Ahovalam chapter 7 of my Narasimha book: Some glories of the place of Lord Narasimhadevas apperance

[Paramananda das]

 

In the Nrsimha-Purana, it is stated:

satye daitya-kuladhi-nasa-samayesimhordhva-martyakrtis tretayam das-kandharam paribhavan rameti namakrtihgopalan paripalayan vraja-pure bharam haran dvapare gaurangah priya-kirtanah kali-yuge chaitanya-nama prabhuh

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead who in the Satya-Yuga appeared as a half-man, half-lion to cure a terrible disease that had ravaged the daityas, and who in the Treta-Yuga appeared as Rama [Lord Ramachandra], the person who defeated the ten-headed Demon Ravana, and who in the Dvapara-Yuga removed the earth's burden, and protected the Gopa [cowherd men] people of Vraja-pura, will appear again in the Kali-Yuga. His form will be golden, He will delight in chanting the Lord's holy names, and His name will be Caitanya."

So from Narasimha Purana it is very clear that Lord Narasimhadeva appeared in Satya yuga.Lord Narasimha appears in different forms but the form of Lord Narasimha that is described in Srimad Bhagavatam appeared in Satya yuga.

Now we have established the time, the next question is where:

During Srila Prabhupadas presence, some devotees had doubts about Prabhupadas pointing out that Lord Narasimha appeared in Ahovalam, they speculated Lord Narasimha appeared in Indra loka:

"The Crow Tal-fruit Controversy" Vrndavana, 3"April 10, 1976

Yasodanandana: Prabhupada, there has been discussion amongst many of the members of the press and the Sanskrit editors regarding the actual place of Nrsimha's pastimes. So I told them that on the occasion of our travel to we visited this place Ahobilam, and the panditas, they have scriptural reference from the Brahmanda Purana and the Nrsimha Purana that the place is actually mentioned there, and it has been recognized by Ramanujacarya and many of the great Alwar saints. And yourself have already told me twice personally that this was the actual place where it happened. And on top of the mountain there, there is the pillar, iron pillar, which is the symbol of the spot where Lord Nrsimha killed Hiranyakasipu. So for the "benefit of all of these devotees, they were just requesting your actual .

Prabhupada: Confirmation or no confirmation, Nrsimhadeva is our worshipable Deity, that's all. Why you are bothering where He killed Hiranyakasipu? You worship Him, that's all.

Yasodanandana: They just wanted...

Jayadvaita: The question came up because they have some , photographs from these places, and we wanted to know if they were suitable for publishing or not.

Prabhupada: So why you are bothering with that? Let it be accepted or not accepted. Worship Him.

Aksayananda: Not that important.

Prabhupada: That is the important thing. [break] A man is diseased. He has gone to the physician. So whether is the first duty to investigate wherefrom the disease came or to cure him? Which is important?

Yasodanandana: To cure.

Prabhupada: Similarly, Nrsimhadeva might have done this or here or there, but He is our worshipable Deity, that's all. Why bother with unnecessary things? We know Nrsimha is everywhere. Andantara stha paramanu cayan... That is the conclusion.

Jayadvaita: We were just afraid that if we published a picture that was not correct, then you might become like Nrsimhadeva.

Prabhupada: Hm?

Jayadvaita: We were afraid that if we were to publish a picture that is not correct...

Prabhupada: So when it is disputed, why should that picture? It is controversial. You should not print.

Yasodanandana: The controversy is only amongst the...

Prabhupada: Whatever it may be. As soon as there is little controversy.... I explained yesterday.

Pusta Krsna: For dhatun?(?)

Prabhupada: No, the crow, the crow and the tala fruit. Somebody said this; somebody said this. Then what is that important thing? Crow and a tala. You know the kaka-taliya-nyaya?

Yasodanandana: I never heard that story.

Prabhupada: There was a tree, tala tree, and.... tala tree. So one crow was there, and the tala fruit fell down. Two panditas, they began, "Whether the tala fruit fell down.... Because the crow sat down on it, therefore fell down." The other said, "No, the tala fruit was falling down, and the crow could not sit on it." And they began to fight: "No, this." He said, "No this, no this," go on.

Aksayananda: Or maybe the crow tried to eat it.

Yasodanandana: I think in this case it was just a question that they never knew actually what was the actual position. But if Your Divine Grace does not wish anything to be published regarding that place, then we will not do.

Prabhupada: As soon as there is some controversy, avoid it. That's all. Tala fruit and crow. You worship Nrsimhadeva. Ito nrsimhah parato, yato yato yami tato nrsimhah. Nrsimhadeva is everywhere.

