Blazing Narasimha Dev

The Deity of Jwala Narasimha

In district Sangli in southwestern Maharashtra, India lies a little known village by the name of Narasimhapur, and an even lesser known form of Lord Narasimhadeva. Known to the locals as “Jwala [flaming] Narasimha”, this impressive sixteen handed form of the Lord standing on one foot has been the protector and benefactor of his reverential devotees for thousands of years. The local tradition related to this deity has been compiled in a book known as Krishna-mahatmya. A verse reads as follows:

यदा पुनस्तदा भक्त्या तपः कर्तुं पराशरः  |
नारसिंहं तदा ध्यायन् कृष्णा तीरे मुनीश्वरः ||

''The foremost amongst the sages, Parashar, performed austerities on the bank of the river Krishna with a heart full of devotion, meditating on Lord Narasimhadev.''

According to the local tradition, Lord Narasimhadev was pleased with the devotion of Parashar Muni and hence appeared in a wonderful sixteen-handed form. This was the same blazing form that the Lord had assumed while killing Hiranyakashipu. 

Seeing that it was not possible for anyone to establish this ferociously blazing form on earth, the Lord ordered Parashar Muni to immerse him in the river Krishna. With a heavy heart, the sage immersed the deity in the water. 

Centuries later, around the year 178 A.D., a brahmin couple staying at a village named Anjana had been cursed to become blind and dumb by a sage. On begging forgiveness, they were advised by the sage to perform austerities for the pleasure of Lord Narasimha to absolve themselves of the curse. After twelve years of rigorous austerities, the Lord appeared in their dreams and told them that he now wished to establish himself on earth as a deity and asked them to approach the local king named Bhimadev to get him out of the river. When asked how they would find the exact location where he was under the water, the Lord told them to place some dry kusha grass in the stream and that they would find him exactly under the place where the grass caught fire. After having darshana of the Lord in the dream, the couple immediately regained their sight and speech and set off to inform the king. 

On hearing the request of the couple, the king sent his entourage to discover the deity. While searching in the river according to the procedure specified by the Lord, one of the blades of grass caught fire and the wonderful sixteen-handed form of the Lord was discovered from the depths of the river. 

On examining the deity, the devotees could see that the Lord was positioned with his left leg raised and bent in order to place the demon Hiranyakashipu upon it, and also to hold the left arm of the demon to prevent him from escaping. His other foot was placed firmly on the doorstep of Hiranyakashipu. 

On the left side of the Lord were small deities of Lakshmi-devi and Prahlad Maharaja. On the right side were deities of Bhudevi (the earth goddess) and Garuda. All around the form of Lord Narasimha were wonderful carvings of the famous dashavataras, ten incarnations of Lord Krishna. Most of these carvings can be seen even today. Unfortunately, the carving of Garuda has been lost and two hands of the Lord have been separated due to rough handling. These two hands have been preserved at a priest’s home nearby. 

Jwala Narasimha has been worshipped since then with great pomp and reverence, and was visited by many prominent saints of Maharashtra. The current temple structure was built under the guidance of Hemadri Pant, the disciple of the great vaishnava scholar Vopadev and commentator on Vopadev’s magnum opus entitled Muktaa-phalam. Hemadri Pant was an expert diplomat, administrator, poet, theologian, and scholar. 

Mentioned by Srila Jiva Goswami in Tattva- Sandarbha as a historical authority, Hemadri Pant held the position of minister in the court of King Ramachandra Dev of the Yadava dynasty of Maharashtra. It was under the guidance of Hemadri Pant that the temple was constructed by the king in 1273 A.D. The architecture of the temple is of a unique style named after Hemadri Pant, which relies on usage of locally available raw material. 

The temple has two main doors — one on the northern side and another on the eastern side. Visitors generally enter through the eastern door. The deity is located 14 feet under the ground, and in order to reach there one has to climb down steep staircases and pass through narrow tunnels many of which are under several inches of flowing water from the nearby Krishna river. The temple complex contains a painting and samädhi of a siddha- mahätma named Sri Siddheshwar Maharaja. 

