Lord Narasimha
Lord Narasimha is one of the Dasavatars (10 incarnations) of Maha Vishnu, the protector-God of Hinduism. Maha Vishnu took this avatar to protect his devotee, Prahlad from his father, the demon king Hiranyakashipu.
Narasimha worship is popular amongst followers of all schools of Vaishnavism, the branch of Hindu philosophy considering Maha Vishnu as the supreme God. Though Narasimha worship is prevalent across India, he is worshipped widely in South India and more temples of him are found in this region.
The story of Narasimha Avatar
Once upon a time, there lived two demon brothers, Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu who were mighty and cruel in nature. They want to become more powerful and control all the celestial worlds.
The two brothers started meditating towards Brahma. Pleased by their penance, Brahma appeared before them. Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu were overjoyed and sought several boons from Brahma, who relented. They also sought immortality but Brahma cited the law of nature and said everyone born has to die but added that they can choose the way they want to die.
Both the brothers thought for a while and sought death by means that has to satisfy several conditions. Brahma gave them the boon and disappeared. Emboldened by the boon, the two started causing pain to all the worlds. Of the two brothers, Hiranyaksha was killed by Maha Vishnu who took the form of a boar to accomplish the task.
Enraged by the killing of his brother, Hiranyaksha in the hands of Vishnu, Hiranyakashipu started hating Maha Vishnu and banned devotees and people from worshipping him. He also caused huge suffering to the people with his mis-administration.
Hiranyakashipu had a son called Prahlad who turned to be a devout Vishnu devotee. Unable to entertain his son being the devotee of the one who he is despising, Hiranyakashipu tried hard to convince Prahlad that Vishnu was not powerful was inferior to him in terms of power and valour but he failed miserably. Every day the amount of devotion the child kept on Vishnu grew more and more. Realising that convincing his son was an impossible task, Hiranyakashipu ordered his execution but the boy miraculously escaped. At last, one day Hiranyakashipu met Prahlad directly at his court and asked where is Maha Vishnu and will he appear now. Prahlad replied in affirmative and said Maha Vishnu was omnipresent and was present in every in living and non-living things.
Hiranyakashipu took his mace and hit a big pillar near by and checked if Maha Vishnu was there. To everyone surprise, Maha Vishnu was seen inside the pillar in the form of Narasimha (half-man and half-lion) and jumped out of the broken pillar to fight with Hiranyakashipu. In the fierce fight that ensued, Hiranyakashipu was overpowered and slayed by Narasimha. The lord killed the demon adhering to the conditions Brahma had accepted.
Thus, the lord took the Narasimha avatar to save his devotee from troubles and to establish the supremacy of good over evil. This form of lord Vishnu is believed to be quick in responding to devotee’s plights and to offer protection against evil.
Worshipping Narasimha during Pradosham powertime and on Swathi star days is very special. During these days the devotees offer jaggery juice to the lord, chant his mantras and recite various stotras on him. The Narasimha Ashtottara Shatanamavali is one of the important Narasimha Bakthi literature. It contains the 108 names of lord Narasimha and bestows several benefits on the devotees if chanted with a devotion and purity. Below are the 108 names of Lord Narasimha.
Ashtottara Shatanamavali – The 108 Names of Lord Narasimha
- Om Naarasimhaya Namah
- Om Maha Simhaya Namah
- Om Divya Simhaya Namah
- Om Maha Balaya Namah
- Om Ugra Simhaya Namah
- Om Mahadevaya Namah
- Om Sthambhajaya Namah
- Om Ugralochanaya Namah
- Om Raudraya Namah
- Om Srvaadbhuthaya Namah
- Om Srimathe Namah
- Om Yoganandaya Namah
- Om Trivikramaya Namah
- Om Haraye Namah
- Om Kolahalaya Namah
- Om Chakrine Namah
- Om Vijayaya Namah
- Om Jayavardhanaya Namah
- Om Panchananaya Namah
- Om Parabrahmane Namah
- Om Aghoraya Namah
- Om Ghora vikramaya Namah
- Om Jwalan-mukhaya Namah
- Om Jwalamaline Namah
- Om Maha jwalaya Namah
- Om Maha prabhave Namah
- Om Nitalaakshaya Namah
- Om Sahasrakshaya Namah
- Om Durnireekshaya Namah
- Om Pratapanaya Namah
- Om Mahadamstrayudhaya Namah
- Om Pragnaya Namah
- Om Chandakopine Namah
- Om Sada Shivaya Namah
- Om Hiranyakasipa dwamsine Namah
- Om Daityadanava bhanjanaya Namah
- Om Gunabhadraya Namah
- Om Mahabhadraya Namah
- Om Balabhadraya Namah
- Om Subhadrakaya Namah
- Om Karaalaya Namah
- Om Vikaralaya Namah
- Om Vikarthrae Namah
- Om Sarva-karthrukaya Namah
- Om Simsumaraya Namah
- Om Trilokatmane Namah
- Om Eeshaya Namah
- Om Srveswaraya Namah
- Om Vibhave Namah
- Om Bhairavaadambharaya Namah
- Om Divyaya Namah
- Om Atchyutaya Namah
- Om Kavimadhavaya Namah
- Om Adhokshajaya Namah
- Om Aksharaya Namah
- Om Sharvaya Namah
- Om Vanamaline Namah
- Om Varapradaya Namah
- Om Viswambaraya Namah
- Om Adhbhutaya Namah
- Om Bhavyaya Namah
- Om Srivishnave Namah
- Om Purushottamaya Namah
- Om Anaghaastraya Namah
- Om Nakhaastraya Namah
- Om Suryajothishe Namah
- Om Sureshwaraya Namah
- Om Sahasra Bahavae Namah
- Om Sarvagnaya Namah
- Om Sarvasiddhi pradayakaya Namah
- Om Vajradamstraya Namah
- Om Vajra-nakhaya Namah
- Om Mahanandaya Namah
- Om Parantapaya Namah
- Om Sarva-mantraikarupaya Namah
- Om Sarva-yantra vidaranaya Namah
- Om Sarva tantratmakaya Namah
- Om Avyakthaya Namah
- Om Suvyakthaya Namah
- Om Bhaktha vatsalaya Namah
- Om Vaishakha sukhla bhuthothaya Namah
- Om Sharanagatha vatsalaya Namah
- Om Udara keerthaye Namah
- Om Punyathmane Namah
- Om Mahathmane Namah
- Om Chanda vikramaya Namah
- Om Vedatraya prapujyaya Namah
- Om Bhagavate Namah
- Om Parameswaraya Namah
- Om Srivatsankaya Namah
- Om Srinivasaya Namah
- Om Jagadvyapine Namah
- Om Jaganmayaya Namah
- Om Jagathpalaya Namah
- Om Jagannadhaya Namah
- Om Mahakayaya Namah
- Om Dwirupa bruthe Namah
- Om Paramatmane Namah
- Om Paramjothishe Namah
- Om Nirgunaya Namah
- Om Nrukesarine Namah
- Om Paratatvaya Namah
- Om Paramdhamne Namah
- Om Sacchidananda vigrahaya Namah
- Om Lakshmi-Nrusimhaya Namah
- Om Sarvathmane Namah
- Om Dheeraya Namah
- Om Prahlada Palakaya Namah
Ithi Sri Lakshmi Narasimha ashtotthara shatanamavali sampoornam
