Narasimha Ashtothram – Powerful Prayer on Narasimha https://www.pillaicenter.com Agenda Style 01 Lord Narasimha 02 The story of Narasimha Avatar 03 Ashtottara Shatanamavali – The 108 Names of Lord Narasimha https://www.pillaicenter.com Lord Narasimha Lord Narasimha is one of the Dasavatars (10 incarnations) of Maha Vishnu, the protectorGod 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. https://www.pillaicenter.com 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. https://www.pillaicenter.com The story of Narasimha Avatar 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 https://www.pillaicenter.com accepted. The story of Narasimha Avatar 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. https://www.pillaicenter.com LOREM IPSUM DOLOR SIT AMET, CU USU AGAM INTEGRE IMPEDIT. THANK YOU https://www.pillaicenter.com
