Sri Shodasha Bahu (Sixteen armed) Narasimha Devaru of Sri Raghavendra Matha Mantralaya.'$#¡v@π√∆¥'dr $@π√∆¥ drsanjayhonkalse@gmail.comdrsanjayhonkalse.blogspot.com ।।शिवसंकल्पमस्तु।।Shri Shodsha Bahu Narasimha Dev Murti of Shri Raghavendra Math Mantralaya.

अगस्तै  नमः।कृन्वंतो विश्वम् आर्यम।।

Sri Shodasha Bahu (Sixteen armed) Narasimha Devaru of Sri Raghavendra Matha Mantralaya.

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             ।।शिवसंकल्पमस्तु।।

Shri Shodsha Bahu Narasimha Dev Murti of Shri Raghavendra Math Mantralaya.

  Narasimha Navrat begins from Vaishakh Shu Shasthi. Narasimha Bhagwan is an eternally incarnate deity and  appeared to enable Bhakt(devout) pralhaad of his father's Hiranya Kashyapu's son

demonic excesses.  Narasimha worship is prevalent, especially in the Advaita Sampradaya of Ramanuja Pranit and Advaita Sampradaya of Madhav Charya. But Dvaita Sampradaya also worships Narasimha. Adi Shankaracharya was a Narasimha worshiper.He was saved by Shree Narsinhbhgvaan from the death clutch of a demon when ACHARYA WAS IN Mystic Kardali forest near Shree Shailam.Then Aadi Shankra wrote famous करावलंबन ,kara valmban stotra

 There are temples of Lord Narasimha all over India and Pakistan.

 Anyway, right now on social media  discussion has intensified ।about the sixteen-armed Narasimha idol at Mantralaya Matt ,AT ANDHRA NEAR KARNATK BOUNDARY.

 According to some, this is the only idol, but it is not  TRUE. There is a beautiful and self-made idol of Shaligram is Krishnatiri at Kole Narsinghpur in Sangli, Maharashtra.

The sixteened armed idol at

 Mantralaya Andhra Pradesh (Karnataka border) was in the worship of Raghavendra Swami and twice a year the general worship is performed by the Pontiff there.

 The history of this idol is a bit unknown   .But here we will take up to reveal the  same:

 This idol was received by Shri Vibhendra Tirtha, a renowned ascetic of Acharya Madhav's sect.

Sri Vibhudendra Teertha was a very renowned ascetic in the tradition of Acharya Madhva. He was a profound and universally respected scholar, very devoted to the cause of propagating Dvaita. He had mastered the Sarvamoola works of Acharya Madhva, Sri Jayateertha’s nyaya-sudha and other great works. Sri Lakshminarayana muni, who is more well known as Sri Sripadaraja, studied under him. He was thus connected to different mathas and schools owing allegiance to Acharya Madhva and was well revered by everybody. His Guru and predecessor was Sri Ramachandra Teertha.

 

Being a devotee of Lord Narasimha, Sri Vibhudendra Teertha spent several years in Ahobila worshipping the Lord. One day, when he was performing his morning rituals in the Bhavanaashini river, he came across a magnificent and very rare icon of Narasimha with 16 arms, as had been indicated to him in a dream previously. The icon is very awe-inspiring and captivating. The Lord is holding different weapons in fourteen hands and in the other two hands He is ripping open the stomach of the demon Hiranyakashipu lying on his thigh and pulling out his intestine. The intensity of the fury on Narasimha’s face is matched by the abject terror on Hiranyakashipu’s face as he gets ready to face Death. The awesome yet majestic theme portrayed in the icon is truly magnificent. Sri Vibhudendra teertha worshipped the icon until his last days and duly handed it over to his disciple Sri Jitamitra teertha. He entered his Brindavana in Tirunelveli in Tamilnadu, on the banks of the river Tamraparni.

From then on the icon was worshipped by all the pontiffs of the matha including Sri Raghavendra teertha. After decades, Sri Bhuvanendra teertha, the pontiff of the matha had a very virtuous person called Sri Aiji Venkataramacharya as his disciple. He initiated Venkataramacharya into ascetism with the Ashramanama of Sri Vyasa tattvagna and gave him the icon to worship. Sri Vyasa tattvagna did not want to become the pontiff of the matha, preferring to lead a simple and detached life and worshipping the icon as an ordinary ascetic. Over the course of time, the icon came back to the matha and has been worshipped by all the pontiffs.

POOJA AND MAHABHISHEKA

(Worship and ceremonial ablution)

Like all the other icons in the matha, the Shodasha-bahu Narasimha icon is also worshipped in accordance with the principles enunciated by Acharya Madhva in his work ‘tantra sara sangraha’. He has stipulated that icons bigger than the human palm needed to be worshipped in a special manner including rituals like nyAsa, taking a significant amount of time. Hence all the principal icons of the maTha including Sri Moola Rama and Shodasha-bahu Narasimha are offered full-fledged worship including abhishekha only once or twice a year, on very special occasions. Vaishaka shukla chaturdashi (the fourteenth day in the bright half of the Hindu lunar month of Vaishakha) is a very special day because Lord Narasimha incarnated on this day. Accordingly, full fledged worship including abhishekha is offered to the Shodasha-bahu Narasimha icon on this day.

All the preparations are completed on trayodashi (the day prior to the abhishekha) itself. Arrangements are made to fetch and store vital ingredients needed for the abhishekha like milk, curds, ghee, honey, different types of fruits etc. from distant cities like Bangalore. A beautiful mantapa is created on a well decorated stage.

Around 10 AM on Chaturdashi the Peethadhipati completes the morning rituals and perform the sankalpa to perform the abhisheka to Lord Narasimha. As soon as He takes out the Shodasha bahu icon from its enclosure, an overpowering wave of devotion, awe and ecstasy passes through the devotees who have gathered to watch the abhisheka. The gathering of brahmins starts chanting the Sri Shodashabahu Nrusimhastaka composed by Sri Vijayeendra teertharu. Then to the accompaniment of Vedic chants, the Swamiji perform the Abhisheka of Lord Narasimha in the prescribed manner. Next, they perform udvarchane and anoint the icon with specially prepared sandalwood paste. This completes the main portion of the abhisheka. After this, Srigalu performs regular pooja to the other icons of the Matha. Finally, they put the Shodasha-bahu Narasimha icon back in its enclosure in a ceremonial manner.

The Swamiji observes Narasimha Jayanthi as per the Matha calendar wherever they are on that date, but the chances of them being in Mantralaya on that day are very high. The pomp and glory associated with the function, the happiness that devotees experience on witnessing this rare function is something that cannot be captured in words; it has to be experienced to be understood.

इदं न मम।

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