The devotees meditate on the wonderful sixteen arms of Jwala Nrsimha as follows:

ध्येयो यदा महत्कर्म तदा षोडशहस्तवान |
नृसिंह सर्व लोकेशः सर्वाभरणभूषितः ||

द्वौ विदारण कर्माहौ द्वौ चत्रोद्धरणक्षमौ  |
चक्र शङ्ख धरौ अन्यौ अन्यौ बाणधनुर्धरौ ||

खड्ग खेट धरौ अन्यौ द्वौ गदा पद्म धारिणौ |
पाशाङ्कुशौ धरौ अन्यौ द्वौ रिपोर्मुकुटार्पितौ ||

इति शोडषदोर्दण्डमण्डितं नृहरिं विभुम् |
ध्यायेदंबुजनीलाभं कर्मण्यनन्यधिः ||

''Amongst all types of meditations on the great activities of the Lord, let there be meditation on the sixteen-handed Lord Narasimha, the Lord of all the worlds, decorated with all ornaments. Two of his arms are engaged in tearing apart the demon Hiranyakashipu, while two others prevent the demon from resisting. Two others carry the disc and the conch, while two others carry a bow and arrows. Two others carry a sword and a shield, while two others carry a club and a lotus. Two other hands carry a rope and a chastisement rod, while two others are placed on the crown of the demon. In this way, the sixteen hands of the almighty Lord Narasimhadev are decorated. One should meditate upon this dark-hued lotus like form of the Lord, who is the performer of ferocious activities and the master of infinite universes.''

Bibliography

1. Ek Alaukik Teerthakshetra, Shree-kshetra-Narasimhapur, third edition, researched, edited and re-written by Shyam D. Ghalsasi, 11, Vishwasgarden B, Suncity Road, Anand Nagar, Pune, Maharashtra.

2. Tattva-Sandarbha, transcribed edition from Gaudiya Grantha Mandira (http://www.granthamandira.com)

3. http://www.jwalanarsimha.blogspot.in

Notes : 

1. This article is taken from a bi-monthly e-magazine named Krishna Kathamrita Bindu. This magazine contains beautiful stories about Lord Krishna and various teachings from the authorized scriptures. To subscribe to this magazine for free, please visit Gopaljiu website. On top right corner of the page, you will see box for subscription. Back issues of this magazine are also available on the website. You can access them here.

2. I am looking for the book Krishna Mahatma written by Parashara Muni and a book mentioned  in Bibliography point 1 and also Muktaa phalam by Vopadev. If anybody has or can find these books (especially people in Maharashtra state) , then please let me know by sending email at hrishikeshsonalikar@gmail.com. I will be eternally grateful. 

Eastern Gate of Jwala Narasimha Temple

I visited this temple few years back when I went on a casual trip with some of my school friends. The trip was almost unplanned and surprisingly we ended up visiting only temples, although the original purpose was just to wander around and explore.  At that time I did not know about the ancient history of this ancient temple. Now that I know it, I find a renewed eagerness to visit this temple once again with more spiritual seriousness and humility.

Denkanikottai

Denkanikottai 

A report by

 Hrishikesh Sonalikar and Nagraj Swami

17 June 2012

Denkanikottai is a place of the Betrayaswami temple. It is situated at 25 kilometers from Hosur. Hosur is around 40 kilometers from Bangalore. Denkanikottai can be reached by a bus from Hosur. Hosur is accessible from Bangalore by bus as well as by train. This place can be visited from Bangalore as a one day trip. The temple of Betrayaswami is situated at around 2 km from the bus station. This 2 kilometer stretch is an enjoyable walk on the small road surrounded by houses and some very big and beautiful trees. History of this place is as follows.

There are eight chapters of the Skanda Purana which describe the glories of this place. The Yaksha brother of Kubera's maternal grandfather, whose name was Maharnavan, underwent a rugged penance for achieving the blessings of Brahma. When Brahma was impressed by Maharnavan's penance, he gave Maharnavan the boon of deathlessness. However, excited by this new strength, he started harassing the devatas (celestials) and turned their abodes into rubble. He did this with such a determination that he was given a nickname `Deva Gandakan' meaning the harrier of the devas.

