NARASIMHASWAMYTEMPLE NAMAKKALNAMAKKAL DISTRICT - TAMIL NADU-COMPILED. Dear friends,
Narasimha Swamy temple in Namakkal, a district in Tamil Nadu,is an astonishing temple with charismatic architecture. The main deity of thetemple is Narasimha, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The temple is situated onthe Salem - Namakkal –Trichy SH route and was built in the Dravidian and Rock-cutarchitectural styles. The deity is facing West. The temple's legend revolves around Narasimha, who appeared for Lakshmi,his consort, and Hanuman. Historians estimate that the temple wasconstructed in the 8thcentury by the Pandya Kings based on its architectural elements. It is 70% a rock cut temple of Namakkal Hill in the centre ofNamakkal Town. I was working at Namakkal as SG Assistant Engineer from 1986for 4 years . The temple is close to theTelephone exchange and my residence was also near to the temple. The temple was visited often by me while working there. The famous NamakkalAnjaneyar templewith no roofing is opposite to it andthe idol facing East is as ifworshipping Lord Narasimha. Late Srinivas Ramanujam,mathematician, hasstated the Namagiri thayarof the temple used to appear in dreams to him and given solutions toMathematical problems. Today my posting is about this very famous temple. Hope adivine reading. Gopalakrishnan 17-09-2025 Introduction This magnificent temple is skilfully carved out of the hillside on the slopes of NamakkalFort. Follow the wide corridor lined with pillared hallways to thetemple's heart, where you'll be greeted by a magnificent sitting image of Lord Narasimha.Consider the intricate details of the conch and chakra in his hands, as well as the two separate imagesof the Sun and Moondepicted beneath his feet. It's a truly hypnotic experience youwon't want to miss! One can witness theintricate beauty of the TrimurtiSthalam here. While exploring the temple, one will come across aone-of-a-kind pendant portraying the beautiful Goddess Lakshmi. On either side of Narasimha Swamy, who is still in his fierceform, are the calming figures of Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma. This intriguing temple is known for its devotion to theTrimurti and includes sanctuaries dedicated to the Goddesses Namagiri Thayar and Lakshmi Narayana. Lord Ranganatha's shrine is located above the main temple. Thetemple is one of the 108 Abhimana Kshethrams of Vaishnavate tradition. Festivals The procession of the deities through the streets takes placeduring the annual 15-day Panguni Uthiram festival, which is held in the monthsof March and April. Legends As per Hindu legend, Hiranyakashipu, an Asura king, received a boonfrom the god Brahma that no human/ animal could kill him, neither could he bekilled in morning, noon or night nor in air, water, or the ground. His son Prahladawas an ardent devotee of Vishnu, garnering the hate of his father.Hiranyakashipu tried to slay Prahalada numerous times, however Prahalada savedby Vishnu. In a heated argument, Hiranyakashipu asked his son if Vishnu waspresent everywhere; when Prahalada replied in the affirmative; the king broke apillar to check if Vishnu was present there. Vishnu assumed the avatara of Narasimha and burst out fromthe pillar. Narasimha was a half-human with a lion face and killedHiranyakashipu during sunset (evening) time in a doorway, which was neitherland nor air; fulfilling the conditions of Brahma's boon. Ages passed by, when Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu was angry and performing penancebecause Narasimha did not forgive Hiranyakashpu. Hanuman (Anjaneyar) was carrying a shaligrama image andrequested the disguised Lakshmi to hold it until he returns. Lakshmi could not bear the weightand placed the image at this place, which grew into a mount before Hanumancould return. Narasimha appeared before both of them and set his abode atthis place in the stone statue. This the place where Lakshmi got back into the chest of Vishnu and can beseen even today in the main deity's chest. Narasimha is seen here worshipped by the deities Shiva andBrahma.Ranganatha is seen in a ‘Karkodaya’ Sayana Posture At the end of theRamayana, Anjaneya went to place the Sanjeevani Mountain back at its original location. Afterdoing so, he found the sacred Saligrama stone on the banks of Kantaka River. Onhis way back, he stopped by at the Kamalalaya Pushkarni to perform his morningprayers. Finding Goddess Lakshmi undertaking penance here, he placed theSaligrama on her hand and went ahead with his prayers. A little later, after his prayers, Anjaneya came back to findthe Saligrama missing from her hands. Goddess Lakshmi told him that she foundit too heavy to hold and hence had placed it on the ground only for it to turninto a Saligrama Hill. Being the one who carried the huge Sanjeevani Mountain, itwould not be too much of a task for him to carry the Saligrama Mountain aswell, she said. Narasimha provides darshan to Anjaneya and Lakshmi As per her direction, Anjaneya unleashed his tail to pick upthe Saligrama Mountain only to find a sparkling light emanating from themountain. It was Lord Vishnu providing darshan, in his Narasimha