The Benevolent Ugra Narasimha

@ Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, Hampi

 

(Group of Monuments at Hampi - Vijayanagara, Vijayanagara District, Karnataka 

December 2024)

 

"Это Вишну

This is Vishnu"

A lively group of Russian tourists passed by on foot, when their guide finished description of the Vasihanava Insignia including Sudarshana Chakra and Panchajanya Conch in Russian. It was already late in the evening and we were exploring Hampi-Vijayanagara, the once crowned capital of Vijayanagara Samrajyamu, noted for it's grandeur and splendor, the likes of which the naked eye has never experienced, to quote Abdur Razaq, the Persian Safavid Ambassador in early 15th Century.

The Group of Monuments at Hampi is an iconic international tourist destination - one that beckons to the glory days of Vijayanagara Era (c.1336-1565 CE). One of the iconic monuments is an Idol.  

This so called Ugra Narasimha Idol is dedicated to Lord Sri Maha Vishnu in his Narasimha Avatar (Man-Lion). Hindu Scriptures speak of the devout Prahlada, who invokes Lord Sri Maha Vishnu. The Great God appeared in his Narasimha Avatar and slew Prahlada's father, the embodiment of  evil, Rakshasa Hiranya Kashyapa. As per an adjacent inscription, the idol was the sole surviving part of the Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, commissioned by Krishna Bhatt, in c.1528 CE on the express instructions of the greatest Vijayanagara Emperor, Sri Krishna Devaraya. One would be amazed at the gulf between reality and perception - the idol is wrongly but popularly mentioned as Ugra Narasimha, with Ugra referring to fierce, but is originally Lakshmi Narasimha i.e, Narasimha with his consort, Goddess Lakshmi Devi.

 

The badly damaged Idol, the chopped off limb that could at one point of time seated Goddess Lakshmi Devi, could be due to the disastrous sack of Hampi after the Battle of Tallikota (c.1565 CE). The idol is located adjacent to the Bhadava Linga, a large Linga partially submerged in a well like small temple. "Bhadava" in Kannada means poor and the name ascribes to the installation of the Linga by a poor woman, but that is a tale for a different day!

 

The Benevolent Ugra Narasimha stood the test of time, although bereft of his beloved consort, continues to awe admirers from centuries and far off places, and would continue to do so.......

 

  

The Benevolent Ugra Narasimha

Maheeth Veluvali,
16 Saladi Jamindar Street, Palakollu,.
20eth of May, 2025.