Pusta Krsna: Bahir nrsimhohrdaye...

Prabhupada: Why Nrsimha should be confined: "He was here"? He is everywhere. And as He is everywhere, He is here also. That's all. (END)

So Srila Prabhupada told these doubters just worship Lord Narasimha.The fact remains that Lord Narasimha appeared in Ahovalam.This is not only confirmed in Ahovalam Mahatmya , but in many Puranas.Srila Prabhupada also stated that it is confirmed by the Alvars.

it should be noted especially Tirumangai Alwar and Sri Ramanujacarya . 

In Ahovalam there is 9 forms of Lord Narasimhadeva that is worshipped:

(1) Prahlada-varada Narasimha or Lakshmi Narasimha, (2) Chatravata Narasimha, (3) Yogananda Narasimha, (4) Karanda Narasimha, (5) Krodha Narasimha, (6) GuhaNarasimha, (7) Jwala Narasimha, (8) Malola Narasimha, and (9) Pavana Narasimha.

 

Sometimes another list is given: Ahobila Narasimha, Varaha Narasimha, Malola Narasimha, Yogananda Narasimha, Bhavana Narasimha, Kaarancha Narasimha, Chakra Vada Narasimha, Bhargava Narasimha and Jwala Narasimha.

 

Ahovalam is one of the Divya Desams of the Sri Vaisnavas, and is mentioned by the Alvars .The Sthala Purana of Simhacalam also confirms this.

Lord Ramachandra visited this place in Treta yuga also and worshipped Lord Narasimha.Lord Balarama visited Ahovalam in Dvapara Yuga, and in Kali yuga Ahovalam was visited by Lord Caitanya, Lord Nityananda, Advaita Acarya and many of the associates of Lord Caitanya.

Lord Caitanya worshipped Lord Narasimha here in Kali yuga, This is mentioned in Caitanya Caritamrta:

CC Madhya 9.16: There he saw Lord Mahādeva [Śiva], the servant of Lord Rāma. He then went to Ahovala-nṛsiḿha.

CC Madhya 9.17: Upon seeing the Ahovala-nṛsiḿha Deity, Caitanya Mahāprabhu offered many prayers unto    Lord Narasimha. He then went to Siddhavaṭa, where He saw the Deity of Rāmacandra, the Lord of Sītādevī.

There is the Ugra Stambha, the pillar from where Lord Narasimha emerged and also Rakta Kunda where Lord Narasimha washed His lotushands after killing Hiranyakasipu and all his demoniac soldiers that all attacked Lord Narasimha.

There is the Upper and Lower part of Ahovalam

The meaning of Ahovalam is :

Aho is an exclamation word. Bhalam ,greatest power .At this place Ahovalam Lord Narasimha manifested His unlimeted powers as the Supreme Personality of Godhead

The sloka that describes Ahovalam is :

Aho veeryam! aho shouryam! aho baahu parakrama!
Naarasimham param deivam aho bhilam! aho balam!

Oh! what a great valour He has! Oh! His great gallantry! Oh ! those great powerful shoulders of the greatest of Lord Narasimha, and what a mighty cave it is! and what a mighty divine strength He has!

Garuda did austerities at Ahovalam also to obtain darshan of Lord Narasimhadeva:

Prahlada-varada Narasimha Temple is in the town of Lower Ahovalam, This temple is in the mood of Lord Narasimha blessing Prahlada. So the pilgrim first comes here to seek Lord Narasimhadevas blessings and the blessings of His pure devotee Prahlada Maharaja .Also invoking the blessings of Laxmi Narasimha .

Ahobila Nrsimha temple, situated at Upper Ahobilam, about 8 kms from Lower Ahobilam, is the main temple. The Ugra Narasimha deity here is Swayam-Vyakta (self-manifest), and this is the most ancient of the nine temples.

At this place Sita Rama and Laxmana worshipped Lord Narasimha:

There is a famous prayer

In the Harivamsa Purana we find the following prayer that was recieted by Lord Ramachandra to Lord Narasimha:

