Śrī Naṛasimhāshṭakam
(1) Thy fangs’ sharp flash & sparking breath set all our hearts ablaze,
Chimeric God in shimm’ring mane of gold with crimson highlight.
Like blue in golden flame is Vishṇu’s shade in lion’s face,
Appearing in the night-blue day-gold mingled hues of twilight.
(2) Within Thy burnished mane Thine eyes are red coals in a brazier
That burn away our mental imperfections, soul’s Protector!
Fierce Savior, cut our hearts free from its knots with claws’ keen razor!
Shake out Thy bright blond mane to us as pure amṛita nectar!
(3) Thy carving claws & shredding teeth are razor path Vedāntic;
Turīya, mind’s fourth mode, is realized through Thy form four-limbed;
Infinity, as seen through māyā, is Thy shape gigantic;
Thy red eyes radiate God’s Light to our world demon-dimmed.
(4) Ten billion suns derive light from Thy mane’s sheen tawny toned!
Thou roared the cosmic mantra Aum! The Vedic mantras growled!
Thy lap is Dharma where the Lady Lakshmī is enthroned,
And where the fiend Hiraṇyakiśipu Thou disembowled.
(5) By King Hiraṇyakiśipu was Hari crassly cursed,
Materialist, scoffing at Thy Godly omnipresence;
With burning eyes & mane out from the column’s stone Thou burst,
Not lit by beams external but from Spirit’s incandescence.
(6) Then pouncing on the pest, Thy steel stalactite fangs Thou bared
In roaring laughter & for slaughter set him on Thy lap.
’Round blood-bedappled lips Thy lapping tongue like rapier parried;
Red flesh was shredded, caught inside Thy keen teeth’s snapping trap.
(7) Thy form’s farrago-riddle devil’s guile never guessed;
Thy storming laughter silenced all his atheistic questions.
No daggers but Thy jagged nails tore open that wag’s chest;
His heart Thou reaped for bimba fruit, for garlands his intestines.
(8) Thy claws we smear with sandal paste like blood of demons gored;
Thy glaring eyes we flare with prayers as winds make glow a cinder;
Upon Thy diamond fangs we whet our minds sharp as a sword;
To Naṛasimha Lion-faced Man-bodied, we surrender.
Envoi to devotees:
The name of Hari’s avatāra chant in japa hearty;
Recite His story, sing His glory, dance & beat mṛdanga;
Before His burnished idol wave the flaming lamp of ārati;
Before His golden lotus paws, bow down to Naṛasimha!
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