Back

Dashboard

Temple Details

States

City

God Name

God Type

Type

Aathara Sthalam
Abodes of Murugan
Ashta Veeratta Temples
Asta Vinayak Temples
Chardam Yatra Temples
Divya Desams
Durga Aalayams by Sage Parasurama
Jyothirlingams
Mandi Mandaean Temple
Muktiskhetras
Nagadevatas Temples
Nakshatra Temples & Trees
Narasimha Skhetras
Nava Puliyur Temples
Nava Tirupati Temples
Navagraha Parihara Temples
Others
Paadal Petra Sthalams
Pancha Bhoota Sthalams
Pancha Dwaraka Temples
Pancha Kannan Temples
Pancha Kedar Temples
Pancha Pandava Temples
Pancha Ranga Kshetras
Pancha Sabhai Thalangal
Pancharama Skhetras
Parihara Shiva Temples
Saptha Mangai Stalangal
Saptha Stana Temples
Saptha Sthana Sthalams
Saptha Vidangam
Sapthavigraha Moorthis
Sastha Aalayam by Sage Parasurama
Shakti Peethas
Shiridi Sai Temples
Shiva Temples by Sage Parasurama
Swayambhu Temples
Tevaram Vaippu Sthalams
Vishnumaya Temples

Temple Speciality

Temple Name

Sthalam

&nbsp;

KARANJA NARASIMHA SWAMY(Shukra)

Karanja Narasimha temple located 6kms from Lower Ahobilam en-route to Ahobila Narasimha Divya Desam (Singavelkundram) is the Karanja Narasimha temple in Upper Ahobilam, west of the Garudathri Mountain and part of the Nava Narasimha temples in Ahobilam.Serving the Karanja Swamy with three austerities (thought, word and action) brings enlightenment&nbsp;and the Lord bestows all desires.

Sri Karanja Narasimha kshetra

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Sri Karanja Narasimha kshetra is seen as the fifth kshetra and is unique in many ways. As you travel from lower Ahobilam towards Upper Ahobilam one would come to the place where Sri Kaaranja Narasimha is. The shrine is situated at a distance of one kilometre from the Upper Ahobilam, six kilometres from lower Abhobilam and one furlong from the road leading to Lower Ahobilam.

The place gets its name Kaaranja&rsquo;, as it is in the midst of forest of Pungai (Honge) tree and &lsquo;kaaranja&rsquo; in sanskrit is &#39;pungu&#39; in Telugu and &#39;pungai&#39; in Tamil. The image of the deity is installed in the forest which is full of this tree, called &#39;Kaaranja Vruksham&#39;. Sri Narasimha of this place thus came to be known as one who resides in the forest of Kaaranja tree &ndash; Sri Karanja Narasimha.

The temple set on a picturesque backdrop with Garudathri Mountain and is very pleasing to the eyes. It is located on the banks of Papa-nashini River that presents an added beauty to the atmosphere and calms one&rsquo;s mind.

&nbsp;

Sri Karanja Narasimha

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Mythologically Karanja Sri Narasimha was worshipped by Sri Kapila Rishi to ward off the curse given by Sri Durvasa Rishi. Sri Narasimha has taken a unique form in this kshetra. The Lord is in Padmasana under a tree called Punga (Honge) tree with &lsquo;chadur bhuja&rsquo; [four armed]. The Lord is seen with a bow and arrows [which are normally seen with Sri Rama] in His left upper hand, the right upper hand holds &lsquo;Sri Sudershanam&rsquo;, lower hands are showing &lsquo;abhaya&rsquo; mudra.

Lord has &lsquo;tri_nethra&rsquo; and Sri Adi Shesha with one head covering the Lord as &lsquo;Shatri&rsquo;. It is interesting to note that Lord had taken this form in this Kshetra to appear as Sri Rama, to give dharshan to Sri Anjaneya.