Many many years ago, when this area was covered with very dense forest, Kanva muni was performing austerities at this place. Once Deva Gandakan decided to harass him as well. When Kanva muni found himself put into trouble by Deva Gandakan, he requested Lord Venkateshwara to save him. Hearing the plea of his dear devotee, Lord decided to teach Deva Gandakan a good lesson. He appeared at this place in the guise of a hunter. He called for Lord Rama in order to learn Dhanurvidya (archery) and procure weapons needed to defeat the daemon. Deva Gandakan had this ability to come alive from his own blood when his blood would be spilled from his body on the ground. So the Lord called for mother Durga to drink the blood of daemon Deva Gandakan. When this was done, the Lord engaged in the battle with Deva Gandakan. Deva Gandakan also, confident about his immortality, charged the Hunter Lord, but the Lord hit him and severely wounded Deva Gandakan. The Yaksha then achieved not only redemption but also realization. He then asked the Lord that the place be named as Denkanipuram in memory of this incident. Kanva muni was also blessed with a Darshan of the Lord Venkateshwara who accepted the name `Betrayaswami' which means the Lord as a hunter.

While the battle was going on between the Lord and Deva Gandakan, some of his blood was spilled at the spot where Kanva muni was performing austerities. A tree stands at that spot now and, according to local tradition, even if that tree has been cut again and again, it grows again. This tree is today inside the temple wall just behind the small shrine dedicated to Kanva muni. The main deity of Lord Betrayaswami is at the center of the temple complex. This deity is same in appearance as that of Lord Venkateshwara who resides in Tirumala hills (Lord Tirupati). The deity is very beautiful and decorated with flowers and many ornaments. The deity of Lord Betrayaswami is accompanied by Sridevi and Bhuvedi at His sides. They are also very beautifully decorated. The temple of Lord Rama along with Lakshmana, mother Sita and Anjaneya is situated on the left hand side of Lord Betrayaswami. There is a separate shrine of Anjaneya  inside the temple complex. This Anjaneya (Hanuman) is quite big in size.  

When the Lord was done with Deva Gandakan, he was still filled with rage and anger. To calm down the Lord, mother Saundarya Valli took her birth in nearby village. Lord very much liked Saundarya Valli and He was married with her. The temple of Sundarya Valli is situated at the right hand side of the Lord inside the temple complex. The village in which mother Saundarya Valli took her birth is situated to the south direction from the temple, behind the coconut trees. The original deity of the Lord, who was filled with rage, is smaller in size and very Ugra (angry). This deity is kept in separate room inside the main temple hall and is not available for Darshan. Local tradition is that whoever touches that deity burns with fire.

There are other shrines in the hallways of this temple, which include Venugopala with Rukmini and Satyabhama, shrine of Alwars and a separate shrine of Ramanujacharya.

A five tiered gopuram of the ornate Hoysala style of architecture rises over the eastern entrance of the temple. The temple itself sits on one acre of land. A wall that surrounds it is 244 feet long and 204 feet wide. In front of the temple is the Swami Pushkarini Lake that is 220 feet square. The northern gate of the temple is called Swarga Dvara (A gate to heaven). This gate is normally closed. It is opened only two times in a year, once on Sankranti day and once more on Ugadi day. On these days, there is a festival in the temple and Lord's `Utsav Murti' travels through this door. One who passes through this door goes to heaven (Swargaloka) after death.

On 17 June 2012, I started from Yeshwantpur at 8:00 am and reached Majestic after half an hour. There I joined with Nagaraj and had breakfast. Then we went to Attibelle in BMTC Volvo bus. The bus fare was 70 rupees and we proffered one day gold pass which costs 90 rupees. From Attibelle, we took bus to Hosur (time taken = 25 to 30 minutes, bus fare 6 rupees). From Hosur we took bus to  Denkanikottai (time taken = 1 hour, bus fare 10 rupees). While returning we followed the same pattern reversed. One can directly go to Hosur or Denkanikottai by boarding bus at K.R Market in Bangalore. We did not know this at that time. 

We reached Denkanikottai at around 12:30 pm and started walking towards the temple. Local people told us the way to the temple and it is pretty straight forward. Along the way we saw some very big Pimpal trees. The surrounding area is covered by houses, farms, bushes and occasional water pond. We reached temple by 1:00 pm. The temple was closed at that time and we came to know that it would open at 2:00 pm. One family group of devotees and some other devotees were already present there, waiting for Lord to give Darshan. They were chanting Holy names of the Lord and singing devotional songs. We also joined in. We also started enquiring about the book which will give detail information about the place, but were not fortunate enough to find one.

