Nārasimhāya namah

Unable to withstand Lord Narasimha’s weight, Mother Earth agonized. Unable to withstand his swiftness, mountains were flung far away. In front of His divine radiance, space and directions faded. There was none to oppose this valorous and divinely effulgent Lord!

The Lord who was shining in all His glory sat on the royal throne, which was situated at a height in that assembly. He appeared so terrifying that everyone’s heart was filled with fear. As such none came forward to serve Him.

The wives of the Devatas, who had observed how Lord Narasimha had killed the mighty demon Hiraṇyakaśipu who had become a headache for all the three worlds, could not contain their joy. Their faces blossomed and they rained flowers upon the Lord. The entire sky was cluttered with the celestial aircrafts, in which celestials, who were desirous of watching this event, were seated.

The celestials played kettle-drums and drums. Gandharvas danced in ecstasy. The wives of the Devatas sang profusely. All the Devatas including Brahma, Rudra, Indra, the fore-fathers, Siddhas, Maharishis, Vidyadharas, Nāgās, humans, Prajāpatis, Gandharvas, Apsarasās, Caraṇās, Yakṣās, Kimpuruṣas, Betāḷās, Kinnarās, Vishnu’s primary attendants such as Sunanda and Kumuda arrived there, nevertheless they too found it hard to withstand His effulgence. Seeing His terrifying form and His uncontrollable anger, they stood at a distance, raised their hands over their heads and prayerfully glorified the Lord.

Lord Brahma prayed, “O Lord, who are beyond the limitations of time, space and objects! O Lord who possesses infinite energies! O Lord whose prowess causes astonishment and whose deeds are pure and divine! O Lord, with Your illusory energy which is composed of the traits of purity, action and ignorance (sattva, rajas, tamas) You perform the actions of creation, sustenance and destruction. O indestructible Lord, I offer obeisance to You, who are none other than Srihari!”

Lord Rudra prayed, “O Lord who treats his devotees as his children! O Srihari, if You are angry the entire creation will be annihilated. This insignificant demon has now been slayed by You. Prahlāda, the son of this demon, is your ardent devotee. Who has surrendered totally to You. O Lord, You always shower fatherly love upon Your devotees. Please protect this devotee Prahlada.”

Lord Indra prayed, “O Supreme Lord, You who are our protector, have ensured that we get back our share of yagna offerings. You are the one who eternally resides in our heart. However due to relentlessly thinking about this demon, our heart-lotus had closed. You have caused it to bloom again. O Lord Narasimha, O Natha, those who serve Your lotus feet do not aspire even for liberation considering it insignificant. This being the case, is there any need to specifically mention that they consider other material benefits as worthless?”

The Maharishis prayed, “O primordial being! O protector! O destroyer of demons! You protect those who surrender to Your lotus feet. O effulgent Lord, You, the Pure Consciousness, are the cause behind this entire creation. You have initiated us into the supreme method called penance (tapas). Such penance, which is a form of meditation, is also Your form. Using this energy of penance, You have projected externally this universe, which was lying dormant with You. Due to actions of this worthless demon our penance had come to a standstill. Purely in order to protect us, You incarnated in this form and through this blessed us to continue our penance”.

The fore-fathers (pitr-devatas) prayed, “O Lord, this demon would forcefully consume the śrārdha-offerings (oblations) which our sons and grandsons would offer to us on our death anniversaries. Moreover he would also drink the water containing sesame seeds which they would offer to us as oblations. You, the ever-compassionate Lord, have with Your sharp nails torn apart this demon’s stomach and have retrieved back the stolen offerings. To such Lord we offer obeisance.”

Siddhas prayed, “O Lord, with our power of penance we obtained certain supernatural powers. This wicked Hiraṇyakaśipu, using the supernatural powers obtained through intense austerities, drained us of all such powers. He drew them from us. Using Your nails you easily tore apart his stomach O dear Lord Narasimha. We offer obeisance to You”. Nārasimhāya namah