chandan yatra in Puri ,Simhacalam and the origin of this Chandan yatra in Krsna and Narasimha worship

[Paramananda das]

 

Today is the beginning of Chandan Yatra: 
  King Virat seemed to have started this tradition of Chandan yatra after the Pandavas last year of exile in his kingdom and Krsna was offered a cool boat on the river and chandan,all over His body, ,The Kingdom of Virat was in Rajastan .Matsya Kingdom.
There is of course Kubja's offering Chandan to Krsna and Balarama in Mathura......

the begnning of Chandan Yatra in our Gaudiya line is when Sri Gopala, send Srila Madhavendra Puri to Puri to obtain Chandan ,sandalwood    , later Sri Gopala appeared to Srila Madhavendra Puri and told him to offer it to Gopinath , in Remuna.In Vrindavana all major Deities are offered Chandan and covered in Chandan on Aksaya Tritya .

After offering Sandal wood Radha Krsna is offered a flower outfit in Vrindavana this is also done at Krsna Balarama mandir :

Sri Sri Radha Rasa Bihari in ISKCON Juhu .

Also in Jagannatha Puri Lord Jagannatha is offered Chandan : 

Also in Simhacalam  in South Inddia ,Lord Varaha Narasimha is getting a new covering of Chandan  on Aksaya Tritya, as instructed by Lord Varaha Narasimha Himself    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 temple 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 Narasimhathe self manifested deity , to Prahlada Maharaja(then installed by Prahlada and Lord Brahma himself and all the devas, including the apsaras like Urvasi etc) .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 for 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 Yudhihira, 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 Hira?yakasipu 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.

 

Lord Caitanya used to hear the prayers of Prahlada Maharaja as recorded in 7thcanto of Srimad Bhagavatam hundreds of times as described in Caitanya Bhagavad recited by Gadadhara Pandit in Puri.
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.

  ,Srila Prabhupada has mentioned in the CC that Prahlada Maharaja was born   in Punjab what is now the Pakistan side ,   now known as Multan ,formerly known as Prahlada Pur
.
Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Antya 9.10


prahlāda, bali, vyāsa, śuka ādi muni-gaṇa
āsi' prabhu dekhi' preme haya acetana


TRANSLATION
Prahlāda Mahārāja, Bali Mahārāja, Vyāsadeva, Śukadeva Gosvāmī and other great sages came to visit Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Upon seeing Him, they became unconscious in ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa.


PURPORT
According to the opinion of some historians, Prahlāda Mahārāja was born in Tretā-yuga in the city of Multan, in the state of Punjab. He was born of Hiraṇyakaśipu, a king of the dynasty of Kaśyapa. Prahlāda Mahārāja was a great devotee of Lord Viṣṇu, but his father was very much against Viṣṇu. Because the father and son thus differed in their consciousness, the demon father inflicted all kinds of bodily pain upon Prahlāda. When this torture became intolerable, the Supreme Lord appeared as Nṛsiḿhadeva and killed the great demon Hiraṇyakaśipu..

  Prahlada Maharaja birth was   Satya yuga and later when Pururava and Urvasi was looking for Varaha Narasimha at Simhacalam it had become Treta yuga, this is in the Sthala Purana of Simhacalam,  




vaisnnava dasa anu dasa
 
Paramananda das