posture, toboth Mahalakshmi and Anjaneya. Since Anjaneya brought theSaligrama to this place and helped create this place, Lord Narasimha asked himto remain here facing the Saligrama hill and provide darshan to the devotees a tall standing posturewithout a Gopuram. History Based on the architectural features, historians believe thatthe temple was built during the 6th century by the Adiyaman kings, as evident from a templeinscription. The temple has a huge history and doesn't have enoughinscriptions in the temple, The temple is believed to be built during the 6th century CE by the Pandyaor Satyaputra kings in rock-cut architecture with the inscriptions found in theRanganatha temple excavated in the same Namakkal hill. Most of the historianshave compared the temples with similar architectural elements found in BadamiCaves (6th century) and a possible influence. There are few inscriptions in thetemple, especially an undated inscription in Grantha Characters of Sanskrit atthe Ranganatha temple which are similar to the inscriptions in the GaneshaRatha in Mahabalipuram, which is in another cave in the upper part of the hill.There are totally four main inscriptions in this Ranganatha temple, the firstmain inscription mentions it as Adiyanatha Vishnu Grham by Gunasila King andAdiyendra Vishnu Gruham, which evidently shows that the cave was excavated bythe Satyaputra Kings, the recently discovered inscription not only confirmsthis but also mentions the king's name as Gunasila (Dated 500 CE). Historiansbelieve it is possible that both the temples were built during the same period. Some historians haveargued that the Alvars during the Bhakti tradition havediscarded Rock-cut images and hence no mention is found in the Nalayira DivyaPrabandham aboutthis temple. But the argument is disproved by other historians who havequoted rock-cut temples like Thirumayam in Pudukkottai district and NinraNarayana Perumal temple in Virudhunagar district finding mention in the canon.The records of the details of the inscriptions are found in the Annual reportof Epigraphy -1961. Architecture The temple has a pillared hall leading to the sanctum, whichhas rock-cut architecture. The sanctum sanctorum is rock-cut and square inshape with a black background. The sanctum has three sculpted cells, twopillars and a veranda in front of it. The central sanctum sanctorum niche,houses the image of Narasimha in sitting posture, called Asana murti. Thetemple complex houses two other sanctums. These sanctums house Namagiri Tayar and Lakshmi Narayana. The Cave temple is considered as an Architectural Marvel inRock-cut Architecture, Dr S Vasanthi states that the sculpture of "UgraNarasimha" in the cave was unknown even to the Pallavas and Chalukyas andis a very rare sculpture among the other sculptures in the Cave. The temple carved out of a hill, is located in the downhillof the Namakkal Fort, on the western flank of the hill. The temple has a flatgateway tower and a second entrance, also with a flat gateway leading to thepillared halls. Deities-Quick Facts Moolavar: Narasimha West Facing Sitting Posture Ranganatha Karkodaga Sayanam Anjaneya East Facing Standing Posture Thaayar : Naama Giri Thaayar East Facing Detail-At theNarasimha Sannidhi,one finds Narasimha in the middle flanked by Shiva on his right and Brahma onhis left. Also, inside the sanctum are Sanaka and Sanaathana, Brahmma’s sons.One finds Surya and Chandra fanning Lord Narasimha. Sculptures Next to Narasimha inside the Sanctum are sculptures ofVaikunta Narayanan, Hiranya Samharam, Vamana, Trivikrama and Varaha, all saidto be 13th Century work of the Pallavas. Detail-The mainsanctum sanctorum houses the image of Narasimha in sitting posture, called Asanamurthi withSanaka, Sanata, Surya, Chandra, Shiva and Brahma worshiping him. The sanctum isrock-cut and square in shape with a black background. The sanctum has threesculpted cells, two pillars and a verandah in front of it. The image ofNarasimhar is treated as a Yogasana image, with the images under his feet seento be the Sun and the Moon. Itis not called a Bhogasana as the consorts on either side of him are absent.He has Shiva and Brahma on his either sides and he is sported with two handsholding the conch and the Chakra. There is a panel depicting the narrative ofVamana, who takes water from Mahabali and later grows big as Trivikrama tosubmerge Bali under his feet as per the Skanda Purana. Historians consider thisas a deviation from the monoscenic sculptures in temples of Kanchipuram andMahabalipuram. Sub deities The temple complex houses two other sanctums. These sanctumshouse Namagiri Tayar and Lakshmi Narayana. The temple has other sculptural relief on the walls of thetemple depicting Trivikrama,Narasimha slaying Hiranyakashipu and Ananta Sayana Vishnu. Ranganatha Temple This temple is on top of the hill, above the Narasimhatemple. One has to reach vis steps. There are three entrances to the Ranganatha temple. Theentrance in the middle is the one that is opened every day, while the other twoentrances are opened only on Vaikunta Ekadesi day. One has to climb 100 stepsto reach the Sannidhi. Poojas. Four daily rituals