Absolute faith of Bhaktah Prahalad

We offer our prayers to the Lord. We stand in front of the deity and pray, but we should have absolute faith in Him. Only then are our prayers answered. To develop faith in Him, we try. Mere trying will not do, but doing alone 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 God—whereas his father believed otherwise. When challenged by Hiranyakasyap to prove the existence of Parabrahma, Prahlad said that God exists in every atom and even in subatomic particles. On hearing this, Hiranyakasyap retorts and questions Prahlad, as to whether the God exists 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 in 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 comes out of the pillar, taking the form of Narasimha, i.e., half in the form of Nara [man] and half in the form of Simha [Lion], and and kills Hiranyakasyap—the Rakshasa.

Narasimha Avtar of Lord Vishnu

God had protected when Hiranyakasyap had tried to kill Prahalad by rolling him from a mountain, and when brought under the feet of the elephant, etc., But why then Vishnu took Narasimha avatar of ugra [angered] form? Was it taken to avenge the sufferings of the true and faithful, at the hands of the evil forces represented by Hiranyakasyap? Yes, but there is more to it. Lord 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 (microsecond), 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 started praying to Him to mellow down. The prayers of His Bhaktha mellowed the lord. In the meantime, the devas had to seek the help of Sri Lakshmi Devi to make Narasimha mellow down and become 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. She undertakes penance to see Him as Ugra Narasimha moorthi and enters the nearby tank full of lotus. It is said to have happen in the place called 'kamalaya tank' Namakkal in Tamil Nadu. How that place got the name 'Namakkal' is by itself a interesting anecdote.

Sri Anjaneya at Kamalaya Tank

Anjaneya, the devotee of Lord Rama is another absolute faithful to the Lord. He had been in the service of his master, Lord Rama. While Anjaneya was taking a bath in the Kantaki River in Nepal, he had a divine direction to carry a shaligram southward, and not to put the shaligram down in the earth. Shaligram is a rare fossil stone, found normally in Nepal, represents Hari in the Pujas. He had picked up the fossil stone and was flying southward. When the evening sunset 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 shaligram stone down in the earth, he was looking for a safe hand who can keep it. When he saw Sri Devi there he requests Sri Devi to keep the shaligram with her till he finishes his santhyavandhanam and hands over the fossil stone to her. Time passed by, and Anjaneya returned to pick up the shaligram. Sri Devi had placed the shaligram down on the earth.

Saleegramam's viswaroopam

Before anybody know what had happened, the shaligram started growing big. Anjaneya, after his prayer, came to know from Sri Devi of what had happened . Not knowing what to do, Anjaneya tries to lift the shaligram with the knot of his tail. Alas! The shaligram broke, and Lord Narashimha in Ugra form gave darshan to Anjaneya and Sri Devi. Lord told Anjaneya since shaligram brought by him represented Hari in Ugra Narashima form, the penance of Sri Devi had come to an end. since the shaligram had turned into a mountain here, the place will henceforth be known as 'Namakkal' ('Namagiri' in Sanskrit).

The Cave Temple

The Lord Narashima is the main deity of the cave temple atop the hill, which is in the middle of this town, Namakkal. Lord Narashima is seen sitting posture with his right leg placed on the ground, and his left leg placed on the right thigh and facing west. The sharpness of the 'vajra naka' with which the Lord had performed the Hiranya samhara is worth noting. Sri Jankan is standing on His left and Sri Sanadhan on His right are seen telling the Lord about the "Lokashama" in His ears. On His left is Siva, and on his right Brahma, who is seen pleading with the Lord to mellow down. It 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 also present after her penance.

Digambara Anajaneya Temple

Since the shaligram had turned into a mountain and is open to the sky, Anjaneya also stands in the hypaethral [digambara] temple with anjalihasta, facing and worshipping Lord Lakshmi Narashima and the shaligram. The Anjaneya in this kshetra is eighteen feet tall and having darshan of the Lord Lakshmi Narashima, who is about 250 feet away. The wonder of this darshan is that the eye of Anjaneya is in a straight line with the patha [lotus feet] of Lord Lakshmi Narashima. One could witness Anjaneya having the darshan of the Lord's Lotus feet from the Garudalwar sannidhi even today. In the Kamalalam tank steps, the imprint of the footsteps of Anjaneya Swami is seen.

Namakkal Town, the HQ of the Namakkal district, is extensively covered with hilly ranges and rocks of the Kollimalai range of hills, which runs along the east of Nammakkal.

The State Archaeological Survey is of the opinion 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 the 7th Century.

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SRI HANUMAN THINKS DIFFERENTLY, THINKS FAST
THINKS AHEAD AND ACTS FOR SURE

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Ed [07.03.02]
Updates: [Jan 2025]

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