Lord Nrsimha Dev's Appearance in Mayapur

May 23, 2006

Lord Nrsimha Dev's Appearance in MayapurON MARCH 24, 1984, AT 12:20 A.M., thirty-five men armed with weapons andbombs attacked Sri Mäyäpur Chandrodaya Mandir, ISKCON's center in Mäyäpur,West Bengal. When the dacoits tried to steal the deities of Srila Prabhupdaand Srimati Rädhäräni, the devotees fearlessly challenged the attackers. Howcould the devotees see Srila Prabhupada and Srimati Rädhärani carried away?Both sides fired shots, and people on both sides were injured. SrilaPrabhupäda was rescued, but the Deity of Radharani was not. The incidentgreatly disturbed the devotees. They had faced violence and harassmentbefore, and now the management wanted a permanent solution. One managersuggested installing a Deity of Lord Nrsimhadeva, Krsna's ferociousincarnation as half-man, half-lion, worshiped especially as the protector ofHis

devotees. The manager cited a precedent: When dacoits had threatened thedevotees at the Yoga-Pitha, the nearby birth site of Lord Caitanya, SrilaBhaktivinoda Thakura and his son Srila Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvati thakura hadpromptly installed Sri Sri Laksmi-Nrsimhadeva (the Lord and His consort).There were no further disturbances.The AUSPICOUS APPEARANCE ofLORD NRSIMHADEVAOther devotees in Mäyäpur were not so keen to follow that example. Accordingto scriptural rules, Lord Nrsimhadeva's pujäri, or priest, must have beencelibate from birth, and the worship must be strict and regulated. Who wouldbe prepared to worship Him? Despite such hesitancy, the managers asked meand an artist, Bhaktisiddhänta Dasa, to draw some sketches. They said theDeity's legs should be bent, as if He were ready to jump, He should belooking around ferociously, His fingers should be curled, and flames shouldbe coming from His head. We

sketched a Deity in this mood, in which He isknown as Ugra Nrsimha-"Fierce Nrsimha." The devotees liked it, andPankajanghri Däsa agreed to worship Him. Today that Radhapada Däsa, adevotee from Calcutta, offered to sponsor the carving and installation ofthe Deity. It seemed Lord Nrsimhadeva's appearance in ISKCON Mäyäpur wouldbe a simple straightforward affair. Radhapäda Dasa promptly gave 130,000rupees, and we planned to have the Deity ready for installation in threemonths.I left for South India to get the work started. By Krsna's grace I soonfound a famous sthapati, or Deity sculptor. The man was obliging until Imentioned that the Deity we wanted carved was Ugra Nåsiàha. He emphaticallyrefused to make such a Deity. I then approached many other Deity sculptors,but the answer was always the same-no. After six months and several trips toSouth India, Lord Nrsimhadeva had not yet manifested in His Deity form.Rädhäpäda

Däsa was anxious to see Lord Nrsimhadeva installed in Mäyapur, andhe asked me to visit the first sthapati and once again plead our case.This time the sculptor was a little more congenial and offered to read me achapter from the Silpa-sastra, the Vedic scriptures on sculpture and templearchitecture and engineering. He read aloud some verses describing LordNrsimhadeva-His flamelike mane, His searching glance, and His posture, kneesbent, one foot forward ready to jump out of a pillar. I was amazed. This wasexactly what we wanted. I showed him the sketch I had done. He was impressedand offered to draw an outline based on the scriptural description. We coulduse the outline as a guide for carving the Deity. He reminded me, though,that he would not carve the form himself. The sthapati took a week to do thesketch, and it was impressive. I returned to Mayapur and showed the sketchto the temple authorities. Everyone wanted this

same sthäpati to carve theDeity. Once again I was sent back to South India to convince him. I wentstraight to the sthäpati's house. I felt anxious. What could I do but prayto Lord Nåsiàhadeva to be merciful and agree to manifest Himself in ourtemple in Sridham Mäyäpur? I had hardly said two sentences when the manmatter-of-factly said he would carve the Deity.The sthäpati had approached his guru, the Sankaracharya of Kanchipuram,about our request. His guru had at once replied, "Don't do it. Your familywill be destroyed." But then, after a moment's reflection, the guru asked,"Who has asked you to carve this Deity?" When he heard that it was the HareKrsna people from Mäyäpur, he became very concerned. "They want UgraNrsimha? Are they aware of the implications of carving and installing UgraNrsimha? Such Deities were carved over three thousand years ago by elevatedsthäpatis. There is a place on the way to

