The statue of Lord Narasimha and His never ending stories, Hemakuta hill, Hampi

This article is about the statue of the Lord Narasimha on the Hemakuta hill of Hampi, and I would also talk about how various stories about what happened after Lord Narasimha killed Hiranyakashipu. Along with this statue we would also visit the Ganesha Temples on the hill and The Monolithic Shivalinga too.

Sasivekalu Ganesha Temple on Hemakuta Hill, Hampi

From the summit of Hemakuta hill, we move further towards the southern eastern slopes and reach at a point where two Ganesha temples – Sasivekalu and Kadalekalu, are in close vicinity. The names of these temples are based on the idols of Lord Ganesha the two temples house. 

The Sasivekalu temple houses a 2.4 m high monolithic idol of Ganesha and has large covered mandapa with plain square pillars devoid of any carvings. The Ganesha idol in the temple has a tummy resembling the mustard seed and hence the name – Sasivekalu.

About the idol of Lord Ganesha in Sasivekalu Ganesha Temple

This statue of Ganesha is carved in Ardh-Padmasana pose and is four armed. Lord Ganesha is holding a tusk, noose, mace and his favorite – a bowl-full of modaks, respectively in each one of his four hands. The Ganesha idol has round-mustard belly adorned with an ornamental snake.

There is another interesting thing to see: If you see from the front you see only Lord Ganesha, but from the rear of the statue Devi Parvathi is also seen. In-fact it seems sculptors carved Lord Ganesha sitting on the lap of his mother – Devi Parvathi, but as Lord Ganesha is much bigger in size, so from the front, only the son is visible 🙂

Mythology behind snake tied as Udarbandh on the idol of Lord Ganesha in Sasivekalu Ganesha Temple

It is believed that once on Lord Ganesha’s birthday, Devi Parvathi made his favorite modaks. Lord Ganesha could not stop himself and ate so many of them that his belly could hardly contain them.

After having the feast, He sat on his vehicle mushak and moved. With all the modaks in his tummy Lord Ganesha, become very heavy and it was very hard for Him to move.

In this state of burden, suddenly a snake crossed the two. This sudden appearance of the snake from nowhere, scared mushak and he ran helter-skelter and tripped.

Along with it, Ganeshji also fell down and all modaks too tumbled out of His tummy. Ganeshji, got up and one-by-one put all the modaks back in His tummy. After doing that He looked around what to do to avoid such accidents. He noticed the snake that made them tumble, picked it up and tied around his tummy to avoid it bursting.

Story of Lord Ganesha becoming Ekdent and curse to moon

The above incident was observed by Moon and he laughed uncontrollably.

Lord Ganesha was unhappy that someone was laughing at his misfortune. He broke a part of his trunk (and thus also known as ekdent) and threw it at moon and cursed him to loss His strength.

Moon realized his mistake of offending Lord Ganesha and requested Lord Ganesha to pardon him. However Lord Ganesha, showed his inability to cancel the curse, but gave him the boon that after waning, it will again start waxing and there would never be a permanent loss of strength.

The Sasivekalu temple was built by a Telugu trader belonging to Chandragiri in 1506. It is believed that he traded in mustard seeds and his business grew leaps and bounds and as thanks to the God and the king, he built this temple and dedicated it to Narsimha -II (1491-1505) of the Saluva dynasty

Kadalekalu Ganesha Temple, Hemakuta Hill, Hampi

Kadalekalu Ganesha Temple houses a 4.5 meter high idol of sitting Ganesha carved out of a single boulder. The name Kadalekalu means Bengal Gram Seed, and it represents the gram-seed shaped tummy of Lord Ganesha.

This statue is broken and vandalized. The temple has tall, slender and graceful pillars in its hall adorned with beautiful carvings.  The temple has Garbhgrih, Mukha Mantapa, and the Navranga Mantapa. We sit there for sometime, enjoying the panoramic surroundings of the hill. From here, one can identify the Matanga Hill, Ganda Madhava Hill, and the Rishi Mukha Hill,

Who built this Iconic Statue of Lakshmi-Narasimha, Hampi

We descend further down towards the awe-inspiring Narasimha statue.This idol is truly exemplary for its workmanship, sense of proportion, balance, intricacy and sheer artistry. If I have to decide an icon of Hampi, two monuments cross my mind, first is this idol and another one is the chariot shrine in the Vitthala temple. 

This sixty-seven meter high monolithic statue of Narasimha was built in 1528 by Great Krishnadevaraya. An inscription on a stone slab set up in front of the enclosure records that it was carved out of a single boulder by the sculptor Arya Krishna Bhatta in 1528.

About the Iconic Statue of Lakshmi-Narasimha, Hampi

It was possibly the last addition to his monumental legacy (pun intended); in-spite of its huge size it is intricately carved. Here, the Lord Narasimha is carved sitting on the coils of Adisheshnaga, the guardian snake of Vishnu, with its seven hoods acting as canopy, arched by Kirtimukha.

