Glories of Bidala Narasimha

[Paramananda das]

Glories of Bidala Narasimha



— One devotee told me there is a pastime of Lord Narasimha appearing as a half lion and half cat. Eventually being curious and most eager to know more about this form of Lord Narasimha, I asked Madhavananda Prabhu in Orissa, and he soon found the information of Lord Narasimha appearing to kill the demon Mushika. He has published this information and wonderful pastime of Lord Narasimha as a half cat and half lion in his e-magazine, Krsna Kathamrta Bindu (see Gopaljiu.org, Mohini Ekadasi, 2009)

So Madhavananda Prabhu revealed the details of this wonderful form of Lord Narasimha on holy Mohini Ekadasi. I was telling another good devotee friend, Pancaratna Prabhu (disciple of Goplal Krsna Maharaja) about this place, as he is eager to go there and honor Lord Narasimha, and he has just received detailed information of the whereabouts of this temple that he obtained from Madhavananda Prabhu. So he will properly be the first ISKCON devotee to get Bidala Narasimhadeva's darshan. Madhavananda Prabhu has also kindly included a picture of Marjara Kesari, another name of Bidala Narasimha.

I will summarize this lila of Bidala Narasimha, as has been told by Madhavananda prabhu in Krsna Katamrita Bindu. Devotees should really go there and read it for the full benefit and add some observations and thoughts:

The sacred mountain, Gandhamadan Mountain, was brought with herbs for Laxmana to Sri Lanka by Hanuman, during the battle with Ravana,from the Himalayas. Laxmana was unconscious from the one arrow shot by Meghanatha (one of the sons of Ravana, he is also known as Indrajit as he defeated Indra in battle). Later this sacred Mountain was then placed there in Orissa, 300 km from Jagannatha Puri. It appears to be Hanuman that did so. (No one else seems likely to have brought it there.)

Sages used to perform austerities there. In Treta yuga, it appears many sages where scattered all over India in the large forest areas whereas in Satya yuga, sages were performing astanga yoga in the Himalayas. Thus Gandhamadan Mountain being placed among the rsis would make sense, so they could make use of the rare herbs from that mountain, as being the order of Lord Ramacandra Himself. This is not anything we can know for sure, though it surely makes sense.

One sage Udanga, had a daughter named Malati. She was raped by Ravana. (Ravana had a history of raping women. The reason he did not attempt to rape Sita devi (or maya Sita, as the real Sita was never touched by him) was that he was cursed by rsis. Likely Udanga Rsi cursed Ravana also, but by the time Ravana kidnapped Sita, he had been cursed that if he even attempted to rape another woman he would die. And this poor girl was also seduced by Ganesh's Mouse carrier, Indura.

A demonic person was born Musika Daitya, and when he was born he ate his own mother. He started to perform austerities and please Lord Siva and got the benediction that only Lord Narasimha could kill him. The Devas got very afraid of the great powers of Musika Daitya. So Lord Ramachandra Himself assumed the form of Bidala Narasimha , or Marjara Kesari. 'Bidala' and 'marjara' means cat, and Kesari means lion. So this form of Lord Narasimha is half cat and half lion. In the 1000 names of Lord Narasimha, Srila Vyasadeva has also stated that Lord Narasimhadeva's forms and manifestations are unlimited. (He even appears sometimes in many different colors.)

I once read a 1,500 page book (written by Sri Vasinava scholars) I obtained from Simhacalam in Vishakapatnam, and there are so many temples of Lord Narasimha and unlimited pastimes, even on this earth planet. I stopped 200 pages into this book because it was too much information to try to understand, so many lilas of Lord Narasimha and so many temples.

Anyhow, Bidala Narasimha started to chase the Musika Daitya, who then took shelter of the Gandhamadana mountain, being allowed by the Mountain personified to slip into its cracks. So Bidala Narasimha, or Majara Kesari is sitting there, waiting for this demon in the form of a huge Mouse, Mausika Daitya, to appear from this mountain.

Much later, a tribal person Yamuna and Hari Khondh discovered this self-manifested Deity, and Bidala Narasimha spoke to them:

“I am pleased with you. I am Narayan in my cat-lion form, waiting to kill the demon Mushika. Take me from the ground here and have a temple built to protect me.”

A temple was built there so we can also honor Bidala Narasimha. He is daily offered wild oranges.

Madhavananda Prabhu also has told me about this book, Narasimha Carita, written to honor Bidala Narasimha.

May Bidala Narasimha protect ISKCON and the devotees and protect us from deviating from Srila Prabhupada's instructions, so we can all attain pure love for Sri Sri Gaura Nitai and Sri Sri Radha Madhava. Those who have full faith in Bidal Narasimha will never take birth again in this material world.

I would like to add something to these lilas, to help us understand more about Lord Ramachandra and Lord Narasimha. When Hanuman once came to Ahovalam, the place where Lord Narasimhadev killed Hiranyakasipu (see also Stephen-Knapp.com), Hanuman got the darshan of Lord Narasimha, who then also showed Hanuman how He (Lord Narasimha) is non-different from Lord Ramachandra. I believe that Deity is Karancha Narasimha... also holding a bow and with a mustache like Lord Ramachandra. (I have not been to Ahovalam since 1993, so my memory is failing me. I was there 3 times.)

Here is another ISKCON devotee website showing Ahovalam).

