Namaskaram!!
This blog is my sincere effort to document my travel
to the temples in India and document as much information as I can so that it is
helpful to others who would love to visit these sacred places.
The first post is about our travel to Ahobilam.
Ahobilam is located in Kurnool District of the eastern ghats. It is situated at
a distance of 66kms from Nandhyal, 137 Kms from Kurnool, 114Kms from cuddapah
and nearly 400kms from Chennai and 350 from Bangalore.
Ahobilam is the holy abode of Lord Narasimha, an
incarnation of Lord Vishnu who killed the Demon king Hiranyakasipu to save
Prahaladha.This is one among the 108 Divya Desam and is situated amidst the
dense Nallamala Forest. Tirumangal Alwar has composed 10 poems praising lord of
Ahobilam.
AHO
VEERYAM! AHO SHOURYAM!AHO BAAHU PARAKRAMAM!
NAARASIMHAM
PARAM DEIVAM AHO BHILAM ! AHO BALAM!
MEANING: Oh! What a great valour he
has!Oh his great Gallantry! Oh those powerful Shoulders of the greatest of the
gods Lord Narasimha and what a mighty cave it is!And what a mighty strength he
has!
SRI NRISIMHA MAHAMANTRA
UGRAM VEERAM MAHA – VISHNUM
JWALANTA SARVATO-MUKHAM
NRISIMHAM BHISHANAM BHADRAM
MRITYUR MRITYUR NAMAMY AHAM
Ahobilam is also called as Nava Narasimha Kshetra as
Lord Narasimha is worshipped in 9 different forms and each Narasimha sannidhi
is associated with a navagraha.
The nine shrines are
1. Sri Ahobila Narasimha
2. Sri Jwala Narasimha
3. Sri Kroda Narasimha
4. Sri Malola Narasimha
5. Sri Kaaranja Narasimha
6. Sri Bhargava Narasimha
7. Sri Chatravata Narasimha
8. Sri Yogananda Narasimha
9. Sri Paavana Narasimha
The first six of the temples are situated in upper
ahobilam and the rest in the lower ahobilam and The Prahalada Varada Varadan
temple which is also at lower ahobilam .
MOOLAVAR: SRI LAKSHMI NARASIMHA SWAMY
THAAYAR: SRI AMRITHAVALLI THAYAAR
VIMANAM: GUHAI(CAVE)
THEERTHAM: BHAAVANASINI
When there is a divine call. Everthing falls in
place and it just happens. That is exactly how we suddenly planned(did we????)
to visit Ahobilam.
DAY 1
We –a group of only 3 actually….My husband, his
uncle and myself left Chennai to Ahobilam in a taxi at around 6.30A.M. In 2
hours we reached Tiruttani, stopped at Tiruttani GRT HOTEL for some refreshments and proceeded
towards Ahobilam. The road in most places was very good and so driving was a
pleasant experience. After another 3 hours we stopped to have lunch, quickly
finished it and by 3PM we were at Ahobila Mutt, Ahobilam. The manager Mr. Badri
Narayanan immediately made arrangements and gave us the room keys. The hot coffee
that he offered was very inviting too. He quickly fixed us a guide and a jeep
to visit the three temples at lower Ahobilam.
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| MALOLA GUEST HOUSE AT LOWER AHOBILAM |
1. SRI CHATRAVATA NARASIMHA:
Chatra means umbrella and Vata means peepal tree.
Here the swamy is seated under a peepal tree. It is believed that two
gandharva’s HAAHA and HOHO sang here and Chatravata Narasimha being a music
lover thoroughly enjoyed the music. When you see the deity here, you can see
his palm depict Adi thalam. It is believed that Ketu-one of the nine planets,
prayed here to get rid of his curses. People with fine arts interest generally
visit this temple for his blessings. An archana for the lord can be performed
if are lucky enough to be at the temple when the archakas are present.Chatravata
Narasimha is the grahadhipathi of the planet Ketu
2. SRI YOGANANDA
NARASIMHA
Here the lord is seated in an yogic posture. It is
believed that after Hirankashpu samharam, Lord Narasimha taught many yogic
postures to Prahalada and hence the name.
Here Narasimha is believed to dominate on the planet
Saturn or Shani.