The statue has four arms, but all the arms and attributes they carry are broken.

Who restored the Statue of Lakshmi-Narasimha, Hampi?

The idol was mutilated by the iconoclastic invaders when the Vijayanagar Empire collapsed. Once the statue was housed in a chamber, but the invaders broke the ceiling of this chamber and left it at the mercy of the extreme weather conditions.

The ravage of time and neglect caused further damage. This idol is in current shape only because of the tremendous effort of ASI.

Here, I see a group of youngsters inside the gate who have jumped in and are taking selfie with the statue. This beautiful statue was once vandalized by the invading armies and today its biggest enemy is the army of these selfie-inspired young men.

Where is Lakshmiji in this Statue of Lakshmi-Narasimha, Hampi

Near-by board announces that this is the statue of Lakshmi-Narasimha. But where is Lakshmiji. And then on careful inspection I am able to notice Lakshmiji’s hand visible on Narasimha’s waist; this being the only sign left of the idol of Lakshmiji who once happily sat on Narasimha’s left lap embracing him with her right hand.

Is this the statue of Ugra-Narasimha or Lakshmi-Narasimha?

The ASI board tells that this statue is not of Ugra Narasimha as claimed by some. About Ugra-Narasimha, it is believed that He must be regularly worshiped following all the defined rituals.

If He is not worshiped in manners suggested or is neglected, it may invite His wrath and bring ill fate to the residents living nearby.

Yogi Lakshmi-Narasimha Statue, Hampi

This gracious idol is carved in a confident erect cross-legged sitting meditative posture, a yoga-patta (belt) is tied around, supporting the knees. It has huge protruding eyes, which though are not burning with anger, but still carry left-over of the earlier emotions.

I would say that to me it appears to be that of Yogi Lakshmi-Narasimha; the icons of Yogi Lakshmi-Narasimha are typical of the Vijayanagara period and are not found before this period.

The stories of how Lord Narasimha calmed down after killing Hiranyakashyap

The statue generates curiosity in one more sense too. I always thought that the story of Narasimha incarnation of Lord Vishnu ended when he saved Prahlad and killed his demonic father Hiranyakashyap. This is though not true.

In Hindu mythology we treat our Gods carrying human traits. So how a fury that was so ferocious can subside so quickly. There are several interesting mythological stories about how Lord Narasimha finally calmed down.

Narasimha and bhakta Prahlada

According to the first, after killing Hiranyakashyap when God was burning with unbound fury and nobody could dare approach him, his devotee Prahlada Maharaj worshiped him and requested him to calm down.

Seeing his beloved devotee safe and sound, slowly and slowly the anger of Narasimha subsided. This belief, in my opinion, draws its strength from the fact that a Bhakta has complete control over his Lord.

Here, I am quoting both Andal and Vedanta Desika. In Andal’s Thiruppavai, which is recited in Margazhi month, Andal says that Krishna’s face is like the Sun and the Moon. This is contradictory comparison as Sun is associated with fury and hotness, while Moon is associated with coolness. However, the reason for the comparison is that the Lord is kindness personified to His devotees. But He is an avenging and furious God to those who torments His devotees.

Similarly, Vedanta Desika elaborates on the similar idea in “Kamasikashtakam“. He says – satA patala bheeshaNe”. In this verse he describes the mercy of Lord in His Narasimha avatar. He is full of fury because of Hiranyakasipu’s cruelty to Prahlada, but when his eyes alight on Prahlada His Karunya flows from them.

Devi Lakshmi and Lord Narasimha

According to another belief, God as Narasimha, killing and plucking out Hiranyakashyap‘s intestine was so fearful that no-one could dare approach him; neither Gods nor even his own devotee Prahlad Maharaj.

So all of them decided to approach Lakshmiji, the spouse of Lord Vishnu and seek her opinion about a way to calm him down. Of course, being her spouse she had no fear of him. She joined them and visited Lord Narasimha.

As soon as Narasimha saw her, his fury died down and Lakshmiji happily sat on his lap. This belief, in my opinion, stems from the fact that a spouse understand her hubby and can calm him down from any state of mind, even from the Raudra fury.

Below is an excerpt from Panduranga Mahatmyamu of famous Tenali-Ramakrishna, in which Ayuta, one of the character from the epic, worships Narasimha in following verse

After that, why did you want to be reborn?

Who can understand you, Man and Beast combined?

How amazing it is that your claws, hard as diamond, should have turned soft—when they touched Laksmi’s breasts.

Perhaps sharpness just doesn’t work on women.

Some say it’s because of anger.

Others think it’s intense compassion for the whole community.

Yet others think you are distressed that you had to become a cruel animal.