Sri Karanja Anjaneya Sannadhi

Sri Anjaneya of this kshetra is seen turned facing Lord Karanji Sri Narasimha with folded hands. He has a tuft and this long hair is tied up very neatly. On his two sides one could see the Chanku [conch] and the Chakra [wheel -Sudershana]. This imprint had come to Sri Anjaneya when Sri Rama had embraced him. His eyes are glowing with brilliance at the sight of the unique Sri Rama in Sri Narashima. His lotus feet are wearing Thandai and are seen walking towards Karanja Sri Narasimha.

The sannadhi of the Lord Sri Narashima is facing the Bhavanashini River with Garudathri Maountain in the background. Sri Garudalwar is facing the Lord. After offering prayers to Sri Garudalwar one can see another sannadhi on the left side. This sannadhi houses Sri Anjaneya. Sri Anjaneya of this kshetra is known by the name Karanja Anjaneya.

Sri Anjaneya had penanced here to have dharshan of Sri Narasimha as he had not seen the Lord in this form. Since Sri Anjaneya would like to see Sri Rama in every form of Lord Vishnu, Lord Sri Narasimha gave dharshan to Sri Anjaneya as Sri Narasimha as well as Sri Rama in this unique form here in this kshetra.

&nbsp;

Puranam

According to legends it is believed that when the Devas saw the manifestation of Lord Vishnu as half-lion, half-man, they shouted &ldquo;Ahobala&rdquo; (great strength) as well as &ldquo;Ahobila&rdquo; (great cave in which the current sanctum is). Hence, this place could be called either &ldquo;Ahobalam&rdquo; or &ldquo;Ahobilam&rdquo;.

The mention of this place is present in Brahmanda Purana. The place where Lord Narayana appeared from the stone pillar to kill Hiranyakashipa can be seen in this place. The name of this pillar is Ugra Sthambha, which is now referred as &ldquo;Ukku SThambha&rdquo; in Telugu, which incorrectly translates to iron pillar.

Aho is an exclamation word. Bhalam (bhalam means energy). It is equivalent of &lsquo;oh the mighty energy&rsquo; and thus aho-bhalam of lord Narasimha swamy.

One famous slokam that explains this is:

Aho veeryam! aho shouryam! aho baahu parakrama! 
Naarasimham param deivam aho bhilam! aho balam!

Meaning:&nbsp;Oh! what a great valour he has! oh his great gallantry! oh those great powerful shoulders of the greatest of the Gods Lord Narasimha, and what a mighty cave it is! and what a mighty divine strength He has!

Altogether, there are&nbsp;nine temples&nbsp;in the vicinity of 5kms depicting nine different forms of the Lord such as Jwala Narasimha, Ahobila Narasimha, Malola Narasimha, Kroda Narasimha, Kaaranja Narasimha, Bhargava Narasimha, Yogananda Narasimha, Chathravata Narasimha and Paavana Narasimha.

&nbsp;The Lord Narasimha is a Vara prasaddhi (One who bestows blessings readily). Hiranyakasyapa(son of Sage Kashyapa) asked for specific boons to ensure his immortality and attained demonic powers due to these boons. Lord Vishnu took form as Lord Narasimha (a complex form of half-man and half-lion) to destroy the demon.

Ahobilam is the exact location of the demon Hiranyakashupu&rsquo;s palace, which the epic stories of Lord&nbsp;Narasimha&nbsp;speak of. This place still has remnants, relics and ruins of the demon&rsquo;s palace. The pillar from which the God arose is marked by its base stone and can be accessed after an almost vertical climb up the hill.

It is believed that the entire mountain split up into two, due to the impact of pillar getting shattered by God and God rising from it subsequently. The pillar&rsquo;s base stone is thus, on the edge of the cliff. In between the 2 hills is a deep gorge like a cleft. Lower Ahobilam temple deity is said be installed by Tirumala lord Venkateswara himself before his wedding, since the lord of upper Ahobilam has a Ugra (angry) form.

