about Ahobilam - Divya desam

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Here is a short description on Ahobilam - Divya desam

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasan

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Ahobilam, the great Narasimha kshetram is also known as Ahobalam,

Singavel Kundram, Vedachalam, Garudachalam, Veera kshetram, pancha

kosa kshetram etc. for the following reasons.

 

§ AHOBALAM :- means " great strength " . Since Lord manifested

Himself here for rescuing His devotee by killing the asura,

Hiranyakasapu, the devas praised Him saying " AHO BALAM " (Oh! What a

strength)

§ VEDACHALAM :-Perumal restored the Vedas to Brahma by killing

Somuka, an asura.

§ GARUDACHALAM:-Perumal blessed Garuda who was doing penance

here.

§ VEERA KSHETRAM :- Lord exercised one of His gunas " VEERYAM "

§ NAVA NARASIMHA KSHETRAM: There are nine temples dedicated to

Narasimhar

§ PANCHA KROSA KSHETRAM: All the nine temples are situated

within a radius of 5 krosas or 10 miles or 16 kilometres.

 

 

 

1) PRAHALADA VARADA NARASIMHA SWAMY: Situated at the foot of the

hills known as Lower Ahobilam, this temple can be visited by one and

all. Usually all homams and yagams are performed here. Here Perumal

is seen along with Thayar blessing Prahalada. Hence, Perumal is known

as " Prahalada Varadar " . The utsava vigrahams of all the Narasimhars

except Malola Narasimhar are offered nitya thiruvaadhanai here. To

the left of Perumal, utsava vigraham of Pavana Narasimhar can be seen

majestically . In front of the Lord, the utsava iodls of Prahalada

varada Narasimhar along with Sridevi and Bhoodevi grace us .

The processional deity of Jwala Narasimhar along with His consorts is

also seen in the garbagriham . The vigraham is superbly carved and on

request , the archakar removes the alankaranam and performs Aaarathi

to the idol. This idol has 10 arms and Hiranya vadham (killing) is

beautifully depicted. There is also a small vigraham of the first

Ahobila Mutt Jeeyar facing south. The temple is a huge one and many

monkeys can be seen here. The walls of the temple depict the sthala

puranam briefly. There is a Thayar Sannidhi to the right of the

temple.

 

2) BHARGAVA NARASIMHA SWAMi: This temple is situated two kilometres

from Lower Ahobilam on a small hillock and can be approached by foot.

As Bhargava (Parasurama) did penance here, the Lord is thus known. It

is easily approachable.

 

3) YOGANANDA NARASIMHA SWAMI: Situated at a distance of 3 kilometres

from Lower Ahobilam, this can be approached by foot. It was here that

Prahalada mastered the art of yoga from Perumal Himself. The divya

mangala swaroopam of the Lord is eye captivating. Perumal is seen

alone in Yogaasanam.

 

4) CHATRAVATA NARASIMHA SWAMI:- This is situated at a distance of

nearly 3 kms from Ahobilam on a different route also reachable on

foot . As Perumal is seated alone under a peepul tree which protects

Perumal like an umbrella, He is known as Chatravata Narasimhar. This

Perumal is fond of music played by Gandharvas. It looks as if the

Lord is deeply engrossed in music by clasping His hands. We were told

that He is fond of Adi Thalam. Reptiles keep moving in this place but

they don't harm the devotees. One has to take care of these.

 

5) UGRA NARASIMHAR SANNIDHI:- This is in Upper Ahobilam. There is a

narrow bus route and it takes about 40 minutes to reach this place

from Lower Ahobilam. This is considered as the divya desa temple.

Usually, pilgrims have bath in Bhavanaasini or Paavanaasini (a spring

which flows from the top of the hill) and then have Perumal's

darsanam. A dip in Paavanaasini absolves all the sins committed.

Though there are no proper bathing ghats, still we can see hundreds

of devotees having holy dip unmindful of their surroundings. The

sannidhi is located inside a cave . Perumal along with Thayar is seen

in Veetruirundha Thirukkolam . Opposite to Perumal, there is an idol

of Prahalada. There is a dark room on the other side of the cave

which is believed to be the place where Chenchulakshmi resides .

Recently, under the supervision of Jeer, a bridge across Paavanasini

river has been constructed which facilitates the pilgrims to go to

Varahanarasimhar temple (Krodha Narasimhar)

 

KRODHA NARASIMHAR: One kilometer further from Upper Ahobilam leads to

the shrine of Krodha Narasimhar. He is also known as Varaha

Narasimhar as His Thirumukam resembles a varaham (a boar). Any japam

done here elevates one spirtually. Especially, Narayana Sadakshara

Japam from Varaha Kanda bestows manifold benefits as told by Archakar

Swamin

 

KARANJA NARASIMHAR SHRINE : This temple is situated between Upper

Ahobilam and Lower Ahobilam.. As the divya mangala moorthi is

installed under Karanja vruksham, the deity has been named so.

