| All the Narasimha Jayanthi Pooja orders will be accepted till 05.00 PM (IST) of 25th May 2010. |
The fourth and the greatest incarnation of Lord Vishnu amongst his ten prime avataras is Lord Narasimha who emerged out of a pillar as Man-Lion, i.e.,Lion's head on Man's trunk. He devoured Demon-Lord Hiranyakashyapu who was Master Prahalada's father. When Prahalada was in the womb of his mother, Queen Kayaadu, he had the fortune of listening to Devarishi Naradha regarding Lord Vishnu's compassion towards his devotees. Hence right from his birth Prahalada was dedicated to the name of Lord Vishnu.
Hiranyakashyapu who was an arch rival of Lord Vishnu and a symbol of torture to noble souls, could not bear with his son and started torturing young Prahalada in many ways after trying through his henchmen to advice Prahalada that Hiranyakashyapu himself was the prime god and Lord Vishnu stood null in front of Hiranyakashyapu. Young Prahalada denounced such thoughts and stuck to his wisdom that Lord Vishnu was "Purushothama", the supreme. One day, Hiranyakashyapu screamed at Prahalada and questioned him as to where his Lord Vishnu was present and whether he could save Prahalada from death at his own hands.
To this, Prahalada replied that Lord Vishnu is omnipresent. Hiranyakashyapu pointed
out at a pillar in his palace and asked Prahalada whether Vishnu was present
in it. Prahalada's reply was affirmative.The Demon using his Gadha(Mace) broke
open the pillar and there emerged Lord Narasimha who slained the demon using
his sharp paws and blessed Prahalad as his topmost devotee on earth.To mark the
above incidence and to pay our respect to the Lord, Narasimha Jayanthi is celebrated
at several temples.