and many yearly festivals are held at thetemple. Location Located about 55kms from Salem off the Bangalore- KanyakumariNH 7 is the Narasimha temple at the Saligrama Cave Hill in Namakkal. Anjaneya temple Opposite the Narasimha temple is the Anjaneya temple where heis seen in a standing posture facing Lord Narasimha. Behind the Narasimhatemple on the Eastern side is the Ranganatha temple, where the Lord is seen ina Karkodaya Sayana posture. The Name – Naama Giri As Goddess Lakshmi undertook penance here by chanting his ‘Naama’ (On Namo Narayana’)and the hill was created after she placed the Saligrama on the ground, LordNarasimha named this hill as ‘Naama Giri’ and referred to her as Naama GiriThaayar. Given her contribution to this place, he gave her thefirst priority at this temple. Devotees are to first visit Naama Giri Thaayarbefore they enter the Narasimha Sannidhi. Thaligai for LordNarasimha On the occasion of his Thiru Kalyanam, Devas wanted to feedThirupathi Srinivasa, who referring to this place as ‘Mel’ Ahobilam, asked themto feed the Lord here. Hence,presenting Thaligai to Lord Narasimha here is very special and is equivalent tofeeding Thirupathi Lord Srinivasa. Offerings On Pradhosham, presenting Thaligai and Paanagam (sweet drinkmade with jagerry ,dry ginger etc.) will liberate one from all troubles. Festivals Panguni Brahmotsavam,Vaikasi Narasimha Jayanthi, Aadi Pooram- Thaayar Utsavam,Aavani Krishna Jayanthi Pournami Pavitrotsavam are festivals in this temple. The four Saturdays of Puratasi are special at this temple Fifteen-day Panguni Uthiram festival celebrated during theTamil month of Panguni (March - April) when the image of presiding deities aretaken around the streets of the temple, being the most prominent. The annualcar festival for the temple is celebrated in March and April every year (TheTamil month of Panguni) as per the Vaikhānasāgama. Telugu New Year, Avani Pavitrotsavam, Narasimhar Jayanthi,Vaikuntha Ekadashi and Thai Pongal during various months of the year are otherfestivals. Temple Time: 730am-1pm, 430pm-830pm Contact phone number: V. Raja Bhattar @ 94437 23073 Glorifying the temple Though the Alvar saints did not glorify this temple, Purandarasa (1500 CE), a KannadaHaridasa, known as the Pithamaha (grandfather) of Carnatic music hadvisited this place and glorified the God by composing a Kannada song. In frontof Namagiri Narashimhar, he composed his famous song "Simha Rupanada SriHari, Namagirishane". Temple tank The temple tank,Kamalalayam, is located outside the temple. There are similar rock-cut imagesin the temple halfway up the Namakkal Fort. There are number of sacred bathing places or tirthams inhollows in the sides of the rock and the largest of them is called"Kamalalayam" which is sacred to Lakshmi. Srinivasa Ramanujan The great Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan creditedhis mathematical findings to Namagiri Thayar, his family's goddess. According to Ramanujan, sheappeared to him in visions, proposing mathematical formulas that he would thenhave to verify. One such event was described by him as follows: "Whileasleep, I had an unusual experience. There was a red screen formed by flowingblood, as it were. I was observing it. Suddenly a hand began to write on thescreen. I became all attention. That hand wrote a number of elliptic integrals.They stuck to my mind. As soon as I woke up, I committed them to writing." Furthermore, Ramanujan's motherreceived permission from Namagiri Tayar for Ramanujan to go to England in adream. ChakravartiRajagopalachari Chakravarti Rajagopalachari BR (10 December 1878 – 25December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji, C.R., or Mootharignar Rajaji, was anIndian statesman, writer, lawyer, and independence activist. Namagiri Thayarwas the Family goddess for Rajaji and he had immense devotion towards her, He was so devoted to her that henamed his daughter Namagiri Ammal The temple priests perform the pooja (rituals) duringfestivals and on a daily basis. The temple rituals are performed four times aday: Kalasandhi at 7:00 a.m., Uchikala poojai at 12:30 p.m., Sayarakshai at4:30 p.m., and Arthajama Pooja at 7:45 p.m.Each ritual has three steps:alangaram (decoration), neivethanam (food offering) and deepa aradanai (wavingof lamps) for the presiding deities. There are weekly, monthly and fortnightlyrituals performed in the temple. How to reach Namakkal Now there is railway station at Namakkal. There are fewtrains stopping at Namakkal. Salem is major railway station about 56 KMs away. Busesevery 5minutes from Salem is available to Namakkal. Namakkal is connected to Major cities by bus. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture andRock-cut architecture, the temple is located on the Salem–Namakkal–Trichy Road. Administration The temple is maintained and administered by the HinduReligious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu. In modern times, theNamakkal district administration has identified the temple as one of theprominent tourist attractions in the district. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/212940682.3009025.1758103594561%40mail.yahoo.com.