Perumal is seen in Veetruirundha Kolam and is holding Sarngam (bow),

dhanus (arrow) and chakram . As usual, Adisesha acts as " Kudai " (refer

Irundhal Kudaiyam…) and is protecting. The theertham here is known as

Bhairava kundam. Hanumar who visited this place was a staunch Rama

bhakta . Lord Narasimhar appeared to Hanumar, who was a staunch

Ramabhakta, with bow and arrow thus showing that He is Rama Himself.

This Lord is in Padmasaanam pose. One can have darshan of Hanumar

also. We are reminded of Sholangur .

 

6) MALOLA NARASIMHAR: This shrine is situated two kilometres away

from Upper Ahobilam. Perumal came in search of Mahalakshmi Thayar who

was doing penance here and placed Her on His lap. Hence, Perumal seen

along with Thayar has a somya (graceful) form. Due to Thayar's

presence, Perumal graces even the worst sinner . Azhwar refers to

this Perumal in pasuram no. 1016 (Peria Thirumozhi) when he says that

bhaktas are always protected by Perumal and only the wicked have to

fear . This Lord gives abhayam to His devotees and Thayar bestows

Asthaaiswaryam and grants the wishes of the devotees. There

is a vigraham of Thirumangai Azhwar in the sanctum . Outside the

temple, there is a small pillar with murthis. Those who are not able

to go to Ugra sthambam can prostrate this pillar.

 

7) JWALA NARASIMHAR:- This temple is located at a higher altitude may

be around 2800 feet. And can be approached from Malola Narasimhar

shrine. It takes about 2 hours to reach this temple from Upper

Ahobilam. The path is slippery and as mentioned care has to be taken.

It was here that Perumal killed Hiranyakasipu by tearing his stomach

with his spear like nails. The idol with 10 hands which is

approximately 3 feet high and is scaring to look at. Beside this

shrine, there is a small pond known as " Raktha Kundam " where the Lord

is

believed to have washed His blood-stained hands . The water is

reddish in colour and this was the explanation given by the guide to

us. Recently, a temple has been constructed for this Lord and a

archakar is appointed to perform Nitya Thiruvaaradhanai.

 

8) PAVANA NARASIMHAR: It is situated six kilometres away from Upper

Ahobilam towards north east on the banks of River Pavana. It is

difficult to approach this temple as wild animals keep roaming. If

one wishes to visit this temple, he must do so during daytime with

the help of a guide. The path is too narrow, the trek amidst cluster

of rocks is strenuous . It takes about 45 minutes for trekking. One

can view Malola Narasimhar shrine and few water falls on the way on

the other side of the mountain. Forest fire is very common in this

place and this helps in one way to ward off wild animals. It is

believed that devas offer worship to this Lord. The Lord is seen

along with Thayar . The local tribals usually observe fast on

Saturdays and offer flowers, honey, fruits, rice, jaggery etc. to the

Lord.

 

PRAHALADA PADI is the place where Prahalada had his vidyabhyaasam

from Sukracharya's sons. The way to Prahalada padi though tough is

breathtakingly beautiful with river flowing on one side and with

various water falls amidst a huge valley. This reminds me of the

route to Badrinath. The temple is in a small cave and one has to

crawl to enter inside the cave. Only 4 persons can be accomodated

inside at a time. Mountain lizards and bats move freely here.

 

It was here that the child started propogating Lord's qualities.

Prahalada used to resort to this place for meditating upon the Lord.

There is a vigraham of Narasimhar in centre . to its right, there is

an idol of Chakaratazhwar and to the left , there is a vigraham of

Lord Vishnu.

 

UKKU STHAMBAM which is situated at a distance of 8 kms from Upper

Ahobilam is the pillar from which the Lord emerged . The pillar which

is situated at the edge of the cliff is split into two as a proof

that Lord appeared from this pillar. Pilgrims usually give their

offerings here. It is very difficult to reach this place which is at

a highest altitude .Doing pradakshinam around this pillar is even

more difficult as it is in the cliff. Near the ukku sthambham (iron

pillar) as the Telugus call, there is Perumal's Thiruvadi. The climb

is very difficult . Only with His grace can one visit this place. One

has to have a sharp vision and a flexible body to bend, crawl etc.

 

" Aho Veryam aho sowryam aho bahu parakramaha Naarasimham param deivam

Ahobalam Ahobalam "