SRI
ANJANEYA SWAMI OF NAMAKKAL DIGAMBARA TEMPLE, T NADU
gk kaushik
Absolute faith of Bhaktah Prahalad
We offer our prayers to Lord. We stand in front of the
deity and pray, but we should have absolute faith in Him. Only then our
prayers are answered. To develop faith in Him, we try. Mere trying will not
do, but doing will do the miracle. Have absolute faith in Him and surrender
yourself to Him, Saranakatha is what the life of Bhaktha Prahalad
imparts to us.
Prahalad - the son of Hiranyakasyap - had absolute
faith in God; there was not even an iota of doubt in his mind that the
Parabrahma exists and exists everywhere. He believed that the very
existence of the universe is an act of the God - whereas his father believed
otherwise. When challenged by Hiranyakasyap to prove the existence of
Parabrahma, Prahlad said that the God exists in every atom and even in
subatomic particles. On hearing this Hiranyakasyap retorts and asks Prahlad
as to whether the God is in the pillar nearby. Prahlad replies that the God
is not only in the pillar but also in the very words uttered by Hiranyakasyap
and also in the sound of those words. [Look at the absolute faith the Bhakta
Prahalad had on Him.] Angered by this and with a view to proving Prahlad
wrong Hiranyakasyap hits the pillar with his mace so as to break it. Lord
Vishnu takes the form of Narasimha ie. Half in the form of Nara [man]
and half in the form of Simha [Lion] and comes out of the pillar and
kills Hiranyakasyap - the Rakshasa.
Narasimha Avtar of Lord Vishnu
When Hiranyakasyap had tried to kill Prahalad by
rolling him from mountain, when brought under the feet of the elephant etc.,
the God had protected him. But why then the Narasimha avtar of Vishnu in
ugra [angered] form? Was it taken to avenge the sufferings of true and
faithful at the hands of Hiranyakasyap [representing the evil forces]? Yes,
but there is more to it. He took the roopa of Narasimha to prove that
the absolute faith should not be failed. While He had taken the rest of the
Dasa avatharas after due consideration and deliberation, the Narasimha
avtar is considered to have been taken on the kshana (micro second),
and even before His consort Sri Devi came to know of it.
Ugramoorthi and Santhaswaroopi
When Bhaktha Prahalad had seen Lord Narasimha in the
ugra he starts praying to Him to mellow down. The prayers of His
Bhaktha mellows down the lord. In the mean time, the devathas had
to seek the help of Sri Devi to make Narasimha a santha swaroopi.
Sri Devi's Penance at Namakkal
Sri Devi descends on earth to see the ugramoorthi
and mellow Him down. Alas! Sri Devi could see only a mellowed Narasimha
moorthi. She undertakes penance to see Him as Ugra Narasimha moorthi
and enters the nearby tank full of lotus. The 'kamalaya tank' is said to be
in the place called Namakkal in Tamil Nadu. It is interesting to know how
that place got the name 'Namakkal'.
Sri Anjaneya at Kamalaya Tank
 Lord
Anjaneya the devotee of Lord Rama, is another absolute faithful. He had been
in service of his master Lord Rama then. While Anjaneya was taking bath in
the Kantaki River in Nepal he had a divine direction to carry the
Saleegramam - a rare fossil stone, found normally in Nepal, down South
and he had been asked not to put the Saleegramam down in the earth. [Saligramam
is a rare fossil stone, found normally in Nepal and it is supposed to
represent Hari in the Pujas.] He had picked up the fossil stone and was
flying Southward. When the evening Sandya time came he wanted to offer
his prayers to his guru Lord Surya. He was looking for the pond and found the
Kamalaya tank of Namakal. As he was directed not to keep the Saleegramam
stone down in the earth, he requests Sri Devi to keep the Saleegramam
with her till he finishes his santhyavandhanam and hands over the
fossil stone to her. Time passed by and Anjaneya returned to pickup the
Saleegramam, Sri Devi had placed the Saleegramam down on the
earth.
Saleegramam's viswaroopam
Before anybody knew what had happened, the
Saleegramam started growing big. Anjaneya after his prayer came to know
of what had happened from Sri Devi. Not knowing what to do Anjaneya tries to
lift the Saleegramam with the knot of his tail. Alas! The
Saleegramam broke and Lord Narashimha in Ugra form gave
dharshan to Anjaneya and Sri Devi. Lord said to Anjaneya that the penance
of Sri Devi had ended because of the Saleegramam brought by him
represented Hari in Ugra Narashima form. That the place will be
henceforth been known as 'Namakkal' ('Namagiri' in Sanskrit), since the
Saleegramam had turned into a mountain here.
The Cave Temple
The Lord Narashima in the main deity of the cave temple
atop the hill which is in the middle of this town Namakkal. The Lord
Narashima is facing west sitting with his right leg placed to the ground, and
His left leg is placed on the right thigh. The sharpness of the 'vajra
naka' with which Lord had performed the Hiranya samhara is worth
noting. Sri Jankan is standing on His left and Sri Sanadhan on to His right
and telling the Lord about the "Lokashama" in His ears. On to his left Siva,
and on to His right Brahma is seen pleading with the Lord to mellow down.
This is very rare to see the Trimurthis in one place. This place is also
known by the name 'Trimurthi Sthala'. Though Lord is seen in ugra
form here He is Lord Lakshmi Narashima since it is the place where Sri Devi
is also present after her penance.
Digambara Anajaneya Temple
Since the Saleegramam had turned into a mountain
open to sky Anjaneya is in Digambara temple with anjalihasta facing
and worshiping Lord Lakshmi Narashima and the Saleegramam. The
Anjaneya in this kshethra is eighteen feet tall and is having
dharshan of the Lord Lakshmi Narashima who is about 250 feet away. The
wonder of this dharshan is that the eye of Anjaneya is in straight
line with the patha [lotus feet] of Lord Lakshmi Narashima. One could
witness Anjaneya having the dharshan of Lord's Lotus feet from the
Garudalwar sannathi even today. The imprint of the footsteps of Anjaneya
Swami is seen in the Kamalalam tank steps.
Namakkal Town is the Hq. of the Namakkal district,
which is extensively covered with hilly ranges and rocks of the Kollimalai
range of hills which runs along the east of Nammakkal.
The State Archeological Survey opines that the cave
temples were constructed by Adhiyaman rulers who ruled over Kongu Nadu, and
the cave sculptures were engraved by Gunasila Adhiya Kula, King during 7th
Century.
The Lord Anjaneya who had ended the penance of Sri Devi
and got Her the glimpses of the Lord Narashima, and having dharshan of
His Patharavindha is waiting for us. In this kshethra He will
award us with end of our penance of this janma and to have dharshan
of his Lord's Patharavindha.
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