This way or that, they praise you, seeing the redness in your eyes.”

The Earth bears your claw-mark,

a crescent you left on her breast when, as the Boar, you lifted her high.

Laksmi, jealous, mocks her until you, both man and lion, confound this mighty goddess with two marks, one per breast.”

Classical Telugu Poetry TRANSLATED, EDITED, AND WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
Velcheru Narayana Rao and David Shulman

The story of Lord Sarabhesa and Lord Narasimha

The third narrative is that no-one could control the angry Narasimha and he remained in fury and destructive mode even long after killing Hiranyakashyap.

I guess, this is message about how anger leads to destruction and causes harm. After all, when angry, if even the God couldn’t control Himself and distinguish between right and wrong, what to say about us mere mortals.

According to the story, when no-one was not able to control Narasimha, and the lord went in furious rampage, Gods approached Lord Shiva for His help to control uncontrollable Lord Narasimha.

Lord Shiva sent Veerabhadra and Mahakali to control him and bring him back to the saner world. However, they were defeated by Narasimha and came back to Shiva.

This act of Narasimha badly bruised Shiva’s ego and he assumed the form of Sarabha – a mythical creature part bird and part beastly Lion. This mythical animal with golden hue had eight-legs resembling the claws of lion and it is believed to be more powerful than a lion or an elephant. The body above the loins was of a human being, but had the face of lion wearing a Kirata-mukuta; in total it had a terrific appearance.

According to the belief, there was also an underlying fear if not killed by Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu would remain forever in his Narasimha Avatar creating a havoc on one and all.

The purpose of Shiva assuming the Sarabha form was also to ensure that Lord Vishnu discards his Narasimha body and returns to his divine form again. So Sharabha approached Narasimha, caught hold of him in its claws and tore him up. He then wore the head of Narasimha on his chest or as per some accounts on his mukuta as an ornament. This form of Lord Shiva is worshiped as Sarabhesamurti or Simhaghnamurti.

Lord Narasimha and Gandaberunda

Well, to me this version is also about the struggle of one-upmanship among the devotees of Shaivites and Vaishnavites cult; with Shaivites coming up with the story of Sarabha’s victory over Narasimha, emphasizing Shiva being powerful than anyone else, including Lord Vishnu.

The Vaishnavites came with their own version according to which in the combat, Narasimha took the form of Gandaberunda Narasimha, and subdued and killed the Sarabha form of Shiva.

Chenchu Lakshmi and Lord Narasimha

Well, there is one more version according to which, in this furious state, Narasimha ran towards forest to avoid killing his own devotees and the mankind.

In the jungle he saw a beautiful tribal girl Chenchita. Lord Narasimha fell in love for her and followed her. On her way, Chenchita walked over thorn, and in order to win her without scaring, Lord Narasimha took the Narayana form, removes the thorn and won Devi Chenchita’s heart and finally married her.

May be this originated from someone who wanted to emphasize the power of love and might have worked on assimilation of tribal in the Vaishnava fold.

Pankala at Narasima Swamy Temple, Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh

Well this part is not about how the anger of Lord Narasimha subsided. Its about how even today devotees tries to keep Him calm. As Lord Narasimha roared in anger while mauling down Hiranyakashyap, so his throat was parched. Pankala is the cool drink that is offered at the temple of Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh to the Narasimha deity to quench His thirst and also to cool down his anger.

It is water sweetened with jaggery syrup and flavored with cardamom. The priests pour glasses of Panakala in the mouth of Lord Narasimha’s idol and once the deity had his fill, the remaining holy drink is offered to the devotees.

Coexistence of Shaivites and Vaishanavites in Vijayanagra Empire

I love stories, and I am so happy to discover these many variants of the story of Narasimha after he killed Hiranyakashyap, with so many messages in them. Time to move further; well Shaivites and Vaishanavites may have reasons to fight each other but in the Vijayanagara empire the followers of both co-existed.

Badavlinga Shiva Temple, Hampi

Adjacent to the statue of Narasimha is the Badavlinga temple. The three meter large monolithic Shivalinga in this temple is the largest in Hampi. Badava in Kannada means poor; this Shivalinga is named so as it was constructed by a poor peasant woman.

The shivalinga is carved over a fairly large circular pedestal (Yoni-Pitha) that always remains in water; as a water channel flows through it. The central median line on Shiva-linga has three eye marks (depicting tree-netra of Lord Shiva) drawn in line drawings.

The Shivalinga is housed in a stone chamber with no ceiling. The chamber at this time is locked from outside.

After these monolithic on the Hemakuta Hill, in the next article in the series we would be visiting the famous ancient temple of Lord Virupaksha.

References

Temple Tales by Sudha G. Tilak

Click here to read about the iconic stone chariot of Vijaya Vittala Temple, Hampi

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