Nrusimha Worship in Puri

Orissa Review July - 2008 Nrusimha Worship in Puri Prof. Purna Chandra Mohapatra Eventhough Puri is a famous Vaisnavite centre beast. Evolved as one of the Avataras of Visnu, there is no other Vaisnavite shrine, worth the name Nrusimha grew into prominence and worshipped except the Temple of Jagannath and minor independently and considered as the full Vaisnava shrines of other incarnations of Visnu. incarnation. The worship of Visnu is very much popular The story of Visnu assuming Narasimha among the Hindus. He is incarnation is very popular the Protector who rescues throughout the country. humanity at the time of Hiranya Kasyapu, the distress. The time when the demon king, in order to evil prevails upon the truth, avenge the death of his Visnu takes different elder brother Hiranakhya incarnations to annihilate (who was killed by Visnu the evil and rescue the saints in Varaha or boar and truthful. The VaisnAvas incarnation) decided to believe in the ten conquer death and incarnations of Visnu. His worshipped Brahma. After fourth incarnation is the his prolonged and rigorous great god Narasimha, the Tapas, he received five-fold body of a man and the boon from the Creator, that body of the lion. The he will not meet death at concept of man-animal the hands of a man, beast, combined feature or the bird, or demon or at the anthropomorphic form are hands of any new creation. to be noticed in the icons He should not die inside or of Daksya Prajapati, Varaha, Ganesha, Gomukhi outside. Neither on the day nor at night, neither Keshaba and Narasimha. Similarly in Egypt, the on earth nor in the sky and finally not with weapon. people worship a goddess Bast, who had a human After receiving the boon, he possessed unlimited body and the face of a cat. The image of power and ruled over all the creatures. He Narasimhanath of Paikamal, in Baragarh district prohibited Visnu worship in his territory. But is Marjara Keshari. The image of Sarabha is interestingly his son Prahallad became an ardent illustrated in the composite of a man, bird and devotee of Visnu. Dissuations and punishments 82 Orissa Review July - 2008 did not fault Prahallad in his devotion to Visnu. virtue. The popularity of the god is evinced from Hiranyakasyapu challenged the omnipotence of the hymns and Suktas composed for him inclusive Visnu by his mocking querry whether Visnu Stotram, Puranas and Upanisads. Not only in resided in the pillar of the palace hall, which he literatures but also in epigraphic records and kicked. The pillar broke open and Visnu appeared sculptural art, there are references of Narasimha in his terrifying form and killed the demon, worship. There are 105 Narasimha temples with assuming man, lion form observing all the land endowments in Orissa. The list prepared by conditions of the boon of Brahma, (neither man G.C.Tripathy out of the materials collected by nor beast, bird demon, or any creation,) at dusk, H.V.Stietencorn. Besides this, there exists many (neither day nor night), on the threshold (neither more temples scattered through out the State. In indoor nor outdoor,) with his sharp claws, (not addition, a large number of detached images find by means of any weapon,) after placing him on place in other temples as Parswadevatas. The his thighs (neither on earth nor sky.) worship of Narasimha was sanctioned in western In the Sakti Sangama tantra, it is mentioned Orissa during the Gupta era. "In the research that Visnu assumed the Narasimha Avatar in the article of scholar Sasanka Sekhar Panda, Kritayuga, Angira year, Madhav month and 14th "Purusottama Jagannath is Purusottama day in the Swati Nakshatra. In the Skanda Purana, Narasimha" published in "Orissa Review", Ratha it is written that Narasimha appeared on the lunar Yatra Special Issue, June - 2006, it has been 14th day of Baishakha in Swati Nakshatra on mentioned that Three Narasimha images are Saturday during dusk. found at Podagarh, Sarguli and Parwa in Nabarangapur district which are believed to be We do not find the name Narasimha in the the images of the Vakataka period who Vedic period. Only the name is found in conquered Puskari (Podagarh) of the Nala kings Atharvaveda, Narahari is worshipped by in 5th and 6th century A.D. Another image of Ganadeva. Astadhyayi of Panini did not mention Narasimha of Maraguda now in Khariar Branch the name. Epic Mahabharata (Harivamsa), Museum is believed to be of the period of the Puranas like Matsya, Padma, Kurma, Visnu, and Sarabhapuriyas. In Sirpur Inscription, queen Visnu Dharmottara associate Narasimha with Vatasa, mother of king Mahasivagupta Balajurna Visnu. Basing on these K.C. Das belives that all these Puranic references on Narasimha were of Pandu dynasty had paid her homage to Lord known during the Gupta period. There are two Purusottam and sought the blessings of broad types of Narasimha images i.e. Ugra and Narasimha." During