yAdagirigutta Sri LakshmiNarsimha Sannidhi

[Guest guest]

Dear bhAgavathas,

 

On this auspicious occasion of Sri

LakshmiNarasimha Jayanti, I begin the first in

what, with His Grace, will be a series of postings

on Andhra Pradesh's connections to SriVaishnavam.

Called formally as the Andhra abhimAna sthalam

project, this kainkaryam is the product of members

of the Bhakti forum who have deep rooted

connections to the traditions of SriVaishnavam as

it is continued to be practiced in Andhra. We

soon will be posting on not only the SriVaishnava

temples of Andhra, but also on the dedicated

achAryans in this state who have yet remained

"silent heros" in the preservation and propogation

of emperumAnAr darshanam. Sri Venkatesh

Elayavalli has kindly volunteered to place each

posting in his web site (www.srivaishnava.org)

 

On behalf of all of the volunteers who are

currently involved, I seek the mangalAsasanas of

His Holiness Sri Sri Sri Tridandi Sriman Narayana

Ramanuja Jeear to assure that that this kainkaryam

activity will be a successful and spiritual

fulfilling endeavor for all of us in this forum.

 

With that, the first of the abhimAna sthalams, one

that has played a special role in my own life, Sri

LakshmiNarasimhan Sannidhi at yAdagirigutta.

 

 

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srimatE rAmAnujAya namah:

 

 

Temple: Sri YAdagirigutta Lakshminarasimha

Sannidhi

Location: 69 km (40 miles) from Hyderabad near the

town of Bhuvanagiri (Bhongir)

 

moolavar: Jwala Narasimhan, Yoga Narasimhan,

Gandabheranda, LakshmiNarasimhan, Ugra Narasimhan

(pancha Narasimha kshEtram)

 

utsavar: vAIdya LakshmiNarasimhan,

kalyAna LakshmiNarasimhan

 

thAyAr: AndAl

 

other sannidhis: AzhwArs, Anjaneyar, Sudarshanar

 

Agama: pAncarAtra

 

sthala purAnam:

 

In trEta yugam, there lived a sage by the name of

YAda rishi. The sage was none other than the son

of the famous Rishyasringa.

 

Through his father's guidance, YAdarishi had

achieved an intense level of devotion to Sriman

Narayana. Such devotion inspired him to venture

into the area adjacent to the hill that would

eventually bear his name to perform tapas to

achieve the vision of the Lord.

 

Sriman Narayana, pleased with YAda's tapasyam,

sent Sri Anjaneya to direct the rishi to a holy

spot,

where the Lord appeared to him in the form of Sri

LakshmiNarasimhan. This spot is marked by a

temple located at the foot of the Yadagiri

hillock,

and is located about 5 km from the present

temple. There the sage worshipped the Lord

for many years.

 

After Yadarishi attained mOksham, a number of

tribals, hearing of the Lord's presence, came

to worship Him at this temple. But,

not being very learned, these devotees began to

engage in improper worship.Because of this, Sri

LakshmiNarasimhan moved into to the hills.

The tribals searched for many years to find

their Lord, to no avail.

 

After many years had passed. the Lord appeared in

the dream of a devout lady among the tribe,

directing her to a large cavern wherein

He revealed Himself to all as five majestic

archAvatharans.

 

Three of these rupams of SingapirAn,

jwAlanarasimhan, yOganarasimhan, and

Lakshminarasimhan appear as self-manifesting

images on the wall of the cavern itself.The fourth

form,

ugranarasimhan, reveals His Fierce Mouth to

us as the wide entrance to the cavern itself. The

fifth form, gandabheranda, is known only by the

presence of an eternal lamp that burns within a

crevice

underneath Sri Anjaneya sannidhi.

 

As these rupams of the Lord are sometimes

difficult to see in the small crevice inside

the cavern that serves as His sannidhi,PerumAl

and ThAyar stand together as large silver

utsavars out of Their soulabhyam as Sri

LakshmiNarasimhan. It is this form of the

Lord and ThAyar that are known and adored

by all the devotees visiting the Temple.

 

Over the centuries, and particularly in recent

years, Sri LakshmiNarasimhan has revealed an

interesting side of His Compassionate Nature by

taking on the role of a Divine Doctor. Many

devotees tell of vivid dreams in which the Lord

comes to

heal them from chronic or terminal illnesses, and

even

mental or emotional problems. Often times, the

Lord Himself has imparted mantrOpadEsham to select

devotees in their dreams. Those visiting the

temple have often come

out of an overwhelming desire to be there,

and just as mysteriously, those leaving the temple

leave with the knowledge and satisfaction that

their illnesses have been cured; a feeling that is

often

proved true upon their next visit to their

family physician. It is for this reason

that the Lord has come to be known as

Sri vAIdya LakshmiNarasimhan.

 

Sri AndAl samEtha Sri vAIdya LakshmiNarsimha

parabrahmanE namah: