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

 

Lord Narasimha lore is very popular in the southern part of India. As the Lord appeared and dwelt in the Andhra and Odisha regions, there are many legends about Him there specifically. However, the tradition of Narasimha worship is quite evenly spread throughout India right from Kashmir to Kanya Kumari.  Vedic scriptures are replete with glorification of Bhagavan Narasimha.


The Ramayana mentions Lord Narasimha explicitly in four places:

  1. When Ravana approaches Mareech for help in abducting Sita Devi, Mareech says “asambhavam!” (Impossible!) because Sita Lakshmi is seated on the lap of Bhagavan Narasimha.
  2. Valmiki glorifies Rama entering the cave as “simho giri guhyaashayah”
  3. While offering words of comfort to Sita Devi, Hanuman conveys the message “Do not worry. Narasimha will be here shortly to rescue you.”
  4. In the Vibheeshan Sharanaagati, Sugriva enquires of Lord Rama “what if the surrender of Vibheeshan is a deceitful ploy on the part of the Rakshasas to gain our confidence and kill us while we are caught off guard?
    Lord Rama answers “Do not worry. If indeed what you say is true, I do not even need my weapons to destroy the asuras. I shall rip them apart with my finger nails.”

Devotees from the South aver that Bhagavan Narasimha is extensively glorified in the Vishnu sahastranaam storam found in the Mahabharata. It is a commonly held belief that Bhishma Pitamaha was rendering a eulogy for Lord Krishna in this exquisite stotram. However, closer examination will reveal that the Vishnu Shastranaam is a glorification of Bhagavan Narasimha from start to finish. The first incarnation mentioned in this stotram is Bhagavan Narasimha through the salutation “naarasimha-vapu-sriman keshava purushottamaha” (The mane of the lion was beautiful to behold because the man-lion was gentle to His bhakta, Prahlada, while striking terror in the heart of Hiranyakashipu.)

The Vishnu Sahastranaam concludes with the salutation sarva praharanaayudha Om nama ithi”. Lord Krishna never bore arms during the Mahabharata war. Nor did he adorn himself with weapons while appearing before Bhishma. Therefore, this description does not fit Lord Krishna in the present instance. However, Bhagavan Narasimha’s finger nails have the power from all of His 5 weapons. Therefore, the concluding salutation of the Vishnu Sahastranaam is most appropriate for Him. Therefore devotees believe that these facts conclusively demonstrate that it is Bhagavan Narasimha that is glorified from start to finish in the Vishnu Sahastranaam stotram."

In the seventh skanda of the Bhagavatam, Parikshit Maharaj enquires of Shuka Goswami “Oh kind-hearted Brahman, you say that the Lord is impartial. He is equally fond of all beings. However on closer examination of your narrative, it seems as though the Lord repeatedly incarnates to favour Indra and destroy his enemies, the asuras. Does this not mean that the Lord dislikes the asuras?”

Sukadev Goswami was extremely pleased by this question and he replied “Oh King your question is going to result in the well being of the entire universe. It seems as though your love for Bhagavatas exceeds even that of Bhagavan”.

To precisely demonstrate the Lord’s impartiality towards all and specifically demonstrate the Lord’s love for Prahlada, who was born in the asura clan, Sukadev Goswami narrated the glories of Lord Narasimha.  It is instructive to understand the reason for Bhagavan Narasimha’s divine appearance from the pillar.

The incarnation of Bhagavan Narasimha was solely to uphold the words of his beloved devotee Prahlada (“Yes! The Lord is everywhere, even in this pillar”), and subsequently to fulfil the conditions of Brahma’s boon to Hiranyakashipu and of Narada muni, who dissuaded Indra from killing Kayadhu, the wife of Hiranyakashipu (when the latter was away engaged in penance.)

Rasik acharyas embellish with insightful details the dramatic appearance of the Lord from a pillar in the grand hall of Hiranyakashipu. The Lord was keenly following each word of the argument between Prahalada and his father King Hiranyakashipu waiting for an opportune time to appear. The time was evening, neither day nor night, and it was fast approaching dusk. He had to hurry. And when Prahalada calmly and firmly asserted that indeed Bhagavan is omni-present and yes, He in the pillar too... He got His opportunity! He appeared as half man and half animal without any weapons and slew Hiranyakashipu with His claws on the threshold (neither inside nor outside) by placing him on His thighs (neither on the ground nor above).

In seeking the hand of Lord Krishna, Rukmini conveyed her appeal in the form of 7 verses in the Srimad Bhagavatam. Significantly not once in these verses does She mention Krishna by name. Instead Rukmini employs the salutation “Kale Narasimha“. This is because She appeals to the bhakta-vaatsalya of Bhagavan Narasimha to rescue and protect her urgently rather than the playful sporting nature of Krishna.

Bhagavan Narasimha was also worshipped by the Lord Srinivasa, who roamed the forest. The worship of Bhagavan Narasimha by Lord Srinivasa is eloquently documented in the Venkataachala mahatmyam. Specifically, at the time of his wedding to Padmavati Devi, Srinivasa was seated in the altar ready to perform the wedding rites. Agni dev personally undertook the preparation of food for the occasion. When the food was ready for offering as naivedyam, Brahma had a question “Who should the food be offered to when Bhagavan Himself is present as the groom?” Lord Srinivasa answered “Ahobila narasimhaaya poojaam krutva yatha vidhi” (Let the offering be made to Ahobila Narasimha with proper rituals”).

Bhadram is one of the names of Bhagavan Narasimha, while Bhadraa is the name for Ma Mahalakshmi. The Bhadram (protection) afforded jointly by Bhagavan and Mahalakshmi is that of unfailing protection and saving of those who surrender to His Lotus Feet.

In conclusion let us reflect upon the sharaanagati mantra of Bhagavan Narasimha through the salutation “Mata Narasimhascha pita narasimha Bhraata Narasimhascha Sakha Narasimha Vidya Narasimha Dravinam Narasimha Swami Narasimha sakalam Narasimha; Ito Narasimha parato Narasimha yatho yatho yaami thato Narasimha Narasimhadevaat-adhikam na kinchit tasman-narasimham sharanam prapadhye”

 

Bhakta-vatsal Bhagavan ki Jai !!

 

Jai Gurudev!

Jai Jai Shri Radhey !