At 2:00 pm sharp, the doors of the innermost chamber of the temple hall were opened. The Lord was still behind the curtain. The temple priests then started chanting vedic hymns and finally we had the beautiful Darshan of the Lord. The Lord was then worshiped with lamps, flowers, fruits and many other sacred items along with vedic chanting and ringing bells. Nobody was allowed to have closer look at the Lord at this time. When the Arati of the Lord was complete, priests closed the curtain and all of us went to the temple of Saundarya Valli Devi. There mother Saundarya Valli also was worshiped in a similar way. After the Arati of Devi was complete, we were allowed to go near Her and pay our humble obeisances. She is very kind to allow devotees to have her Darshan from closer distance. Then again we came back to the main temple hall of Lord Betrayaswami. Curtains were removed and this time priests personally asked the names of all devotees present there and prayed to Lord on their account. This time Lord also allowed closer Darshan. The priests then blessed everybody by giving them Tulasi leaves, Teerthamrita, Kumkum powder and lamp offered to the Lord. Many people offered donations at this time.

Then we all took our seats outside the temple hall and the priests served us lunch prasadam. Prasadam was served on banana leaves and consisted of four different kinds of cooked rice. It was extreamly delicious. One can not forget the spiritual taste of sweet rice made in pure ghee for the pleasure of the Lord.

We were fortunate enough to meet Mr. Ramamurti, an elderly but very enthusiastic and cheerful person along with Mr. Jayapal, a kind and generous resident of Denkanikottai. They told us so many things about this place and about the Lord. After taking some pictures of the temple, all four of us decided to go to Gavi Shree Laxmi-Narasimha temple which is located at 2 kilometers to the east of Lord Betrayaswami temple. History of this temple is as follows.

This temple is more that 5000 years old. In Dwapara Yuga, Pandava brothers along with their wife Draupadi had to undergo an exile from their kingdom. During their exile, Arjuna used to carve deities of the Lord Krishna in his many incarnations. Once during their exile, Pandava brothers were staying at this place which was covered with very dense forest. There Arjuna carved the deity of Lord Narasimha inside the underground cave. After some time Pandava brothers left this place.

During Kali Yuga (current age which started around 5000 years ago and will last for 4,27,000 more years), a king named Dharma was ruling this area. During one of his hunting expeditions, he found this ancient cave and decided to go inside thinking that he might get a prey. When he reached inside the underground cave, he saw the deity but could not identify whose deity it was. Kanva muni was residing nearby. King then went to Kanva muni and told him about his discovery and asked for guidance. Kanva muni came to visit the cave and using his mystic powers, he could know all about the deity. Kanva muni told king Dharma that the deity belonged to none other than Lord Narasimha who had appeared in Ahobilam (in Andhra Pradesh) during Satya Yuga to kill daemon Hiranyakashipu and protect his dear devotee Prahlada. He told that the deity was carved personally by Arjuna and asked the king to worship the deity by performing Vedic Yadnyas (fire sacrifices). When Lord Narasimha was pleased with the king, he appeared to the king and told him to ask a boon. King Dharma then requested Lord that he (king) will be very pleased if Lord (Narasimha) resides here along with Lakshmi Devi. Lord granted king's request and Lakshmi Devi also appeared at the place along with the Lord.

Today one can find an underground cave inside the temple in which Lord Narasimha resides with Lakshmi Devi on his lap. There is another deity of Lakshmi Devi inside the cave. On the pillars of the temple are carved various incarnations of the Lord. On some distance outside the temple wall, there is a stone marked with lotus feet of the Lord.

Until recently, this temple was not accessible. People used to avoid coming into this area due to dense forest and the fear of big snakes as well as wild elephants. But recently the place was cleared and the stairs were constructed to reach the temple which is situated on the hill. The ancient temple complex itself, which was partially destroyed during Muslim rule, was renovated with its new Gopuram and wall. One can see a collection of pictures of these developments kept inside the temple complex. Also in memory of big snakes found during the reconstruction of the temple, a small sanctuary dedicated to these snakes is built.