In the same temple complex you can also see one more
temple, where in all the nine Narasimha idols depicting each planet are placed
and worshipped.
You can donate to the annadhanam scheme here, as the
devotees are fed all through the day.
3. SRI BHARGAVA
NARASIMHA
This temple is nearly 2 Kms from Lower Ahobilam on a
small hillock. The deity here can be seen with 4 hands, one having the shankhu
or conch, the second having the chakram, the other two tearing the body of
Hiranyan or Hiranyan vadham. It is believed that Bharghava ramar or Parasuramam
did his penance here to get the blessing of Narasimhar in this form. Hence the
lord has the name Bhargava Narasimha.If you see the idol closely, you can see
the dasavatharam on the prabhai.
The scared pond is called as Bhargava theertha or
akshaya theertha.
The presiding deity rules planet surya/sun.
With this we wound up our trip for the day and
headed to Ahobila mutt.
We then proceeded to Prahalada Varadhan Temple
Prahalada Varadhan which means The Lord whose
bestows his grace on Prahalada. The presiding deity is Lakshmi Narasimha with
Amrithavalli Thaayar.The other shrines in this temple complex are for Andal, Godhadevi, Sri Rama and Shri
Venkateswara where Lord Venkateswara
obtains the blessing of Lord Narasimha prior to his wedding with Padmavathi.
We can also see the utsava murthis of the Prahalada
Varadhan, Pavana Narasimha and Jwala
Narasimha and idols of the first Jeeyar of Ahobila Mutt and Sri Adivan
Satakopan Swami.The Utsava Murthi of Jwala Narasimha has 10 arms with sree devi
and Bhoodevi
The tall Dwajasthambam erected outside the temple is
magnificient.
The pillars and , walls of the temple are intricately carved and carry rich sculputres.
Having seen a maginficient temple and architecture, we were back to our rooms .We
took rest for a while and then went in search of some dinner as the dinner at
mutt would be served only around 8.30 , but we wanted to crash and rejuvenate
ourselves for the trek the next morning. Finally we found some road side hotels
and had dosa for dinner. It was good but I would have been happy if I had taken
some ready foods. If you are travelling with children or elders, please do plan
and take some eatables.
DAY 2
Day 2 started auspiciously listening to tiruppavai
from the Prahalada varahan temple.KK and uncle were up and ready by 5.30 and
rushed to see the Vishwaroopam at Prahalada varadhan temple and came back with
delicious Pongal and sukku vellam(Jaggery and dried ginger powder) as
prasadam.By 6.30AM, the guide arrived and we left to upper ahobilam packing
some idli for breakfast. On arriving at upper ahobilam the first temple we
visited was Ahobila Narasimhar. You need to climb some steep steps to reach
there. I would suggest you wear trekking shoes as it is comfortable to climb
the hill. But I did see people walking barefoot comfortably too.
SRI AHOBILA NARASIMHA
This is the main shrine and is the oldest of all the
nine temples here. Lord Shiva is said to have prayed to Lord Narasimha here. As
you enter the temple, we see a small sannidhi of Lord Narasimha and a Linga
facing each other. Passing this we enter the sanctum sanctorum, which is inside
a small cave, we see lord Narasimha in a fierce aspect otherwise known as Ugra
Narasimha and is seen tearing apart the chest of Hiranyakashipu . His consort
is goddess Lakshmi or Senjulakshmi and
is seen in padmasana posture .An idol of Prahalada is also seen in this sanctum
sanctorum . Ahobila Narasimha is Guru Grahadhipati.
There are separate sannidhis for sudarshanam and
Goddess Senjulakshmi.
With their blessings we start our trek to Sri Jwala
Narasimha.
SRI JWALA NARASIMHA
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| The narrow path which leads to the temple. |
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The small waterfall which cascades down the hill in rainy season
Dressed in a salwar kameez and good trekking shoes
(I BELIEVED MY SHOES WILL SAFELY TAKE ME THROUGH THE TREK), and a good sturdy
stick which every yaatri rents it from a shop near the temple, we set out on our trek with
our guide leading us. The trek was not very tedious but the path is rocky and
at some places it is tricky to cross too. But the belief that HE is with you
all through the trek , took us through. As you start the trek, we pass through
the ruins of the First Ahobila Mutt. It is said that the present Jeeyar, is
taking steps to reconstruct this and bring back its glory.
