The city of Pune is famous for the temples. Lakshmi Narasimha Temple is one of the noteworthy temples in the city. It is one of the oldest temples as well. It was built in the year 1774. The temple is a holy shrine of Lord Narasimha and His wife Goddess Lakshmi.
Where is it located?
The Laksmi Narasimha temple is located in the Sadashiv Peth. As you come in from the Swargate station towards Tilak Road and reach the famous shopping centre called Grahak Peth, a right turn towards Sadashiv Peth will take you to the Lakshmi Narasimha Temple. Another landmark to remember is the Pune Vidyarthi Griha (PVG) in Sadashiv Peth. The temple lies right in front of the PVG. Though right in the middle of the city; the temple is not as crowded as the rest of the important temples in Pune.
Lord Narasimha in Hindu Mythology:
Lord Narasimha is one of the deities worshipped by the group of Hindus called Vaishnav (meaning those who worship Lord Vishnu). Lord Narasimha is the fourth among the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu.
According to Narasimha Purana, Hiranyakashyapu and Hiranyaksha were the two demon brothers who created havoc on the earth. Both of them hated Lord Vishnu from the bottom of their heart and harassed or even killed the innocent people who worshipped Vishnu.
In his third incarnation called “Varahavatar”, Lord Vishnu killed Hiranyaksha which added to Hiranykashyapu’s hatred towards Vishnu. He ordered that no one from his state should worship Vishnu and if they did
Hiranyakashyapu would kill them.
Hiranyakashyapu always wanted to wage a war upon Vishnu but needed some extraordinary powers for that. He went to forest for meditation and prayed to Lord Brahma. After a hard penance, Lord Brahma was happy and appeared before Hiranyakashyapu. Brahma asked him what he wanted and why he indulged in such a hard endeavor. Hiranyakashapu said that he wanted to become immortal and it was Brahma’s moral duty to offer him what he wanted.
Brahma was caught on the horns of dilemma. He could not refuse Hiranyakashyapu a blessing, nor could he go against the rule of nature by giving him immortality. Brahma asked him to demand something else.
Hiranyakashyapu thought for a while and said, “No weapon in this world or a missile should kill me. Neither a man nor an animal should be able to end me. I should not die in the morning or in the afternoon or at night.
Death should not meet me outside my palace or inside as well. Grant my wish.”
Brahma granted him whatever he wanted and Hirannyakashyapu came back even more furious with an intention to end Lord Vishnu.
In an interesting irony of fate, Hiranyakashyapu’s own son Prahlad was a very righteous boy and a devout devotee of Lord Vishnu. This was a shock to Hiranyakashyapu. He tried his best to dissuade his son from praying to Vishnu; but all in vain.
Finally the conflict between the father and the son started. Hiranyakashyapu tried to kill Prahlad in many ways. But each time Lord Vishnu came to rescue his devotee.
In an outrageous talk with his son, Hiranyakashyapu once asked Prahlad to show him Visnu, his deity. Prahlad said that if called with a pious mind, Lord Vishnu could be seen anywhere. Hiranyakashyapu pointed at a big pillar and asked if Vishnu was inside the pillar as well. Prahlad answered in the affirmative. Hiranyakashyapu kicked the pillar with great force.
This was the preordained time of Vishnu’s fourth incarnation called Narasimha. Narasimha literally means half man and half lion. As Hiranyakashyapu kicked the pillar, it broke into two pieces and the figure that came out was half lion and half man. Narasinha pulled Hiranyakashyapu to the brink of his palace and tore his stomach with his sharp claws which was neither a weapon nor a missile. It was the time of dusk.
Thus Narasimha followed all the clauses in Brahma’s blessing to Hiranyakashyapu and still killed him.
The Temple:
The Lakshmi Narasimha Temple has a beautiful marble idol of Lord Narasinha and Goddess Lakshmi in His lap. The palace of Hiranyakashyapu was said to be in Pakistan. Some of the devotees of Lord Narasimha had gone to Multan in Pakistan and brought the bricks of the pillar from which Narasimha is said to have appeared. The bricks too have been kept in the temple. Every day you can see the idol decorated in a beautiful and novel manner.
Right in front of the Narasimha idol a cute small idol of Prahlad catches the attention of the devotees.
In addition to this, beautiful images of Lord Narasinha hung on the pillars are worth watching.
Every Saturday which is said to be the day of Lord Narasimha, you can attend the grand aarti.
Historical Importance:
From the historical point of view, the place has been the house of the great Indian freedom fighter Vasudev Balwant Phadke.
Cultural festival organized during the Narasimha Navratra in the temple is yet another attraction.
So if you want to see one of the beautiful idols of Lord Narasimha, a visit to this temple is a must.
Please tell us more about it through comment.
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