Nrsimha Pancamrta; Chapter 47

: Krsna Dvaipayana Vyasa

Harivamsa Purana

(introductory verse)

ahovalam narasimham gatva ramah pratapavan

namaskutya sri nrsimham astausit kamala patim

(1)

govinda kesava janardana vasudeva

visvesa-visva madhusudana visvarupa

sri padmanabha purusottama puskaraksa

narayanacyuta nrsimho namo namaste

(2)

devah samastah khalu gopi mukhyah

gandharva vidyadhara kinnaras ca

yat pada-mulam satatam namanti

tam narasimham saranam gato' smi

(3)

vedan samastan khalu sastragarbhan

vidyam balam kirtimatim ca laksmim

yasya prasadat purusa labhante

tam narasimham saranam gato 'smi

(4)

brahma sivas tvam purusottamas ca

narayano'sau marutam patis ca

candrarka vayvagni marud-ganas ca

tvam eva tam tvam satatam nato 'smi

(5)

snapne 'pi nitya jagatam asesam

srasta ca hanta vibhura prabheyah

trata tvam eka strividho vibinnah

tam tvam nrsimham satatam nato 'smi

(concluding verses)

iti stutva raghusresthah

pujayamasa tam harim

puspa vrstih papatasu

tasya devasya murdhani

raghavena kutam stotram

pancamrta manuktamam

pathanti ye dvijavarah

tesam svargastu sasvatah

(Introductory Verse)

The glorious Rama once visited Ahobala, where He saw the deity of Lord Nrsimha. He offered His obeisances to Lord Kamalapati (husband of the goddess of fortune) and prayed as follows.

(1) O Govinda, Kesava, Janardana, Vasudeva, Visvesa (the controller of the universe), Visva, Madhusudana, Visvarupa, Sri Padmanabha, Purusottama, Puskaraksa, Narayana, Acyuta. O LordNrsimha I offer my respectful obeisances unto You again and again.

(2) I have taken shelter of Lord Nrsimha unto whose lotus feet demigods, prominent yogis, gandharvas, vidyadharas and kinnaras, are constantly offering their obeisances.

(3) I have taken shelter of Lord Nrsimha by whose mercy people receive all the Vedas, the essence of all scriptures, knowledge, strength, reputation and wealth.

(4) You are Lord Brahma, Lord Siva and the best person Lord Narayana. You are the master of the Marutas and You are the sun, the moon, air and the fire as well as the Marut -ganas. I offer my obeisances unto You.

(5) I offer my obeisances unto Lord Nrsimha who is the creator, the maintainer and the destroyer of the entire universe. Although You perform all of these three acts simultaneously You are completely beyond these activities. You are the all pervading, unlimited supreme spirit.

(Concluding Verse)

this way the best of the Raghus, Lord Ramacandra worshipped Lord Hari. At that time the demigods showered a rain of flowers on the head of Lord Nrsimhadeva.

This is the best of , called pancamrta or five nectars compiled by Lord Rama Himself. One who reads this will be liberated eternally.

Bhargava Narasimha temple is situated two kilometers from Lower Ahobilam, on a hill, near the sacred pond known as Bhargava tirtham, where Bhargave Rama (Lord Parasurama) performed his penance. Thus     the temple is known as Bhargava Narasimha Swamy. and because Bhargava rsi attained Darshan of Lord Narasimha here , with Lord Narasimha having Hiranyakasipu on His lap .

There is 'Bhargava Thirtham' a sacred pond on the bank of this pond Bhargava Rsi meditated on Lord Narasimha for a long time. The Srimad Bhagavatam 12.8.2-5 mentiones Makandeya rsi as Bhargava rsi  as being the same person .:

SB 9.6.32 mentiones: bhargavah -- in the dynasty of Bhrgu.

Sometimes Parasurama is also known as Bhargava: nihkshatriyam akrita gam ca trih-sapta-kritvo
ramastu haihaya-kulapyaya-bhargavagnih
so ’bdhim babandha dasa-vaktram ahan sa-lankam
sita -patir jayati loka-mala-ghna-kirtih
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.4.21)

“In the form of Bhargava (Parasurama), the fiery destroyer of the Haihaya dynasty rid the earth of the kshatriya class twenty-one times. That same Lord appeared in the form of Rama (the husband of Sita) who is renowned as the purifier of the world and rescuer of the people of the world. He built a bridge across the ocean and destroyed the ten-headed Ravana along with his kingdom of Lanka.”

The followers of Sri Ramanuja has stated : where "Bhargave Rama" performed his
penance. Hence the Lord of the temple is known as Bhargava Narasimha
Swamy.

 

Sri Bhargava Narasimha: This is closer to Lower Ahobilam by 2 kms can go by walk or rikshaw. When Parashurama came here to take darshan of Sri Narasimha,

the Lord gave him the darshan near

Akshya Theertha  : The Deity has 4 shoulders, two hands with Chakra and Shankha two more splitting the intestines of the demon.

 

Chatravata Nrsimha temple is about 3 kms from Lower Ahobilam. The deity is installed under a Peepal tree, surrounded by thorny bushes, so the Lord is called as Chatravata Narasimhaswamy.