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The view of the hill and jungle surrounding this place
After we crossed this mutt, we entered the dense
jungles where in there was just a stoic silence to accompany us. At one point,
I was careless and slipped, luckily I got hold of a boulder nearby and steadied
myself. Then Viji Mama switched on the
Vishnu Sahasranamam in his mobile, and surprisingly the trek became a little easier as we chanted.
As we crossed the half way, we could see The Ugra Sthambam, one look at the towering
rock above you send shivers down your spine. We continued and after a while we
saw at the edge of the hill, a temple and the path leading to it was very
narrow just around 2 feet in width. Slowly we started to move being careful of
our steps. As we neared the temple, we saw that we had to go through a very
tiny water fall which cascades down the hill forming a curtain and going
through this was a wonderful experience. Be careful of your mobile phones
though :).As you walk through, you will see a water hole with muddy reddish coloured
water and this is the Rakhta Kundam. It is believed that Narasimha washed his
hands here after killing Hirankashipu and hence the name.
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Rakhta Kunda
Few steps from there and we are at Sri Jwala
Narasimha cave temple.It is believed that Hiranyakashipu was killed by Lord
Narasimha here and hence we can see the UGRA NARASIMHA here. This place is called
as Achalachaya Meru .The Narasimha
idol is unique with 8 arms. Two arms hold the head and legs of Hirankashipu on
the lap, another two arms tearing open the demon, two arms taking out the
intestine of the demon and wearing it as a garland and the other two arms
holding the Sankhu and chakram. |
The other idols which you can see in this temple is
where Narasimha is fighting with the demon king , and the idol where Lord
Narasimha is seen coming out of the pillar and Hirankashipu and Prahaladha
standing on either sides of the pillar and an idol of Maha Vishnu giving his
darshan. We can also see the also the idol of the Asura kula GuruSukracharya
seated on the left side of the main idol. Here this Narasimha is the
gruhadhipathi of Angaraka/Mars/Kuja
We were lucky to be here at the right time when the
archaka was performing the morning puja. We could even offer the Panakam
prepared by us as an offering to the lord.
Having seen the lord and heard the sthala purana
from the archaka we decided, to trek back to our next destination SRI MALOLA
NARASIMHA. We came out of the sanctum sanctorum and we saw a lady distributing
panagam here. If you are not carrying any water or any other fluid to drink,
please drink this as you might not get anything else till you reach the
foothills. I felt very good, happy and proud about myself at this juncture,
since I did not see myself as fit till date, to climb a hill. I guess the pride
had to take a beating. Just as I was putting on my branded new branded shoes
on, 90% of the sole of my right shoe came out without any reason. For a moment,
I was Panic stricken. But then calmed myself, prayed to HIM with all earnest
and just believed that he will help me through. And believe me, the belief
works. What would have been impossible otherwise, just seemed effortless. I
trekked back all the way without any problem. Definitely there was divine help
all the way through!!!!!
This is a huge rock jutting out of a rock cliff.
The trek to this starts after the water falls near
Jwala Narasimha. It is exactly at this place that Lord Narasimha is believed to
come out of the pillar to save Prahalada. It is a steep 80 degree climb along a
dangerously treacherous path. Please do go with your guide and once on the top
, you will feel and understand how small you are. The feeling of we are nothing
in comparison with the universe is so over whelming. Trek down slowly and
carefully for another half hour and then start you trek to MALOLA NARASIMHA
SRI MALOLA NARASIMHA
The climb down from Sri Jwala Narsimha to Sri Malola
Narasimha was a little tricky. There are places where the steps are eroded. We
have to climb down carefully and we slowly started our decent. Half way through
the trek, our body was giving signs of fatigue. We had not eaten anything from
morning and ours legs were asking for some mercy. So we decided to sit down for
some time, ate some lion dates, which gave the necessary sugar that our body badly
needed and with some water to hydrate ourselves, we were ready to walk again.
As we reached the temple , we saw many devotees sitting out the temple under a
tree. This temple is bigger than the Jwala narasimha temple. Here the lord
appears in a soumya or graceful and shantam form. Malola means beloved of
Lakshmi.
