NINE TEMPLES OF LORD NARASIMHA IN NALLAMALA HILLS

  

 

The Divya Kshetram AHOBILAM is located near Arlagadda in Nandyal District of Andhra Pradesh. There are buses from Arlagadda to Ahobilam. The presiding deity in the main temple is Narasimhar, also called Prahladavaradan, and is in a seated form. The Goddess is Amritavalli. The sacred water is Indra Theertham and the sanctum sanctorum is Guhai Vimanam.

The legend has it that Garuda, desirous of seeing Lord Vishnu as Narasimha Avatara, meditated upon Him, and the Lord manifested Himself in nine forms of Narasimha. Besides the shrine for Lakshmi Narasimhar at the base temple, there are nine temples on the adjoining Nallamala Hills, and almost all of them have to be trekked, with some being arduous to reach. They are:

Varaha Narasimhar

Malola Narasimhar

Yogananda Narasimhar

Pavana Narasimhar

Karanja Narasimhar

Chakra Vada Narasimhar

Bhargava Narasimhar

Jwala Narasimhar

Ahobila Narasimhar

 

There is a pillar near Jwala Narasimhar shrine, from which Lord Narasimha is believed to have emanated and killed Hiranyakasipu. The Ahobila Narasimhar temple has now a motorable road.

Mahalakshmi is believed to have reincarnated into the family of the tribal as Chenchulakshmi, and married Narasimha, who was hovering around the hills after killing Hiranyakasipu. The Nallamala Hills are personified as Adisesha, with his head at Tirumala, middle at Ahobilam, and the tail at Srisailam.

The annual festival is during the Tamil month of Maasi. The local tribals celebrate the marriage of Chenchulakshmi and Narasimhar.

This RARE stone sculpture depicts Sri #Narasimha courting Devi Chenchulakshmi, a tribal form of #Lakshmi who calmed his rage after he destroyed #Hiranyakashipu. From a pillar in the Mukha Mandapa of the Lower Ahobilam temple in #AndhraPradesh. 11th century.