demoniac father would also be killed by Lord Narasimha.

In the prayer of Sanideva to Lord Narasimha we find this sloka:

yo naija bhaktam analämbudhi bhüdharogra |

sringa-prapäta visa dhamti sarisupebhyah |

sarvätmakaù parama-käruniko raraksa |

sa tvam nrsimha mayi dehi krpä-valokam ||6||

 

You protected your own devotee Prahläda from a raging fire, the deep ocean, from falling from a tall mountain peak, poison, a mad elephant and the fangs of poisonous 

serpents. You are omnipresent and supremely generous. O Lord Nrsimha, please bestow upon me Your merciful side-long glance.

The fire described is the sister of Hiranyakasipu, Holika that tried to burn Prahlada Maharaja, having obtained the boon of Lord Siva that the blanket he gave her would protect 

her from fire, but while sitting in the fire with Prahlada Maharaja only she got burned to ashes and thus this festival of Holi is there to commemorate this mercy of

 Lord Narasimha on Prahlada.When The asuras threw Prahlada over the cliff (this spot is still there at Simhacalam) and then threw a mountain on top after Prahlada was

 thrown of the cliff and Varaha Narasimha protected Prahlada from all this as described in the Sthala Purana there at Simhacalam,also many details are given ,and in the

 Visnu Purana gives lengthy details of the sufferings that Hiranyakasipu tried to inflict on Prahlada and it is also mentioned in Srimad Bhagavatam

SB 7.5.39-40: The demons [Raksasas], the servants of Hiranyakasipu, thus began striking the tender parts of Prahlada Maharaja's body with their tridents. The demons 

all had fearful faces, sharp teeth and reddish, coppery beards and hair, and they appeared extremely threatening. Making a tumultuous sound, shouting, "Chop him up! 

Pierce him!" they began striking Prahlada Maharaja, who sat silently, meditating upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SB 7.5.41: Even though a person who has no assets in pious activities performs some good deed, it will have no result. Thus the weapons of the demons had no tangible

 effects upon Prahlada Maharaja because he was a devotee undisturbed by material conditions and fully engaged in meditating upon and serving the Supreme Personality 

of Godhead, who is unchangeable, who cannot be realized by the material senses, and who is the soul of the entire universe.

SB 7.5.42: My dear King Yudhisthira, when all the attempts of the demons to kill Prahlada Maharaja were futile, the King of the demons, Hiranyakasipu, being most fearful, 

began contriving other means to kill him.

SB 7.5.43-44: Hiranyakasipu could not kill his son by throwing him beneath the feet of big elephants, throwing him among huge, fearful snakes, employing destructive spells, 

hurling him from the top of a hill, conjuring up illusory tricks, administering poison, starving him, exposing him to severe cold, winds, fire and water, or throwing heavy 

stones to crush him. When Hiranyakasipu found that he could not in any way harm Prahlada, who was completely sinless, he was in great anxiety about what to do next.

There is a beautiful prayer to Lord Narasimha :

Sri Nrisimha Ashtakam

(Prayers for the protection of Lord Nrisimha)

1. Dhyayami narasimhakyam

brahma vedanta-gocharam

bhavabdhi taran opayam

shankha chakra dharam param

I am meditating on the Supreme Person known as Nrisimha who is attainable through Vedanta philosophy. He is the carrier of the conch and the Sudarshana disc, 

and He is the only means for crossing the ocean of birth and death.

2. Nilam ramam cha paribhuya kripa rasena

stambhe sva-shakti-managham vinidhaya deva

prahlada rakshana vidhavi yati kripa te

shri narasimha paripalaya mam cha bhaktam

You mercifully protect Nila and Rama with Your chaste, spiritual internal potency. You also extend Your protective energy over Prahlada Maharaja.

 O Nrisimha please protect me too, for I am also trying to be Your devotee.

3. Indra-adi deva nikarasya kirita koti

pratyupta ratna prati-bimbita pada-padma

kalpa-anta kala ghana garjana tulya-nada

shri narasimha paripalaya mam cha bhaktam

Your lotus feet are comparable in effulgence to the brilliance of the sum total of the jewelry possessed by all the demigods. Your roaring is like that of the 

thundering clouds at the universal dissolution. O Nrisimha please protect me too, for I am also trying to be Your devotee.

4. Prahlada posha pralayarka samana vaktra

hum-kara nirjita nishachara vrinda nada

sri-narada muni sangha sugiyamana

sri narasimha paripalaya mam cha bhaktam

You are the maintainer of Prahlada Maharaja and Your open mouth is exactly as the sun which causes the destruction of the universe. O Lord, Your grunts 

frighten all the roaming predators of the night. You are always beautifully glorified by sages such as Narada Muni. O Nrisimha please protect me too, for

 I am also trying to be Your devotee.

5. Ratrin charadri jatarat parisramsya-mana raktam

nipiya pari-kalpita sa-antara-mala

vidravita-akhila surogra nrisimha rupam

sri narasimha paripalaya mam cha bhaktam

O Nrisimha, Your divine form is horrifying. You are tearing apart all the wild animals descending from the caves of the mountains to terrify and to drink the blood 

of everyone. O Nrisimha please protect me too, for I am also trying to be Your devotee.

