SRI ANJANEYA SWAMI OF NAMAKKAL DIGAMBARA TEMPLE, TAMIL NADU...
gk kaushik
Absolute faith of Bhaktah Prahalad
We offer our prayers to Lord. We stand in front of the deity and pray,
but we should have absolute faith in Him. Only then our prayers are answered.
To develop faith in Him, we try. Mere trying will not do, but doing will do
the miracle. Have absolute faith in Him and surrender yourself to Him,
Saranakatha is what the life of Bhaktha Prahalad imparts to us.
Prahalad - the son of Hiranyakasyap - had absolute faith in God; there was
not even an iota of doubt in his mind that the Parabrahma exists and exists
everywhere. He believed that the very existence of the universe is an act of
the God - whereas his father believed otherwise. When challenged by
Hiranyakasyap to prove the existence of Parabrahma, Prahlad said that the God
exists in every atom and even in subatomic particles. On hearing this
Hiranyakasyap retorts and asks Prahlad as to whether the God is in the pillar
nearby. Prahlad replies that the God is not only in the pillar but also in
the very words uttered by Hiranyakasyap and also in the sound of those words.
[Look at the absolute faith the Bhakta Prahalad had on Him.] Angered by this
and with a view to proving Prahlad wrong Hiranyakasyap hits the pillar with
his mace so as to break it. Lord Vishnu takes the form of Narasimha ie. Half
in the form of Nara [man] and half in the form of Simha [Lion] and comes out
of the pillar and kills Hiranyakasyap - the Rakshasa.
Narasimha Avtar of Lord Vishnu
When Hiranyakasyap had tried to kill Prahalad by rolling him from
mountain, when brought under the feet of the elephant etc., the God had
protected him. But why then the Narasimha avtar of Vishnu in ugra [angered]
form? Was it taken to avenge the sufferings of true and faithful at the hands
of Hiranyakasyap [representing the evil forces]? Yes, but there is more to
it. He took the roopa of Narasimha to prove that the absolute faith should
not be failed. While He had taken the rest of the Dasa avatharas after due
consideration and deliberation, the Narasimha avtar is considered to have
been taken on the kshana (micro second), and even before His consort Sri Devi
came to know of it.
Ugramoorthi and Santhaswaroopi
When Bhaktha Prahalad had seen Lord Narasimha in the ugra he starts
praying to Him to mellow down. The prayers of His Bhaktha mellows down the
lord. In the mean time, the devathas had to seek the help of Sri Devi to make
Narasimha a santha swaroopi.
Sri Devi's Penance at Namakkal
Sri Devi descends on earth to see the ugramoorthi and mellow Him down.
Alas! Sri Devi could see only a mellowed Narasimha moorthi. She undertakes
penance to see Him as Ugra Narasimha moorthi and enters the nearby tank full
of lotus. The 'kamalaya tank' is said to be in the place called Namakkal in
Tamil Nadu. It is interesting to know how that place got the name 'Namakkal'.
Sri Anjaneya at Kamalaya Tank
Lord Anjaneya the devotee of Lord Rama, is another absolute faithful. He
had been in service of his master Lord Rama then. While Anjaneya was taking
bath in the Kantaki River in Nepal he had a divine direction to carry the
Saleegramam - a rare fossil stone, found normally in Nepal, down South and he
had been asked not to put the Saleegramam down in the earth. [Saligramam is a
rare fossil stone, found normally in Nepal and it is supposed to represent
Hari in the Pujas.] He had picked up the fossil stone and was flying
Southward. When the evening Sandya time came he wanted to offer his prayers
to his guru Lord Surya. He was looking for the pond and found the Kamalaya
tank of Namakal. As he was directed not to keep the Saleegramam stone down in
the earth, he requests Sri Devi to keep the Saleegramam with her till he
finishes his santhyavandhanam and hands over the fossil stone to her. Time
passed by and Anjaneya returned to pickup the Saleegramam, Sri Devi had
placed the Saleegramam down on the earth.
Saleegramam's viswaroopam
Before anybody knew what had happened, the Saleegramam started growing
big. Anjaneya after his prayer came to know of what had happened from Sri
Devi. Not knowing what to do Anjaneya tries to lift the Saleegramam with the
knot of his tail. Alas! The Saleegramam broke and Lord Narashimha in
Ugra
form gave dharshan to Anjaneya and Sri Devi. Lord said to Anjaneya that the
penance of Sri Devi had ended because of the Saleegramam brought by him
represented Hari in Ugra Narashima form. That the place will be henceforth
been known as 'Namakkal' ('Namagiri' in Sanskrit), since the
Saleegramam had
turned into a mountain here.
The Cave Temple
The Lord Narashima in the main deity of the cave temple atop the hill
which is in the middle of this town Namakkal. The Lord Narashima is facing
west sitting with his right leg placed to the ground, and His left leg is
placed on the right thigh. The sharpness of the 'vajra naka' with which Lord
had performed the Hiranya samhara is worth noting. Sri Jankan is standing on
His left and Sri Sanadhan on to His right and telling the Lord about the "Lokashama"
in His ears. On to his left Siva, and on to His right Brahma is seen pleading
with the Lord to mellow down. This is very rare to see the Trimurthis in one
place. This place is also known by the name 'Trimurthi Sthala'. Though Lord
is seen in ugra form here He is Lord Lakshmi Narashima since it is the place
where Sri Devi is also present after her penance.
Digambara Anajaneya Temple
Since the Saleegramam had turned into a mountain open to sky Anjaneya is
in Digambara temple with anjalihasta facing and worshiping Lord Lakshmi
Narashima and the Saleegramam. The Anjaneya in this kshethra is eighteen feet
tall and is having dharshan of the Lord Lakshmi Narashima who is about 250
feet away. The wonder of this dharshan is that the eye of Anjaneya is in
straight line with the patha [lotus feet] of Lord Lakshmi Narashima. One
could witness Anjaneya having the dharshan of Lord's Lotus feet from the
Garudalwar sannathi even today. The imprint of the footsteps of Anjaneya
Swami is seen in the Kamalalam tank steps.
Namakkal Town is the Hq. of the Namakkal district, which is extensively
covered with hilly ranges and rocks of the Kollimalai range of hills which
runs along the east of Nammakkal.
The State Archeological Survey opines that the cave temples were constructed
by Adhiyaman rulers who ruled over Kongu Nadu, and the cave sculptures were
engraved by Gunasila Adhiya Kula, King during 7th Century.
The Lord Anjaneya who had ended the penance of Sri Devi and got Her the glimpses of the Lord Narashima, and having dharshan of His Patharavindha is waiting for us. In this kshethra He will award us with end of our penance of this janma and to have dharshan of his Lord's Patharavindha.
[ed.07.03.02]