Mysore where a very ferocious UgraNrsimha is installed. The demon Hiranyakasipu is torn open on His lap, andthe demon's intestines are spilling out all over the altar. Once thestandard of worship there was very high, with an elephant procession and afestival every day. But gradually the worship declined. place is like aghost town. The whole village is deserted. No one can live there peacefully.Is that what they want for their project?"The sthäpati replied, "They are insistent. They are constantly coming totalk to me about the Deity. Apparently they have some problem with dacoits."Handing his guru a sketch of the Deity, he said, "This is the Deity theywant." His guru took the sketch and looked at it knowingly."Ah, this is ugra category," he said. "But a Deity in this particular moodis called Sthänu Nrsimha. He doesn't exist on this planet. Even the demigodsin the heavenly planets don't worship a form like this.

Yes, this Deitybelongs to the ugra category. Ugra means 'ferocious, very angry.' There arenine forms within this category. They are all very fierce. The one they wantis Sthänu Nrsimha: stepping out of the pillar. No. Don't carve this Deity.It will not be auspicious for you. I will talk with you about this later." Afew nights later the sthäpati had a dream in which his guru came to him andsaid, "For them you can carve Sthänu Nrsimha." The next morning the sthäpatireceived a hand-delivered letter from Kanchipuram. The letter, from theSankaracarya, gave some instructions regarding temple renovations. There wasa footnote. It read, "For ISKCON you can carve Sthänu Nrsimhaåsiàha." Thesthäpati showed me the letter and said, "I have my guru's blessings. I willcarve your Deity." I was overjoyed. I gave him an advance payment and askedhim how long carving the Deity would take. He said the Deity would be readyfor installation within

six months. I returned to Mäyäpur. After fourpeaceful months in Mäyäpur, I decided to go to South India to buy the heavybrass paraphernalia required for Nrsimhadeva's worship and then collect theDeity. The trip was well organized and trouble-free until I visited thesthäpati. I explained to him that I had bought all the paraphernalia for theworship and had come to collect the Deity. He looked at me as if I'd lost mysenses. "What Deity?" he exclaimed. "I haven't even found the suitablestone!" I couldn't believe my ears. "But you told me He would be ready insix months.I will keep my promise," he said. "Six months after I find thestone, the Deity will be ready for installation," His reply was emphatic,but I just could not understand or accept the delay. In frustration Ichallenged him, "There are big slabs of stone all over South India. What'sthe problem?" He looked at me the way a teacher would view a slow studentand

said deliberately, "I'm not making a grinding mortar. I'm making aDeity. The scriptures tell us that only a stone that has life can be used tomake a Visnu Deity. When you hit seven points of the stone slab and eachmakes the sound mentioned in the scriptures, then that stone may besuitable. But there is a second test to indicate whether the stone is livingstone. There is a bug that eats granite. If it eats from one side of thestone to the other and leaves a complete trail visible behind it, then thesecond test of living stone has been passed. That stone is living stone, andexpression can manifest from it. Only from such a slab can I carve yourNrsimhadeva. Such stone speaks poetry. All features of a Deity carved fromsuch stone will be fully expressive and beautiful. Please be patient. I'vebeen searching sincerely for your sixfoot slab." I was amazed and a littleanxious. The devotees in Mäyäpur were expecting the arrival of the

