The merciful Lord incarnates to protect Prahlada Maharaja

Lord Narasimha with Prahlada Maharaja in a grand decoration

Sri Narasimha, the half man and half lion incarnation of Lord Vishnu is revered as one of the famed incarnations of the Lord. Lord Krishna declares in the Bhagavad-gita that He incarnates to protect His devotees from the harassment of demons and to reestablish the principles of Dharma. Lord Narasimha appeared to save His dear devotee Prahlada by slaying his demoniac father Hiranyakashipu who tortured his son in an attempt to kill him.

Devotees pray to Lord Narasimha to remove all the obstacles on their path of devotional service. There are more than a hundred prominent Narasimha temples with historical importance in India. Every year, devotees celebrate Narasimha Jayanti on the Chaturdashi of the bright fortnight in the month of Vaishakha.

The mulavar Deity of the Lord receiving special arati

This year, devotees of ISKCON Sri Radha Krishna temple, Bangalore celebrated the auspicious appearance day of Lord Narasimha on May 13, 2014 atop the Hare Krishna Hill. There was an elaborate abhisheka ceremony for the mulavar Deity of the Lord early at 5:30 a.m. The Lord was smeared with white sesame paste and bathed with panchamrita (milk, yogurt, ghee, honey and jaggery water), pancha-gavya (milk, yogurt, ghee, cow urine and cow dung mixed with water) and fruit juices. Then there was a special arati with a variety of lamps whose light brightly illuminated the six-armed Deity anointed with turmeric. This was followed by showering the Deity with various kinds of colorful fragrant flowers. The Lord was then dressed with fine costumes and adorned with ornaments and garlands and was offered a puja while the devotees sang the praises of the Lord.

The utsava Deity of Lord Narasimha received special abhisheka and puja in the evening. This event was witnessed by a large number of devotees. The evening abhishekaalso included a kalasha snana with the recitation of the Purusha Sukta. There was a video presentation on the teachings of Srila Prabhupada on the mercy of Lord Narasimha on Prahlada Maharaja. The presentation also included darshan of the Dieties at 108 famous Narasimha temples located in various places in India.