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Om Vishnupad 108 Tridandi Swami Sri Srimat Bhakti Sravan Tirtha Goswami Maharaj ki Jai !

 

The divine protector Narasimhadev, with his ferocious half-man half-lion form, is one of the most recognizable avatars of Lord Krishna. Vaishnavas pray to Him when they're in danger, remembering how he saved the boy devotee Prahalad from his tyrannical father, the demon Hiranyakashipu.

Over three hundred temples in India house different forms of Sri Narasimhadev. Perhaps the most famous of all is Ahobilam, a remote place in the hills of Andhra Pradesh, South India, said to be the very spot where the Lord killed Hiranyakashipu.

According to the Chaitanya-Caritamrita, Lord Chaitanya Himself visited Ahobilam on his South Indian pilgrimage, which could validate that it is in fact the holy land of Lord Narasimha, just as Vrindavana is Krishna's holy land.

Since he appeared as a devotee of God, Mahaprabhu often worshiped Lord Narasimha with much devotion and absorption. During His extensive South Indian tour, he visited nine famous Narasimha temples there, although the Chaitanya-Charitamrita pays special attention to only three of these.

One is of course the famous Ahobila-Narasimha, while another is Paanaga-Narasimha in the Mangalagiri hills, about seven miles from the city of Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh). Chaitanya Mahaprabhu reportedly climbed the six hundred steps to reach the temple, and with great love, offered obeisance, performed kirtan and danced and offered prayers unto Lord Narasimha. 

The third and perhaps most detailed account in the Chaitanya-Charitamrita is Mahaprabhu’s visit to the Jiyada-Narasimha temple, situated atop a hill five miles from Visakhapatnam, better known as Simhachalam.

“Upon seeing the Deity of Lord Narasimha in the temple, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu offered his respectful obeisances by falling flat,” author Krishnadas Kaviraj writes. “Then, in ecstatic love, he performed various dances, chanted, and offered prayers.” 

Lord Chaitanya’s beautiful prayers offer an enchanting insight into the personality of Narasimha: “Although very ferocious, the lioness is very gentle to her cubs. Similarly, although very ferocious to non-devotees like Hiranyakashipu, Lord Narasimhadeva is very, very gentle and kind to devotees like Prahlada Maharaja.” 

There is also a Narasimha deity on the southern side of the Jagannath temple in Puri, where Lord Chaitanya spent much of his life on this earth. Mahaprabhu would often visit this deity as he ascended the twenty-two steps to the temple, and recite these verses from the Narasimha Purana while offering obeisance again and again: 

“I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, Lord Narasimhadeva. Who give joy to Maharaja Prahlada, and Whose claws rent the hard chest of Hiranyakashipu like a chisel cutting stone.”

“Lord Narasimhadeva is here, and He is also there on the opposite side. Wherever I go, there I see Lord Narasimhadeva. He is outside and within my heart. Therefore I take shelter of Lord Narasimhadeva, the original Supreme Personality of Godhead.” 

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Narasimhadeva are One and the Same 

Although Chaitanya, in the guise of a devotee, worshiped Narasimhadeva, the two are in fact one, being both forms of God. Sri Chaitanya Himself confirmed several times that he was none other than Lord Narasimhadeva. 

Once was to Srivasa Thakura, one of his four closest associates, who was worshiping Lord Narasimhadeva behind closed doors. Lord Chaitanya came and knocked at the door, calling out, “Who are you worshiping? Whom are you meditating on? The person whom you are worshiping is here!” 

Another time, the same Srivasa Thakura was reading the Brihat-sahasra-nama, or thousand names of Lord Visnu, to Lord Chaitanya. The Chaitanya-Mangala describes that when he reached the holy name of Lord Narasimha, Lord Chaitanya became absorbed in thought, and then suddenly became angry just like Narasimhadeva. His eyes became red, the hairs on his body stood on end, and he trembled, making a ferocious roaring sound. When he took up a wooden club, the other devotees in the room were terrified, thinking, “What kind of offense have we committed?” But Mahaprabhu soon calmed down and relaxed, once again taking his seat. 

Perhaps the most famous—and scary—story illustrating the connection between Chaitanya and Narasimhadeva is of the Chand Kazi, a Muslim magistrate, who had been violently forbidding the street chanting of Lord Chaitanya’s associates. Breaking a mridanga drum, he threatened the devotees that if they continued he would confiscate all their property and force them to convert to Islam. 

One day, however, he suddenly stopped his antagonistic actions. When Lord Chaitanya asked him why, he replied: “The night after I forbade the performance of congregational chanting, in my dreams I saw a greatly ferocious lion, roaring very loudly, his body like a human being’s and his face like a lion’s. While I was asleep, the lion jumped on my chest, roaring fiercely and gnashing His teeth. Placing its claws on my chest, the lion said in a hoarse voice, ‘I shall immediately rip open your chest as you broke the mridanga drum! You have forbidden the performance of my congregational chanting. Therefore I must destroy you!’ 

“Being very much terrified, I closed my eyes and trembled. Seeing me so afraid, the lion said, ‘I have come just to teach you a lesson, but I will be merciful to you. On that day you did not create a very great disturbance. Therefore I have excused you and not taken your life. But if you perform such activities again, I shall not be tolerant.’ After saying this, the lion left.”

The Kazi then showed Lord Chaitanya his chest, which still had the marks of Narasimhadeva’s nails on it, and promised: “To as many descendants as take birth in my dynasty in the future, I give this grave admonition: No one should check the sankirtana movement.” 

On yet another occasion, Lord Chaitanya revealed his identity to Pradyumna Brahmacari, who he called Nrsimhananda, because of his devotion to Lord Narasimhadeva. One day Nrsimhananda prepared many varieties of food, including vegetables, cakes, sweet rice and more, and made three separate offerings to Jagannatha, Chaitanya, and his worshipful deity, Lord Narasimhadeva.
 
He then began to meditate on the Lord. In his meditation. He saw Chaitanya quickly come, sit down, and eat all three offerings, leaving no remnants behind.

Although Nrsimhananda was delighted to see Chaitanya come and eat, he was also dismayed. “Alas, alas! My dear Lord, what are You doing?” he cried. “You are eating everyone's food! My Lord, You are one with Jagannatha; therefore I have no objection to Your eating His offering. But why are You touching the offering for Lord Narasimhadeva? I think that Narasimhadev did not want to not eat anything today, and therefore He is fasting. If the master fasts, how can the servant live?” 

Pleased by Nrsimhananda’s devotion to his deity, Lord Chaitanya then revealed to him that he was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that there was no difference between him, Lord Jagannatha and Lord Narasimhadeva.

Eighteen Puranas mention the Narasimha avatara. if one goes to Ahobilam, abode of Lord Narasimha, even for one day it is equal to many years of visit to other places of pilgrimage. Donating 1,000 cows, with gold tipped horns in Kurukshetra, is supposed to confer good on a person.

But listening to the story of Narasimha on a full moon day or a new moon day is superior to this. Ahobilam is considered superior to a 1,000 yuga sojourn in Varanasi.

 

 

Bhakta-vatsal Bhagawan ki Jai!

Jai Gurudev!

Jai Jai Sri Radhey !!