Simhachalam.

Simhachalam:One of the most exquisitely sculpted shrines of Andhra Pradesh, Simhachalam temple is situated 16 km from Vizag among thickly wooded hills. The beautifully-carved 16-pillared Natya mantapa and the 96-pillared Kalyana mantapa bear testimony to the architectural brilliance of the temple. The image of the presiding deity, Sri Lakshminarasimha Swamy, is covered by a thick layer of sandalwood paste.

The beautifully-carved 16-pillared Natya mantapa and the 96-pillared Kalyana mantapa bear testimony to the architectural brilliance of the temple. The image of the presiding deity, Sri Lakshminarasimha Swamy, is covered by a thick layer of sandalwood paste.

Sri Varahalakshmi Narasimha Swamy is the presiding deity of the temple.The statue of the deity gives "nijaroopa darshan" (holy appearance in true form) for only 12 hours in a year, the rest of the time the statue is covered with sandalwood paste. The darshan described as chandana yatra or chandanotsavam falls every year in Vaisakha masam (May).

The demons, true to their nature, started to give trouble to one and all. Hiranyaksha seized the earth and carried it to other regions. Lord Vishnu freed the earth from his clutches, killing him by assuming the form of a Varaha (Boar).

Aggrieved by his brother’s death, Hiranyakashipu started to punish the gods, sages and devotees of Lord Vishnu. At this stage, Lord Vishnu made one of his servants, Sumukha to be reborn as the son of Hiranykashipu. The son, named as Prahlada, became a staunch devotee of Lord Vishnu right from his childhood. This invited the wrath of his father.

Hiranyakashipu tried to mend his erring son in every possible way, but in vain. In bitter anger, one fateful day Hiranyakashipu asked his servants to throw Prahlada into the sea and place a mountain over him. The servants decided to put Prahlada near the mount Simhagiri with an intention of placing this mountain over him.

But before they could finish their job, Lord Vishnu jumped over the hill and rescued his beloved devotee. Thus Simhagiri is the hill where Lord Vishnu rescued his disciple Prahlada from the clutches of death. Subsequently the Lord killed Hiranyakashipu by assuming the incarnation of Narasimha (half human, half lion).

At the behest of Prahlada’s wish, he assumed the form of Varaha Narasimha, the combination of both incarnations, one by which he had killed Hiranyaksha and the other by which he killed Hiranyakashipu.

The legend says that as thanksgiving, Prahlada built a temple after his father’s death and established Sri Varaha Narasimha Swamy as the presiding deity. After Prahlada, the temple was neglected and began decaying. In the course of time, even the deity was not taken care of and mounds of earth slowly engulfed the image.

According to the belief, in the next life cycle, Pururava, King of Lunar Dynasty (Chandra Vamsha) while going in a chariot in the aerial route over Simhagiri, experienced a mythical power and discovered the image.He cleared the earth around the idol. Then he was addressed by the ashareeravani (mythical voice) not to expose the Lord but to cover him with sandal paste.

It also told him to worship him in this form only and reveal his true form (nijaswaroopa) only once in a year, on the third day of Vysakha. Acting on the instructions of this voice, the king Pururava applied an amount of sandal paste over the idol, which is equal to the earth he had removed and built a temple around the image. The subsequent rulers of this area provided enough patronage to the temple and the popularity of the abode grew day by day.

Even today, to give credence to the above story, the idol in Simhachalam is being covered with sandal paste and exposed for a day, during the Chandana Yatra festival. On this day, pilgrims gather in large number to have a glimpse of the true form of the image. Devotees believe that darshan of the God in his true form will wash away their sins and they will attain salvation.