There are several Narsimha temples in the surrounding hills like Pamuleti Narasimhaswamy, which are popular among local populations. Lord Narasimha appears in different forms as Ugra Murthi(aggressive form), Shanta Murthy (tranquil form), Yoga Murthy (in penance) and Kalyana Murthy with his consort Sri Chenchu Lakshmi

.According to the puranas, this is the very spot where&nbsp;Narasimha&nbsp;blessed&nbsp;Prahlada&nbsp;and killed the&nbsp;demon&nbsp;Hiranyakashipu.

CHENCHU LAKSHMI OR MAHA LAKSHMI

After slaying Hiranyakashyapa, Lord Narasimha proceeded to the Nallamala forest in his UgraAvataram (aggressive form). The devas were worried about this form and prayed to Goddess Lakshmi to pacify him. She took form as Chenchu Lakshmi, a tribal girl, in the same forest. On seeing her, Lord Narasimha asked her to marry him. She put him through a lot of tests completely before agreeing to marry him.

DIGUVA AND EGUVA (LOWER AND UPPER AHOBILAS)

In the lower Ahobila Lakshmi Narasimha Swami is in a peaceful form. The temple has exquisite stone art. The history of Ahobila temple is sculptured in the stone form. Lord Srinivasa himself is said to installed the main deity here. He is said to have sought the blessings of Narasimha before his wedding but finding the Narasihma in fierce form in Upper Ahobila, he is said to have installed the peaceful form in the lower Ahobila. The temple complex also had temples for Adivan Sathagopulu.

The sculptures of coronation of Lord Srirama (Sreerama Pattabhishekha), the ten incarnation of Lord Vishnu (Dasavatharas), statues of Poet Annamacharya are present on the walls of the temple. Annamacharya is said to have spent some time here composing songs praising the Lord Narasimha. The great sage Lord Pothuluri Veerabrahmendra Swamy is said to have meditated here to write Kalagnana (the knowledge of the future) which set forth a spiruitual movement.

It is a common practice to worship the Prahlada Varada Narasimha (the Narasimha who gave boons to Prahlada) in lower Ahobilam before worshipping Eguva (Upper) Ahobila Narasimha, who is present eight kilometers away on a hilltop inside a cave. After worshipping the Lord, it is another practice to visit Navanarasimhas (nine Narasimhas). The legend says Lord Narasimha, after slaying Hiranyakasipa was roaming around the forest hills of Ahobilam making fearsome laughs and settling at nine places to bless the devotees.

Here are the Nava Narasimha temples. Another legend describes when Lord Garuda did penance to see Lord Vishnu in Lord Narasimha form. Thereafter, LordNarasimha took nine different forms in this hill.

Lord Rama, while searching for Seetha, was stated to have worshipped Lord Narasimha here with His Panchamrita Stotram. Lord Balaji offered Nivedyam to Lord Narasimha, during His wedding to Padmavathi Thayar at Tirumala Hills. Lord Shiva praised Lord Narasimha as &lsquo;Supreme God&rsquo; in His Mantrarajapada Stotram. Rudra has a small shrine adjacent to Sri Ahobila Narasimha sannidhi. Garuda did Tapas here and the Lord appeared before him. Navagrahas have worshipped the Nava Narasimha Moorthies at Ahobilam.

They were relieved of their problems from Asuras, and from the curses they received from Maharishis. It is believed that Chandra (Moon) took to the worship of Sri Karanja Narasimha, Mars to Jwala Narasimha and so on. Adi Sankara was protected from danger to his life and he glorified the Lord Narasimha by his famous Karavalamba Stotram.

Thirumangai Alwar had sung in praise of Lord Narasimha with ten Pasurams. Acharya Ramanuja and Swami Desika worshipped the Lord here.Pilgrims who visit Ahobilam are blessed with immense benefits. Stage Narada averred that whoever stays one night in Ahobilam derives the same benefit that accrues to an individual staying in Kasi for a thousand yugas, in Prayag for twenty yugas and in Gaya for a hundred yugas!