6. Yogi-indra yoga pari-rakshaka deva deva

dina-arthi-hari vibhava-agama giyamana

mam vikshya dinam asaranyam aganya-shilam

sri narasimha paripalaya mam cha bhaktam

O King of the yogis, Lord of Lords and the protector of the process of yoga. You are the remover of the sufferings of those who are dear to You.

 Your wonderful form is described in the agamas. Please glance upon me who is without shelter and possesses no good qualities. O Nrisimha please

 protect me too, for I am trying to be Your devotee.

7. Prahlada shoka vinivarana bhadra-simha

naktan-charendra mada khandana vira-simha

indra-adi deva-jana sangnuta pada-padma

sri narasimha paripalaya mam cha bhaktam

You are the auspicious lion that dispersed the grief of Prahlada Maharaja. O Powerful Lion, who tears everything apart in an intoxicated mood, 

You are the Lord of the ferocious predators of the dark night. Your lotus feet are surrounded by all divine and pious personalities beginning with 

Lord Indra. O Nrisimha please protect me too, for I am also trying to be Your devotee.

8. Gyanena kechid avalambya padambhujam te

kechit sukarma nikarena pare ch bhaktya

muktim gatah khalu janah kripaya murare

sri narasimha paripalaya mam cha bhaktam

Some people try to embrace Your lotus feet through the process of knowledge. Others try by performing pious activities and yet others by the path of

 devotion. O Murari by Your mercy all of them attain liberation. O Nrisimha please protect me too, for I am also trying to be Your devotee.

Iti sri nrisimha ashtakam sampurnam

Thus ends the Nrisimha ashtakam.

Devotees in ISKCON follow the footsteps of Prahlada Maharaja , we are all trying to be become  pure devotees of Lord Narasimha, that removes

all obstacels in worship of Radha Krsna as confirmed by srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in his Navadvipa Bhava taranga

Lord Caitanya used to hear the prayers of Prahlada Maharaja as recorded in  7th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam hundreds of times as described in Caitanya Bhagavad  

In Srimad Bhagavatam

we find this section spoken by Lord Narasimha Himself to Prahlada Maharaja  :

SB 7.10.11: The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Prahlada, a devotee like you never desires any kind of material opulences, either in this life or

 in the next. Nonetheless, I order you to enjoy the opulences of the demons in this material world, acting as their king until the end of the duration of time occupied by Manu.

SB 7.10.12: It does not matter that you are in the material world. You should always, continuously, hear the instructions and messages given by Me and always 

be absorbed in thought of Me, for I am the Supersoul existing in the core of everyone's heart. Therefore, give up fruitive activities and worship Me.

SB 7.10.13: My dear Prahlada, while you are in this material world you will exhaust all the reactions of pious activity by feeling happiness, and by acting 

piously you will neutralize impious activity. Because of the powerful time factor, you will give up your body, but the glories of your activities will be sung

 in the upper planetary systems, and being fully freed from all bondage, you will return home, back to Godhead.

SB 7.10.14: One who always remembers your activities and My activities also, and who chants the prayers you have offered, becomes free, in due course

 of time, from the reactions of material activities.

SB 7.10.15-17: Prahlada Maharaja said: O Supreme Lord, because You are so merciful to the fallen souls, I ask You for only one benediction.

 I know that my father, at the time of his death, had already been purified by Your glance upon him, but because of his ignorance of Your beautiful

 power and supremacy, he was unnecessarily angry at You, falsely thinking that You were the killer of his brother. Thus he directly blasphemed 

Your Lordship, the spiritual master of all living beings, and committed heavily sinful activities directed against me, Your devotee. I wish that he

 be excused for these sinful activities.

SB 7.10.18: The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Prahlada, O most pure, O great saintly person, your father has been purified, 

along with twenty-one forefathers in your family. Because you were born in this family, the entire dynasty has been purified.

SB 7.10.19: Whenever and wherever there are peaceful, equipoised devotees who are well behaved and decorated with all good qualities, 

that place and the dynasties there, even if condemned, are purified.

SB 7.10.20: My dear Prahlada, King of the Daityas, because of being attached to devotional service to Me, My devotee does not distinguish between

 lower and higher living entities. In all respects, he is never jealous of anyone.

SB 7.10.21: Those who follow your example will naturally become My pure devotees. You are the best example of My devotee, and others should follow in your footsteps.

SB 7.10.22: My dear child, your father has already been purified just by the touch of My body at the time of his death. Nonetheless, the duty of a son

 is to perform the sraddha ritualistic ceremony after his father's death so that his father may be promoted to a planetary system where he may become a good citizen and devotee.

SB 7.10.23: After performing the ritualistic ceremonies, take charge of your father's kingdom. Sit upon the throne and do not be disturbed

 by materialistic activities. Please keep your mind fixed upon Me. Without transgressing the injunctions of the Vedas, as a matter of formality

you may perform your particular duties.

your servant

Paramananda das