page_title: Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha temple, Simhachalam
section_title: Religious practices
hierarchical_section_title: Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha temple, Simhachalam / Religious practices
caption_attribution_description: English: chakra as ayudhapurusha. Personification of the chakra (discus) of Vishnu
context_page_description: The Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha temple, Simhachalam is a Hindu temple situated on the Simhachalam Hill Range, which is 300 metres above the sea level in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. It is dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped there as Varaha Narasimha. As per the temple's legend, Vishnu manifested in this form after saving his devotee Prahlada from a murder attempt by the latter's father Hiranyakashipu. Except on Akshaya Tritiya, the idol of Varaha Narasimha is covered with sandalwood paste throughout the year, which makes it resemble a linga.
  Simhachalam is one of the 32 Narasimha temples in Andhra Pradesh which are important pilgrimage centres. It was regarded as an important centre of Vaishnavism in the medieval period along with Srikurmam and others. The temple has been recognised by historians with the help of a 9th-century AD inscription by the Chalukya Chola king Kulottunga I. In the later half of the 13th century, the temple complex underwent radical physical changes during the reign of the Eastern Ganga king Narasimhadeva I. It later received patronage from many royal families, of which Tuluva dynasty of Vijayanagara Empire is a notable one.
context_section_description: The religious practices and customs of the temple are formulated by Ramanuja and his followers like Anandalvan. They are similar to the ones followed in South Indian Vaishnavite temples such as Tirumala, Srirangam, and the Varadharaja Perumal Temple in Kanchipuram. The prayers are made as per the Para, Vyuha, Vibhava, Antaryami, and Archa traditions of Vishnu. The religious practices are modelled based on the Satvata Samhita, one of the 108 texts of the Pancharatra Agama. There are five metallic idols associated with the deity which serve as the substitute of the moolavar for certain practices. Yogananda Narasimha is the snapana bera (bathing idol), Govindaraja is the utsava bera (festival idol), and Sudarshana Chakra is the bali bera (guardian idol). Madanagopala and Venugopala, two forms of Krishna, are the kautuka bera (representative idol) and the sayana bera (sleeping idol) respectively.
  The deity worship commences in the morning around 5:30 AM. The inner gates of the temple are opened and the Vayu mantra is recited. The priests chant the Suprabhatam for about an hour and half as a prelude to the regular worship activities. It is accompanied by people playing nadaswaram (pipe instrument). The laghvarchana (preliminary worship) is performed; priests offer jaggery and coconut after which the mangala harathi (incense) is provided to the deity. Devotees are allowed to visit the sanctum sanctorum from 6:30 AM for the next five hours. The actual worship continues up to 8:00 AM which consists of shodasha upachara (sixteen services). Abhisheka (anointment) is performed to the Yogananda Narasimha idol. The last phase of the morning worship is the Baliharana (pacification ceremony), where a portion of the consecrated food is offered to the spirits. Sudarshana Chakra idol is used in this phase. The morning rituals in the sub-temples follow a similar pattern, with the preliminary worship and offerings provided in each temple in succession.
  After 11:00 AM, the temple's mid day worship begins. After half an hour, rajabhoga (main offering) is offered to the deity. The pilgrims are not allowed to visit the sanctum for the next half an hour. Rajabhoga consists of cooked rice, dal, soup, cooked vegetables, ghee and curd. Another half an hour break is given to the deity at 2:30 PM. Devotees are then allowed to visit the sanctum up to 7:00 PM. In the evening worship, which begins at 6:00 PM, begins with the Divviti Salam (salute with torches) ceremony. Two men go round the temple; one holds a torch and the other plays a drum. The rituals offered in the evening are similar to that of the morning worship. The importance given to music is the major deviation. Night offering is provided to the deity.  Devotees are allowed to have a glimpse of the deity for half an hour from 8:30 PM. At 9:00 PM, sayana seva (sleeping ritual) is performed and the temple is closed.
  Devotees can take part in two special rituals that are conducted in the temple. One is the Nithya kalyanam (regular marriage) of the deity which is conducted everyday. The other one is the Swarnapushpa archana (worship with golden flowers). It is conducted along with the morning worship rituals on every Thursday. Other notable rituals of similar nature are the Sahasranama archana (recital of thousand names), Garuda seva, and cow worship to name a few.
caption: A painting of Sudarshana Chakra with 16 hands. He serves as the bali bera (guardian idol) of Varaha Narasimha and forms part of the Baliharana (pacification) ceremony.
exif: {"Image Software": "Picasa", "Image ExifOffset": "46", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "282", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "9645", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "450", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "519", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "Interoperability RelatedImageWidth": "450", "Interoperability RelatedImageLength": "600", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "146", "EXIF ImageUniqueID": "1519ded569c37831a58ab4e4d12b97a5"}