Chatravata Narasimha is a very unique Deity, and only seen in Ahobilam. He had blessed two Gandarvas Ha and Hoo to have  celestial voices, after they have lost the ability of singing. His beautiful smile is very unique  . This is a perfect place to   sing Kirtana for Lord Narasimha.

Jwala Nrsimha temple is higher up on the Achalachaya Meru hill than the Malola Lakshmi Nrsimhaswamy temple, and is about 4kms from the Upper Ahobilam temple. Here, the fierce anger of the Lord reached its culmination when He tore Hiranyakasipu apart.

There are 3 Deities of Lord Narasimha there–

　

Karanja Narasimha shring is 1 km from Upper Ahobilam and 2/5 km from the road leading to Lower Ahobilam. The deity is installed under a tree called Karanja vrksham.

At this place Hanuman worshipped Lord Ramachandra, but Lord Narasimha kept appearing to Him as Ahovalam is the holy abode of Lord Narasimha .Hanuman got upset that why this form of Half man Lion ,Narasimha keeps appearing when I worship Lord Ramachandra? So Lord Narasimha showed Hanuman a form of Himself with a mustache and bow like Lord Ramachandra. According to other acaryas opinion He assumed the form of Lord Ramachandra to please Hanuman.

In the Laghu Bhagavatamrta by Srila Rupa Goswami he has stated :

"In Lord Narasimha amd, Rämacandra, and Krsna  the the six transcendental opulences are

perfect and complete. They are the parävasthas (most important forms of the Lord). From

Him (Krsna) they are manifested as lamps are lighted from an (original) lamp.

This vers is found in Padma Purana

Krodakara (Varaha) Narasimha temple is 1 km away from the main temple of Ahobila Nrsimha in Upper Ahobilam. The deity has the face of a boar (Varaha or Kroda) and the Lord is seen here with His Consort, Lakshmi. This Varaha Narasimha form is significant as explained in the previous chapter about Simhacalam, Varaha Narasimha Swami

Malola Nrsimha shrine is nearly 2kms from the main temple of Upper Ahobilam. The deity here appears in 'soumya' (graceful) form. As Lord Narasimha is seen with His consort, Lakshmi, He is known as MalolaNrsimha Swamy. 'Malola' means beloved to Lakshmi. The Utsavamurti of the Lord appeared to Srimat Adivan Shatakopa Jiyar, the first Jeer of Sri Ahobila Mutt.and is worshipped as the main deity of Sri Ahobila Mutt. The deity travels with the Jeers wherever they go for preaching (the Malola LakshmiNrsimha Swamy deities) This temple is very close to the school of Prahlada Maharaja.

Pavana Nrsimha shrine is near the JwalaNrsimha temple, on the bank of the river Pavana. It is about 6 kms from the Upper Ahobilam temple. There is another famous shrine dedicated to Lord Nrsimha Swamy in Lower Ahobilam, which is known as Prahalada Varada Sannidhi.

Bharadhwaja Muni worshipped Lord Narasimha at this place.

Prahalada Mettu is a small shrine situated in a cave on the hill, in-between Ugra Stambham and Upper Ahobilam. It is dedicated to Prahlada Nrsimhaswamy and a deity of Prahlada is installed in a small cave. There are a number of holy tirthas (ponds) around this area. Raktakundam, the most important, is where Lord Nrsimha washed His hands after killing Hiranyakashipu. The water here looks reddish but it is crystal clear, there is rocks here Narasimha Tadiya silas that has blood spots still from Hiranyakasipu .I worship one such Narasimha Sila.Also the Stambha or Lord Narasimha can be worshipped as Narasimha Tadiya sila.

Ugra Stambham us 8 kms from the Upper Ahobilam temple, where there is a cleft in the mountain dividing it into two visible parts. This is the spot from where the Lord appeared and it is therefore called Ugra Stambham.

Sri Yogananda Narasimha: Around 2km from Lower Ahobilam, the Lord is in Yogamudra and has Mandasmitha (smile) on his face. After the killing the demon and Sri Lakshmi reduced the anger, Sri Narasimha taought some yogasana to Prahlada here. The idol also has Yoga Patti. (The similar idol is in Devarayana Durga / Karigiri Kshethra) .The Yogananda Narasimha you see Lord Narasimha in His peaceful form meditating ,this form is also known as Santi Narasimha and is very dear to the devotees of Lord Narasimha .

Thus ends chapter 7 of Sri Narasimha :Some glories of the place of Lord Narasimhadevas apperance

 

 

 

[Paramananda das]

http://nimaipandit.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chapter-8-of-the-narasim...