Lord Nrsimhadeva
Deities – Lord Nrsimhadeva with Hiranyakasipu on His lap and Prahlada at His feet
Southeast of there is Nrsimha Puri, also known as Devapalli. When will I see the beauty of this place? At this abode of Nrsimha I will roll about on the ground in ecstatic love, begging for unalloyed love of KášášŁáša.
In my heart reside duplicity, insincerity, the desire for fame. and the six enemies (kama, krodha, mada, moha, matsarya and bhaya-that is, lust, anger, intoxication, illusion, envy, and fear.) beginning with lust. Therefore I will pray at the feet of Lord Nrsimha to purify my heart and give me the desire to serve KášášŁáša.
Weeping. I will beg at the lotus feet of Nrsimha that I may worship Radha and KášášŁáša in Navadvipa, free from all obstacles. When will that Lord Hari, who strikes fear in fear personified, be pleased and bestow His mercy on me?
Although this form of the Lord is terrible for the evil. He is exceedingly auspicious for the devotees headed by Prahlada. When will He become pleased to mercifully speak to me, a worthless fool, and remove my fears?
“Dear child, stay here happily in Gaura-dhama. Worship Radha and KášášŁáša, and develop attraction for the holy name. By the mercy of My devotees, all obstacles are transcended. With a purified heart just worship Radha and Krsna, the abodes of sweet nectar.”
After speaking in this way, when will that Lord joyfully place His feet upon my head? At that moment, by Lord Nrsimha’s mercy. I will exhibit symptoms of ecstatic love for Radha and KášášŁáša, and I will roll on the ground by the door of Lord Nrsimha’s temple.
(Sri Navadvipa Bhava-taranga)
NityÄnanda spoke: “This is Devapalli, and here is the temple of Nrsimhadeva, well known since Satya-yuga. After bestowing His mercy on Prahlada by killing Hiranyakasipu, the Lord came here to rest.
“Brahma and the other demigods made their houses here and formed a village. This village was established on tilÄs, hillocks, here on the bank of the MandÄkinÄŤ River, and all the residents became absorbed in the worship of Nrsimhadeva. According to the scriptures, this village in NavadvÄŤpa, named ĹrÄŤ Nrsimha-kᚣetra, is most purifying.
“See here Surya-ášilÄ and BrahmÄ-ášilÄ and to the east was Nrsimha-tilÄ. The place is now transformed. See there GaášeĹa-tilÄ, and over there is Indra-ČilÄ. Though ViĹvakarmÄ built hundreds of jeweled houses here, in time, all were destroyed, and the Mandakini dried up. Now only the hillocks mark the places. See these countless broken stones, the remnants of the temples. Again in the future, one devotee king will receive a drop of Nrsimha’s mercy, and he will make a large temple, reinstall Nrsimha, and take up service to Nrsimha again. This is on the border of the Navadvipa parikrama within the sixteen krosas.”
(Sri Navadvipa-Dhama-Mahatmya, Chapter 7)
âOh, Bhamini! (After visiting Suvarna-vihara) the Lord went to Devapalli. There he drowned the demigods headed by Surya with the bliss of chanting the holy name of Sri Krishna.â
(Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya Pramana-khanda 4.38)
In the fourteenth incarnation, the Lord appeared as Nášsiášha and bifurcated the strong body of the atheist HiraášyakaĹipu with His nails, just as a carpenter pierces cane.
(SB 1.3.18)
So KášášŁáša has got two businesses. One, to give protection to the devotee, and the other is to kill the demon. Just like KášášŁáša appeared as keĹava dhášta narahari-rĹŤpa (ĹrÄŤ DaĹÄvatÄra Stotra 4), Nášsiášha-deva, and Narahari, Nášsiášha-deva, one side He was blessing PrahlÄda MahÄrÄja, the devotee, and the other side He was killing his atheist father, HiraášyakaĹipu. You have seen the picture. So KášášŁáša, when He has got the fighting spirit . . .
Because KášášŁáša is the source of everything, janmÄdy asya yataḼ (SB 1.1.1). Here in this world also, you find two things: friendship and hostility. Just like modern political atmosphere, sometimes there is conference of friendship, and sometimes there is fight with lethal weapons. So this duality is visible in this material world, but in the spiritual world there is no duality. There is absolute peace and . . . (break).
So when He wants to fight, He comes here, because here there are many demons, so His fighting spirit is satisfied. Otherwise, for killing the demons, KášášŁáša does not require to descend. There are many agents of KášášŁáša. For example, this city, Visakhapatnam, on the seashore, if KášášŁáša desires, this whole city can be killed in a second, simply by overflooding the sea, or by storm. He has got many agents, parasya Ĺaktir vividhaiva Ĺruyate (ĹvetÄĹvatara Upaniᚣad’ 6.8, CC Madhya 13.65, purport). Or the material agent, DurgÄ devÄŤ, she can all . . . do all these things.
So KášášŁáša does not require to descend for killing the demons, but when He feels . . . just like a rich man sometimes feels to contest with some wrestler, that does not mean he requires it. That is the KášášŁáša spirit. He is all-blissful. So when KášášŁáša comes, descends, there are many demons. He especially comes for the devotee. But when He fights with the demon, that is also His favor, because anyone killed by KášášŁáša, he immediately attains liberation. Therefore KášášŁáša is absolute. Either He fights or blesses, the result is the same.
(720220 – Lecture SB 01.02.05 – Visakhapatnam)