It is believed that Mahalakshmi was doing her penance in these
forests and The lord came here looking for her. Hence you can see the idol
seated in a Santham posture . The archaka ecplains that that on the pedestal is
Garuda, on the garuda is Adi sesha, on him is his Paada Rakshai and then
Narasimha is seated with his consort Goddess Lakshmi seated on his left thigh,
blessing all the devotes who visit him. One can actually feel the calm serenity
here.
The other story is that Mahalakshmi took birth in
the Senju tribe as Senjulakshmi, to calm down Lord Narasimha after the
Hiranyavadham. She married the lord and brought down his anger and hence he is
known as Malolan- a shanthaswaroopi.
Sri Malola
Narasimha is the gruhadhipathi of the planet Venus / Sukra.
The utsavar of this temple is always taken by the
present Jeer of the mutt to the places he visits
There is a separate shrine for Senjulakshmi one kilometre
from here.
SRI VARAHA NARASIMHA
Trekking another 1 km downwards we come to This
Narasimha temple. Here the lord is seen with a face of the boar and hence the
name Sri Varaha Narasimha or Krodakara
Narasimha. The lord is seen with his goddess Lakshmi. He is the
gruhadhipathi of the planet Rahu.
Trekking back we reach the Ahobila Narasimha temple
. Ofcourse there is a sigh of relief. And only then did I realise that I have
trekked back all the way with an almost torn shoe without any problem. Ofcourse
HE was with all all the while!!
After returning the stick which we had rented, we
started our journey to lower ahobilam in our taxi.
The last of the narasimha temples in this route is
Karanja Narasimha and our next halt was at this temple.
This temple is situated at around 1 km from upper Ahobilam.
Here the deity is placed under the KARANJA
VRUSHKAM. Hence this Narasimha derives his name. He is the gruhadhipathi of
the planet Chandra or Moon
SRI PAVANA NARASIMHA
Having seen all the temples in this route, we
decided to go and freshen up at the Ahobila mutt again. Had a hot cup of coffee
and Mr Badri arranged for a jeep to take us to Pavana Narasimha along with two
other devotees.
The jeep is something to be mentioned about. Do not
expect a nice plush looking jeep. What I saw was an old body of a jeep, seats
being held with a rope (literally), with the gear box, anf brakes. Our jeep did
not even have a starter. But having said this, I must appreciate the driver, a
young boy who did not speak even a word but drove with utmost care.
The road (actually there is no road). You just have
a rugged path going through small and big boulders, into a forest, on the banks
of a lake, up the hill , down the hill, in the forest and believe me , if you
sitting in the front beside the driver, you need a brave heart. The jeep just
goes through everything with all the thorny trees coming in from all the sides
(no doors or windows), and after travelling for 1 ½ hours you reach the temple.
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The braveheart who drove us safely to Pavana Narasimha and back.
Here the temple is situated on the banks of river
Pavana and hence the name to this deity. Narasimha in this temple is seen with
goddess Lakshmi. We can see a dwajasthambam
in front of this temple. Archana can be perfomed here as the priest
resides beside the temple. Pavana Narasimha is the gruhadhipathi of the planet
Mercury / Budha.
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With HIS blessings we returned to the mutt, had a
sumptuous meal at the mutt and with his divine blessings left to Chennai.
THEY SAY BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HAVE THE DARSHAN OF
THE NINE NARASIMHA’S AT AHOBILAM AND INDEED WE ARE BLESSED.
MANAGER OF THE ABOBILA MUTT CAN BE CONTACTED AT: MR
BADRI NARAYANAN
08519-252045,
09490515284
Upper Ahobilam Temple Timings: 7.00A.M-1.00 P.M ,
Lower Ahobilam Temple Timings:6.30 A.M-1.00P.M
They say that after 3.00 p.m, the forests
authorities do not allow the jeep/ vehicle to pass through the forests to reach
Pavana Narasimha. Hence plan your day accordingly.
For the devotees who are physically incapable of climbing, Doli facility is available at the entrance of Ahobila Narasimha Temple
Picture courtesy: Mr Vijayaraghavan
Mr. Narayanan
Mr.Krishnakumar