LOWER AHOBILAM TEMPLE GOPURAM

There are nine temples around the Nallamala Forest range, and in terms of sculpture and architecture all these nine temples stands to be an ultimate testament for the ancient sthapathis in planning and sculpting these temples. A few temples can be reached through trekking. Some temples are inside the cave.

Some temples are very difficult to trek to. The nine planets that define the human fates are believed to have worshipped these nine Lord Narasimhas to get relief from Rakshashas (demons) and curses of sages for their actions. This is main theme of the work of the great Telugu poet Errana, the &ldquo;Nrisimha Puranam&rdquo;.

The hereditary powers of the temple rest with the Pontiff HH Azhagiyasingar of Ahobila Mutt. Currently the 45th Jeeyar of this lineage is the reigning Pontiff. Occasionally when HH Jeeyar performs Mangalasasanam (pays respects at the temple) at Ahobilam, the Serthi Utsavam is performed (the Moolavar of Malola Nrusimhar and the Utsavar) are united.

The Nallamala hills are personified as Adisesha with his head at Tirumala, middle at Ahobilam and the tail at Srisailam.

The Nava Narasimha temples:

<ul>
	<li>Chatravata Narasimha: Lower Ahobilam</li>
	<li>Bhargava Narashimha: Lower Ahobilam</li>
	<li>Yogananda Narasimha: Lower Ahobilam</li>
	<li>Ahobila Narasimha: Main temple Upper Ahobilam</li>
	<li>Malola Narasimha / Varaha Narashimha: &frac12; km trek from upper Ahobilam temple</li>
	<li>Karanja Narasimha: On the Way to Upper Ahobilam</li>
	<li>Kroda Narashimha: 7 km from upper Ahobilam temple</li>
	<li>Jwala Narasimha: 5 Km from upper Ahobilam temple</li>
</ul>

Ahobilam Temple Holy Tirthas

Rakthakundam

It is said that Lord Narasimha after killing the demon washed his glory hands at this Tirtham and hence, the water is still reddish in appearance.

Lanjakoneru

This Tirtha is 4 km to the northeast of the shrine, en route to Bhargava. It is said that once upon a time a courtesan, on having the mere darshan of the Lord here, repented of her ways and built the Tirtham to wash off her sins.

RamaTirtham

This Tirtham is 8 km from Lower Ahobilam Temple.

Pooja

Every year, in the month of Phalguna Brahmotsavas (ceremonies performed by the Lord Brahma) are held. Apart from this, every month, on the star day of the Lord, which is Swathi, Gramotsavas (village ceremonies) are celebrated. On that day, Thirumanjan Seva (service) is performed with 108 Kalasas(holy vessels) grandly, A lot of pilgrims visit the temple on the auspicious Swati nakshatra day.

Each of these nine forms have a beautiful story woven with strands of myth, fancy legends and epic tales. According to popular belief, one form of the Lord, the Pavana Narasimhaswamy, when offered the prasad returns half of the offering back to the devotee.

On these lines, the Jwala Narasimhaswamy is supposed to be the ferocious form. This form personifies the cumulative and intense anger of the God. It is believed that the original site of shrine of Jwala Narasimhaswamy was the mouth of a volcano and it is only the proxy shrine which is accessible to the devotees.

Belief is that the navagrah&rsquo;s attained their power of being the planet by worshiping these deities of Narashimha. It is believed that the people having malefic effect of any planet could get some reprieve by worshiping Narasimha.

Legend also states that Goddess Mahalakshmi took birth as a human in a tribe, named Chenchu Lakshmi and married Lord Narasimha after the death of Hiranyakashpu.Narasimha Jayanthi will be celebrated with pomp and glory. The local tribals celebrate the marriage of Goddess Mahalakshmi as ChenchuLakshmi and Lord Narasimha.

&nbsp;

Varnam

Highlights

Sevas/Festivals

Timing

contact

Address

Google Link

Image

Status