Courtesy:Sri.K.Muralidharan Iyengar
Dear All,
Greetings and Namaste. As Nrusimha Jayanti falls on 02-May-2015 (Saturday), I am happy to attach a short prayer by Prahlada on Lord Vishnu when he was thrown into the deep ocean with rocks piled on him. Actually he recites two hymns occurring in two consecutive chapters (19,20). I had shared the one from Chapter 19 a few years ago and happy to share the next one with this. Prahlada was granted liberation by the Lord in addition to the boon of forgiveness for his father Hiranyakashipu. As we have seen in previous postings, the number of hymns on Lord Nrusimha are just handful in Puranas although there are many by Bhaktas.
From the Puranic point of view, Lord Nrusimha is equated to Lord Bhairava (an incarnation of Lord Shiva). In Saura Puranam, Chapter 29, it is given as thus:
bhagavAn nRRiharir yo .asau sa evak khila bhairavaH | nRRihareH pUjanAn nUnaM prIto bhavati bhairavaH ||
pUjanAd bhairavasyaiva nRRihariH pUjito bhavet | ye pashyanti tayor bhedaM mAyayA mohitA narAH ||
(Meaning : One who is Bhagavan Nruhari, He indeed is Bhairava. When Lord Nruhari is worshipped, Lord Bhairava is pleased. When Lord Bhairava is worshipped, Lord Nruhari is also worshipped. Only the people deluded by Maya see these two as different).
In Skanda Purana, Nagara Khanda, Chapter 151, Verses 60-65 Sage Vasishta recommends that in Hatakeshvara Kshetra, Lord Bhairava should be worshipped with Lord Nrusimha Mantra (nArasiMhena mantreNa tataH pUjaya taM nRRipa).
We have also seen that the Dhyana Shloka of Lord Nrusimha inherently describes Lord Shiva as well, as explained by Sringeri Acharyas:
satyaGYAna sukha-svarUpaM amalaM xIrAbdhi-madhya sthitaM | svA~NgArUDhaM atiprasanna vadanaM bhUShA sahasrojjvalam |
tryaxaM cakra pinAka sA.abhaya-varAn bibhrANaM arkacChaviM | ChatrIpUta phaNIndraM indu-davalaM laxmI-nRRisiMhaM bhaje ||
(Lord Nrusimha has 3 eyes, bears Pinaka Dhanus and bears white complexion resembling moon - which are typical descriptions of Lord Shiva).
We have also seen, over the last several years, one of the key teachings of Puranas is Murthy Abheda and this message is repeated innumerable times in Purans of all color - Brahmite, Vaishnavite or Shaivite. To illustrate this point, there is an exemplary prayer on Lord Shiva by Prahlada in Brahma Puranam! Sage Narada prays to Lord Shiva as namastubhyaM jagannAtha mama nAtha mama prabho in Narada Pancharatram, a Vaishnavite Agama (I had shared this stuti a few years ago). Can we claim to know more than Prahlada or Narada, the Supreme Bhaktas? Clinging to non-existing and illusory bhedas and thereby creating imaginary aberrations can only harm individual spiritual progress, to say the least.
May We Pray To Lord Nrusimha on this Nrusimha Jayanti! Of all the 25+ Vishnu Sahasranamas I have seen, Sri Lakshmi Nrusimha Sahasranama is perhaps one of the most potent Sahasranamas and chanting the same will be highly beneficial.
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