Lakshmi Narasimha Navaneetha Krishnan Temple

[Guest guest]

http://www.chennaionline.com/cityfeature/NanganallurNotes/2005/11note74.asp

 

Lakshmi Narasimha Navaneetha Krishnan Temple – 1

To many, ‘Dakshina Deepalayam’ sounds unfamiliar but Nanganallur is also

called by that name. There is a puranic lore which precedes the germination of

the Lakshmi Narasimha temple. This spiritual history is handed down to

generations by savants and pundits.

 

Sage Jamadagni, Lord Parasurama’s father, had an inexplicable urge to have

a darshan of Lord Narasimha (who is the fourth incarnation of Mahavishnu). In

order to realise his dream, he performed a ‘yagna’ in a place which is now

called Nanganallur. The flames of agni from the yagna reached the Almighty

reclining on the serpent bed. The all-pervading cosmic protector decided to

grant the wish of the sage by appearing before him.

 

Thus, Lord Narasimha, the epitome of love and compassion, appeared before the

sage, sporting sanku and chakra (conch and disc) and Lakshmi seated on his lap.

The sage, on seeing the dazzling effulgent image of God became ecstactic and

stood speechless. Jamadagni, not satisfied with enjoying the divine form of the

Lord, wanted mankind also to worship Lord Narasimha. Thus, he appealed to God

to bless the devout multitude in the same celestial form.

 

 

The cosmic couple, Lakshmi and Narasimha, consented to reside there to bless

the devotees. With no trace of ‘Ugraha’, Lord Narasimha assumed the form of

‘Shanthamurti’ with Lakshmi.

 

The flames from the agni reached the abode of Mahavishnu - Sri Vaikuntam. The

‘deepam’ radiated from the sacred fire was so intense that this place

became ‘holy’ and was called ‘Dakshina Deepalayam’ since it is situated

south of the Vindhyas.

 

Thus Dakshina Deepalayam came to be called ‘Nangai Nallur’, as Nangai

denotes Mahalakshmi. Since Mahalakshmi resides in this area, Nangainallur later

on became Nanganallur.

 

In MMTC Colony, there was a spiritual congregation which wanted to build a

temple for Lord Krishna and formed a ‘samajam’ called Sri Krishna Bhakta

Jana Sabha in 1974. It chose an area (koil maniyam) and installed Lord Krishna

made of paper mache in a spot where the temple now exists. S V Santhanam and M

Venkatapathy Naidu were responsible for acquiring the sprawling ground.

 

The members had an inkling about the presence of some icons buried in the

same area. Even though they had tested the soil, they waited for a ‘divine

intervention’ to progress on the temple. Subburaman and Siva Sankaran roped

in a Namboodhri from Kerala to perform a ‘Ashta Mangala Prasnam’. The

divine order was obvious through the prasnam. It revealed some strange

indications. Some startling discoveries were also made. The answer will be

revealed next week.

 

 

Lakshmi Narasimha Navaneetha Krishnan Temple – 2

 

The 'prasnam' performed by Narayana Unni Namboodri of Kerala revealed that a

place of worship had existed 1,500 years ago and the presiding deity was

Lakshmi Narasimha and a divine congregation comprising Lord Navaneetha

Krishnan, Sri Lord Rama and Lord Sinivasa. A fire had destroyed the temple and

all the icons got buried. The divine utterance (prasnam) also suggested that

'Bhoomi Samharshanan' should be performed. It gave a clear picture of the

original layout of the temple, the mutilated icons along with the pooja items

that would be found. Thus, the sacred bell (mani), camphor stand, etc., were

unearthed.

 

Consequently, the members of the Sri Krishna Bhakta Jana Sabha contacted the

Central Archeological department and A K Seshadri of the department helped them

in the process. Inscrutable are the ways of God! The findings during excavation

matched the declaration of the 'prasnam'. The archeological department said the

shrine should have existed before the Chola period and there was also a stone

inscription.

 

 

Further exploration unearthed an icon of Mahavishnu. The members of the

samajam, thrilled at the happening, thought it best to seek the advice of the

Sage of Kanchi, Paramacharya. Known for his prophetic vision, he at once

blessed the members on their 'divine endeavour'.

 

Thus on April 25, 1974, Sudharshana Homam, Sri Sukta Homam and Bhoomi Pooja

were performed on a grand scale. The Paramacharya had blessed the members with

a 'Sudarshana yantra' which was kept in the homam for some time. This yantra

was consecrated by him during the installation of the Lakshimi Narasimha icon.

 

Another erudite Sanskrit scholar, Tirukallam Sri Narasimha Raghavachariar,

performed sthala pooja for the temple. Then the construction of the temple was

undertaken in full swing by its members. In order to pool funds for building

the temple, spiritual discourses and music concerts by luminaries were

arranged.

 

The samprokshanam (consecration) of the temple was performed on December 14,

1974, which coincided with the Tamil month of Karthikai, the day being Sunday.

Karthikai month is referred to as 'Kan Thirantha' month for our Lion God

Narasimha. Karthikai Sundays and Fridays are sacred for Narasimha. His

indelible message is crystal clear. The Almighty will manifest Himself when He

wants to. Probably, he was waiting for an opportune moment to come out!

 

Savants and pundits performed homam for five days preceding the

samprokshanam. A large number of devotees gathered to have holy communion with

Lord Narasimha during the consecration ceremony.

 

In order to sustain running the temple, the members instituted the 'Pidi

Arisi' thittam by which members would offer rice and money for the daily

offering to the Lord.