Please all do visit Simhachala Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swami Temple at Simhachalam situated 16 kms. away from Vishakhpatmam, it is 11 Century old temple dedicated to Lord Varaha narasimha Moreover it is also called “Simhagiri” or “Lion’s Hill”
#AncientTemplesofSouthIndia
#AncientTemplesofSouthIndia
It is lies in the northern direction of Visakhapatnam, which is a District Headquarters of Andhra It has been hailed as the most famous and the best sculptured shrine It has Sri Varahalakshmi Narasimha Swamy as the presiding deity
Simhachalam temple is known as the second richest temple (after Tirupati) for earning a revenue. It has a very nice history according to sthala purana.
After many unsuccessful attempts to kill Sri Prahlada, Hiranyakashipu orders, as a last resort, to hurl Sri Prahlada into the sea and place a huge mountain over him. The servants chose to do this at Simhachalam.
But before they could finish, Narayana rescued Prahlada by jumping over the hill and lifting him from the sea. Simhachalam, therefore, is the place where the Lord rescued Prahlada.
It is also said that since the Lord jumped at once to rescue Prahlada, the Lord’s lotus feet went into Patala. The local Sthala Purana says that the Darshana of Lord’s lotus feet is available only to inhabitants of Patala Loka. At Prahlada’s request, the Lord then assumed the…
…form of the Varaha-Narasimha Deity, so that Prahlada could see both aspects of the Lord—the one by which He had already killed Hiranyaksha and the one by which He would soon kill Hiranyakashipu. After the death of Hiranyakashipu, Prahlada built a temple around the Deity.
It is said that after Prahlada handed over the kingdom to his son, he worshipped the deity personally. However at the end of Satya Yuga, owing to neglect perhaps, a huge anthill gathered around the Deity. But at the beginning of another yuga the Deity was rediscovered by…
…Pururava, the king of the lunar dynasty, who is mentioned in the Ninth Canto of the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Riding with his wife, Urvashi, in an aerial chariot over the hills of the South, Pururava was drawn by a mysterious power to Simhachalam.
Some say that Narasimha appeared in Pururava’s dream and then he went to Simhachalam and he discovered the deity in a Garden of Malati trees. Riding with his wife, Urvashi, in an aerial chariot over the hills of the South, Pururava was drawn by a mysterious power2 Simhachalam.
Some say that Narasimhadeva had appeared in Pururava’s dream and then he went to Simhachalam and he discovered the deity in a Garden of Malati trees.
One of the very important rituals in the temple is Giripradhikshana (circumambulation) around the hill range (40 km) from Hanumantha vaka/MVP colony to Simhachalam is done by piligrims during the auspicious days much like Arunachaleshwarar temple.
Namaste narasimhaya, prahladahlada-dayine, hiranyakasipor vaksah, sila-tanka nakhalaye