the Somavamsi rule, Saumya. But T.Gopinatha Rao has divided the Narasimha worship got a new impetus images of Narasimha into three groups, Sthauna, afterwards. Some of the ruling dynasties like Girija and Yanak. The word Sthauna, Narasimha Kadambas of Goa, the Imperial Gangas of Orissa coming out of the pillar (Ugra) and Girija coming and the Vijayanagar kings in India have Narasimha out of caves (yoga). Some call it Keshava, and as their tutelary deity. Yanak is seated on Garuda or Shesha with five From the Dasagoba copper plate of hooded canopy held like an umbrella. When Laxmi Rajarajadeva, it is revealed that Sri Laxmi is on the left lap the image is called Laxmi- Narasimha was the tutelary deity of the Ganga. Narasimha. The deity sitting in Utkutikasana with In the Kaleswar Siva Temple Inscription of Yogapatta and Laxmi on the left lap is very Anangabhimadeva-III, the Ganga ruler common and popular in Orissa, and Oriyas believe Chodagangadeva is compared with Narasimha. him as the embodiment of velour, vitality and Four of the Ganga kings bore the title of 83 Orissa Review July - 2008 Narasimha which proves the popularity of Achyuta (imperishable), and Anirudha Narasimha of that time. As found in the Dynasty (unconstraint), while the later Pancaratrikas Ganga Vamsanucharita from among the 27 followed Chaturvyuha cult and worshipped kings of Eastern Ganga, seven kings before Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna, and Chodaganga had the word Narasimha added to Anirudha. The Pancaratrika school might have their names. Narasimha temples and Narasimha gained popularity in Kalinga, Kangoda and other sculptures of large verieties of this time (10th to neighbouring tracts as long as the Sailodvabas 13th century AD) found in every nook and corner continued their rule in that region. The Sailodvabas the State, proves the patronization the cult by the were the followers of Saivism. They must have ruling dynasties. constructed a large number of temples of Lord The association of Narasimha with Puri is Siva in their dominion, surrounding all sides of unique. Puri is the recognized Vaisnavite centre Chilika lake. Srikshetra (Puri) was topographically of India, in the Province of Orissa. Puri came to a religious centre of Kangoda, where some muni- prominence, not as a political centre but as a asramas were established in the temples of socio-religious and cultural centre. It has not been Markandeya (Markandeswar Sahi near the capital of the kingdom at any point of history Markanda temple and Markanda Tank), Angira of Orissa. Therefore, the rise and fall of the (Dolamandap Sahi), Pandu or Kandu, dynasties in its long history have no role in the (Gaudabada Sahi near Jameswar temple) and tale of the sanctity of the city. Puri is the site of Bragu. According to a system, introduced in Puri the gods from the time immemorial. Puri, the city temples, the image of Sudarsana is carried to visit of gods, was the land of Narasimha at one time, those risi-asramas on the auspicious days of the land of Purusottama at other time and finally Radhastami, Kumarotsava and Gamha Purnima. the land of Lord Jagannath now. With scanty Sudarsana is to honour each sage at his temple historical sources it is very difficult to reach a or Asrama. That old system is still practised in positive conclusion. Puri was under the domain Puri. According to Mahabharata (Banaparva) the of different dynasties ruling over the kingdom in Pandavas were advised by Lomasha-muni to visit different periods of history. We don't find any specific historical references about this place some sacred places after they crossed the river during the rule of the Chedis, Murundas, Vaitarani on their way to Kalinga. Again Pandit Matharas, Pitruvaktas, Vigrahas, Sailodvabas or Nilakantha Dash states that the Jinasana brought the Bhaumakars. But during this period Puri had back by Kharavela in the 1st century B.C. was gained a remarkable popularity as a place of worshipped as Purusottama Jagannath at Puri. But religious importance and there are literary and for want of any convincing evidence, we are not archaeological references of Madhava worship able to accept it, although Puri was an ancient by the tribals at this place. It led Dr. S.N. Tirtha where Tapasvinis were dwelling in the hill Rajaguru to justify that Madhavaraja II of caves. Some inscriptions of later Sailodvaba kings Sailodvaba dynasty had established the shrine of of Kongoda narrate the following verse, Madhava at Puri and entrusted its management expressing that a king of that province could earn to some of his kins men, who were supposed to similar religious glory at his own capital what the be tribals. During this period the philosophy of yogis and munis could achieve by performing hard Vaisnavism was divided into two sections, namely austerity in mountain caves.

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