the day Lord Narasimha appeared from a Siva Linga

[Paramananda das]

the day Lord Narasimha appeared from a Siva Linga
Srila Jiva Goswami in his Bhakti Sandarbha has narrated this pastime :
31 Therefore, because He is a Vaishnava, Lord Siva should be worshipped. Some Vaishnavas say that if the worship of Lord Siva is compulsory, still one can worship the Supreme Lord Vishnu instead of Lord Siva. That is described in the following story from the last part of the Vishnu-dharma Purana:
A pure devotee brahmana names Visvaksena used to live on the earth. One day he sat down at the edge of a forest. Then the son of a vill...age leader approached him and said, "Who are you?" When the brahmana had told his story the leader's son said to him, "Today I have a headache and therefore it is not possible for me to worship Lord Siva. You please worship him in my place. At that point there is the following passage of one and a half verses:
32 "When this was said, he replied, 'We are pure devotees of Lord Hari. Only Lord Hari, who expands in four forms, or His devotee, should be worshipped. We will worship no one else. Go away."
33 Then the leader's son took a sword and raised it to cut off the brahmana's head. Stunned and not wishing to die in that way, the brahmana thought for a moment and said, "Very well, I will go there." In his mind the brahmana thought, "Because he destroys the universe and expands the mode of ignorance, Lord Siva is the deity of ignorance. However, because Lord Nrsimhadeva kills the demons situated in the darkness of ignorance, and because He thus dispels the darkness of ignorance, Lord Nrsimhadeva is like a sun risen to dispel the darkness of ignorance. Therefore, instead of worshipping Lord Siva, I will worship Lord Nrsimhadeva to dispel ignorance."
Then, taking a handful of flowers, the brahmana said, "Obeisances to Lord Nrsimha!" Filled with anger, the village leader's son at once raised his sword. At that moment the Siva-linga opened and Lord Nrsimhadeva appeared and killed the village leader's son and his associates. This Siva-linga, famous by the name "Linga-sphota" (the linga that opened), is situated in the southern provinces.
34 The pure Vaisnavas give all honour to Lord Siva because he is a pure Vaisnava also. Sometimes some people become Vaisnavas by worshipping Lord Siva. This is explained in the Adi-varaha Purana: 35 By worshipping Lord Siva for many thousands of births a person become wise and free from all sins. Then he becomes a Vaisnava." 36 Between the devotees of Lord Nrsimha and Lord Siva there is a very close connection. This is described in Sri Nrsimha-tapani Upanisad (1.5.10): "A hundred brahmacaris equal one grhastha. A hundred grhasthas equal one vanaprastha. A hundred vanaprasthas equal one sannyasi. A hundred sannyasis equal one chanter of Siva-mantras. A hundred chanters of Siva-mantras equal one teacher of the Atharva-angirasa part of the Vedas. A hundred teachers of the Atharva-angirasa part of the Vedas equal one chanter of the king of mantras." The "king of mantras" here is the mantra glorifying Lord Nrsimhadeva. 37 Because the devotees of Lord Siva thought Lord Siva is independent of Lord Visnu, Bhrgu Muni's curse could not be overcome. This is explained in these words of the Fourth Canto (Srimad Bhagavatam 4.2.27-28): 38-39 "When all the hereditary brahmanas were thus cursed by Nandisvara, the sage Bhrgu, as a reaction, condemned the followers of Lord Siva with this very strong brahmanical curse. One who takes a vow to satisfy Lord Siva or who follows such principles will certainly become an atheist and be diverted from transcendental scriptural injunctions."*
I have included this in chapter 16 of my book Sri Narasimha