Deitysoon. How was I going to explain the "living stone" search to them? Maybethey would decide to make Nrsimhadeva from marble. I turned to what Ithought would be an easy subject: "Please forgive me, but I forgot to tellyou last time I came that we also want a deity of Prahläda.* We want toworship Prahläda-Nrsimha-deva. What do you think?""I don't think that will be possible," the sthäpati repliedmatter-of-factly. I looked at him incredulously, not sure what to say. Hesmiled and continued. "You want everything done exactly according to thescriptures. Your Nrsimhadeva will be four feet high. Comparatively speaking,that will make Prahläda Mahäräja the size of an amoeba.But we wantPrahläda Mahäräja one foot high," I interrupted. "Fine," the sthäpatireplied. "But that means your Nrsimhadeva will have to be about 120 feethigh." We began to argue about Prahläda Mahäräja's form. Finally thesthäpati sighed in

resignation and agreed to make Prahläda Mahäräja one foottall. At least now I had something positive to report when I returned toMäyäpur. After two months I returned to South India. There had been nodevelopments. I shuttled back and forth between Mäyäpur and South Indiaevery thirty or forty days. Finally our stone was found, and the sthäpatibecame a transformed man. For more than a week he hardly spent any time athome. Hour after hour, day after day, he just sat staring at the slab. Hehad chalk in hand but didn't draw anything. He refused to allow his laborersto do anything besides remove the excess stone to make the slab rectangular.The next time I visited him, he had made a sketch on the stone. That wasall. I was worried. The Mäyäpur managers were becoming impatient. "Are yousure this Deity will be finished in six months?" I asked in desperation."Don't worry. The work will be done," he replied. I returned to

Mayäpur,only to be sent back to South India to check on some details of the Deity. Ifound the sthäpati carving the form with intense care and dedication. Thestone had gone and the shape had come. The sthäpati had just started on thearmlets. He took two weeks to carve them. All the features were so refinedand delicate. I was impressed and happy. The sthäpati took a little morethan twelve months to finish the Deity. When he completed the work he didn'tinform me at once but decided to visit some friends for a few days. It wasthe monsoon season, there were few visitors, and he felt it safe to lock upLord Nrsimhadeva securely in a thatched shed. Two days later his neighborsran to tell him that the shed was on fire. Despite heavy rain, thecoconut-tree roof had caught ablaze. The sthäpati ran to the scene to findthe shed burned to ashes but Nrsimhadeva untouched. He phoned me at once."Please come and take your Deity. He's

burning everything. He's made itclear He wants to go now!" I traveled enthusiastically to South India, hireda truck, and half-filled it with sand. I arrived at the sthäpati's studiothinking this final stage would be relatively simple. I had foolishlyforgotten that Lord Nrsimhadeva is a very heavy personality. He weighed oneton! After two or three hours we managed to lift the Deity safely from theshed onto the truck. To travel across the Tamil Nadu state border safely, weneeded police permission, along with signed papers from the Central SalesTax Department, the Archeological Director, and the Art EmporiumDirectorate. All the officers demanded to see the Deity before signing thepapers.Once they saw Lord Nrsimhadeva, they all became obliging and efficient. Wehad the papers in hand within twenty-four hours-a miracle given the usualquagmire of bureaucracy found in Indian government offices. The trip back

toMäyäpur was also amazingly troublefree and peaceful. Our protector wascertainly present with us. Usually the sthäpati comes on the day of theinstallation ceremony, goes into the Deity room, and carves the eyes of theDeity. But our sthäpati had already carved the eyes. He had also done theprana-pratistha (installing the life force) and worshiped the Deity. I'msure that is why all the papers were prepared so obligingly and transportingthe Supreme Lord was so easy. The Lord was already present. And who woulddare say no to Lord Nrsimhadeva? The installation of Lord Nrsimhadeva lastedthree days-July 28-30, 1986. I remember feeling apprehensive that perhapsthe installation was too simple. The grave warnings of the Sankarachayra ofKanchipuram had deeply impressed me. But my mind was soon appeased by theloud, dynamic kirtan. Saìkirtana-yajna, the chanting of Hare Krsna, the onlytrue opulence of Kali-yuga, was dominating the

scene. I felt enlivened andsatisfied. Lord Nrsimhadeva, the protector of the saìkirtana mission, hadfinally decided to manifest Himself at Sri Mäyäpur Chandrodaya Mandir. Source : www.krishna.com

samsamsam

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