Also, Lord Ramachandra went Himself to Ahovalam, as did Lord Caitanya and Lord Balarama. There He offered these beautiful prayers to Lord Narasimha:




Lord Ramacandra’s Nrisimha-Panchamrita
(These prayers are from the 47th chapter of the Harivamsa Purana, which narrates the story of Lord Ramacandra’s visit to the holy place of Ahobalam to see the Deity of Nrisimha, where Lord Nrisimha appeared and saved His devotee Prahlada.)

ahobalam narasimham gatva ramah pratapavan namaskutya sri nrisimham astaushit kamala patim
The glorious Rama once visited Ahobala where He saw the Deity of Lord Nrisimha. He offered His obeisances to Lord Kamalapati (husband of the Goddess of Fortune) and prayed as follows.

1. Govinda keshava janardana vasudeva
vishvesha-vishva madhusudana vishvarupa
shri padmanabha purushottama pushkaraksha
narayanachyuta nrisimho namo namaste
O Govinda, Keshava, Janardana, Vasudeva, Vishvesha (the controller of the universe), Vishva, Madhusudana, Vishvarupa, Sri Padmanabha, Purushottama, Pushkaraksha, Narayana, Achyuta. O Lord Narasimha I offer my respectful obeisances unto You again and again.

2. Devah samastah khalu gopi mukhyaha
gandharva vidyadhara kinnarash cha
yat pada-mulam satatam namanti
tam narasimham sharanam gato shmi
I have taken shelter of Lord Nrisimha unto whose lotus feet demigods, prominent yogis, gandharvas, vidyadharas and kinnaras are constantly offering their obeisances.

3. Vedan samastan khalu shastragarbhan
vidyam balam kirtimatim cha lakshmim
yasya prasadat purusha labhante
tam narasimham sharanam gato shmi
I have taken shelter of Lord Nrisimha by whose mercy people receive all the Vedas, the essence of all scriptures, knowledge, strength, reputation and wealth.

4. Brahma shivas tvam purushottamash cha
narayano ‘shau marutam patish cha
chandrarka vayvagni marud-ganash cha
tvam eva tam tvam shatatam nato’shmi
You are Lord Brahma, Lord Shiva 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. Snapne’pi nitya jagatam ashesam
srashta cha hanta vibhura prabheyaha
trata tvam eka strividho vibinnaha
tam tvam nrisimham satatam nato’smi
I offer my obeisances unto Lord Nrisimha 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.

Iti stutva raghushreshthaha
pujayamasa tam harim
pushpa vrishtih papatashu
tasya devasya murdhani
Praying this way, the best of the Raghus, Lord Ramacandra worshipped Lord Hari. At that time the demigods showered a rain of flowers on the he ad of Lord Nrisimhadeva.

Raghavena kutam stotram
panchamrita manuktamam
pathanti ye dvijavaraha
tesham svargastu shashvataha
This is the best of prayers, called pancamrita or five nectars compiled by Lord Rama Himself. One who reads this will be liberated eternally.

As we read in the Garga Samhita, Lord Ramachandra offered many different devotees Vraja Bhakta, many becoming Gopis like the sages of Dandakaranya or the Yajnic Sitas. Lord Narasimha can also offer us Vraja Bhakti. From Navadvipa Bhava Taranga we can read how Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura got the blessings of Lord Narasimha at Narasimha Palli in Godruma Dvipa in Navadvipa. (Some say it is part of Simantadvipa):

35 South east of there is Nrsimha Puri. When will I see the pure transcendental sweetness of this place, also called Deva-palli? I will roll about on the ground in ecstatic love while visiting this residence of Lord Nrsimha. Sincerely begging for His grace without a trace of duplicity in my heart, I will attain Krsna-prema.

36 Within my sinful heart the six enemies headed by lu st perpetually reside, as well as duplicity, the desire for fame, plus sheer cunning. At the lotus feet of Lord Nrsimha, I hope that He will mercifully purify my heart and give me the desire to serve Lord Krsna.

37 Weeping, I will beg at the lotus feet of Lord Nrsimha for the benediction of worshipping Radha and Krsna in Navadvipa, perfectly safe and free from all difficulties. When will this Lord Hari, whose terrible form strikes fear into fear itself, ever become pleased and show Me His mercy?

38 Even though Lord Nrsimha is terrifying toward the sinful souls He offers great auspiciousness unto the devotees of Lord Krsna headed by Prahlada Maharaja. When will He be pleased to speak words of compassion unto me, a worthless fool, and thereby make me fearless?

39 He will say, "Dear child! Sit down freely and live happily here in Sri Gauranga Dhama. May you nicely worship the Divine Couple and may you develop loving attachment for Their holy names. By the mercy of My devotees, all obstacles are cast far away. with a purified heart, just perform the worship of Radha and Krsna, for such worship overflows with sweet nectar."

40 Saying this, will that Lord delightedly place His own divine lotus feet upon my head? Suddenly I will experience sublime love for the Divine Couple Radha-Krsna and undergo the ecstatic transformations called sattvika. Falling on the ground, I will roll about by the door of Sri Nrsimha's temple.

Thus Lord Narasimhadeva has offered His full mercy for those who fully fast on His Appearance Day, just like on Nirjala Ekadasi. But to not make this too lengthy, I will take your leave and make this into another article.

Your humble servant,
 Paramananda das