We came to know that when Lord Betrayaswami defeated Deva Gandakan, one of his leg was near the Narasimha temple and other leg was near Betrayaswami temple. On the way towards Shree Laxmi Narasimha temple there are two more temples. One is dedicated to Draupadi, the wife of Pandavas. The other is dedicated to mother Mariyamma who has not allowed the roof to be constructed on the top of her temple. She prefers to reside inside the walls but without the roof.

The temple of Durga Devi, who drank the blood of Deva Gandakan is situated in the Denkanikottai village itself. It opens only on Tuesdays and Fridays.

We also came to know that there is an underground hidden passage which connects Shree Laxmi-Narasimha temple to Betrayaswami temple, another connecting Denkanikottai to Hosur, and another connecting Hosur to Srirangapatinam.

After a brief visit to the home of Mr Jayapal, we headed back to Bangalore. During our return journey we revised what we had learnt during our first holy expedition in south India. When I reached my room in IISc at 10:15 pm in night, I found myself thinking about the questions which were still unanswered. Where Kanva muni went after leaving Denkanikottai? How were the Lord Betrayaswami's dealings with mother Saundarya Valli and temple priests? Did Ramanujacharya visit this temple during his travels? If yes, then what happened when he visited the temple in 11th century? Where I will find the Sanskrit text of Skanda Purana which describes all these incidents? Will I ever find these eight chapters given that the Sthala Puranas are becoming rare these days and generally excluded from the standard printed editions of the Puranas? ..... These and so many other questions keep us anxious. We will try to get them answered during our next visit to Denkanikottai. Govinda!

References

1. Spiritual India Handbook by Stephen Knapp, Jaico Publishing House, 2011, Page no. 268.

2. Interview with mister Jayapal.

3. Interview with mister Ramamurti.

4. Interview with temple priest of Gavi Shree Lakshmi Narasimha Swami temple. 

Acknowledgements

This journey would not be so interesting without the blessings and guidance of Mr Jayapal and Mr Ramamurti. We are very much grateful for their help and hospitality. We also thank many people who helped us along the way in different ways.

Notes

1. Present age is called Kali yuga. Its total duration is 4,32,000 solar years. Before this was Dwapara yuga which lasts for 2*(Kali yuga duration). Before that was Treta yuga which lasts for 3*(Kali yuga duration). Before that was Satya yuga also called as Krita yuga which lasts for 4*(kali yuga duration). Set of these four ages is called one Divya yuga. One thousand such sets make up one day of Brahma. Same is a night of Brahma. Brahma lives for  100 such years, one year containing 360 days of Brahma. So life of Brahma is very very long and same is the life of this universe. At the beginning of the universe, Brahma is born on the huge lotus flower which sprouts from the navel of Lord Vishnu who resides in the nether regions of the universe. Then Lord gives Brahma all the elements and ingredients required to carry out the secondary creation of the universe.

2. There are eighteen main Puranas (Historical accounts) one of which is Skanda Purana. Puranas are part of vedic literature and composed by Vyasadeva who is again the incarnation of the Lord for the purpose of writing such literatures for the benefit of people in the Kali yuga. Previously, before Kali yuga started, the knowledge was transfered orally and written books were not required because of very good memory of the people in those ages.

3. Although there are many incarnations of Lord like Narasimhadeva, Vyasadeva .... who appeared for different purposes and appear to have different personalities, there is no really difference between them. Incarnations and their activities are always mentioned and predicted in the authorized scriptures and so incarnations are always identified by their symptoms given in the scriptures. Although there are many incarnations, they all have originated from the same original supreme personality of godhead, whose spiritual body is full of eternity, knowledge and bliss and who resides in Goloka Vrindavan which is outside this material realm and beyond impersonal brahman.

Temple complex of Betrayaswami

Inside the wall of Betrayaswami temple

Swami Pushakarini lake outside the Betrayaswami temple

On the way to Lakshmi Narasimha Swami temple

Gopuram of Lakshmi Narasimha Swami temple

Way to the underground cave of Lakshmi Narasimha Swami temple

Snake deities