Narasiṃhatīrtha
Narasiṃhatīrtha · nara-siṃha-tīrtha, “the tīrtha of Narasiṃha”
Narasiṃhatīrtha is a tīrtha on the northern bank of the Gaṅgā, the Gautamī, where Bhagavān Narasiṃha, Hari in the form of the Man-Lion, slew the daitya Ambarya after conquering the daityas of every world. Brahmā tells Nārada its greatness in the Gautamī Māhātmya of the Brahma Purāṇa. Bhagavān Narasiṃha is always present there, and the tīrtha gives protection on every side: as no deva equals Hari, so no tīrtha equals Narasiṃhatīrtha. A bath there and the pūjā of Narasiṃha make nothing in any world hard to reach, and even its name, remembered without reverence, destroys all pāpas (sins).
The conquest of the daityas
Of old there was a daitya named Hiraṇyakaśipu, foremost of the strong, tireless against the devas in the power of his tapas and in valour. His mind was disturbed by hatred for his own son, who was a devotee of Hari. Then Bhagavān Hari appeared from the pillar in the hall, showing that he dwells in all the universe. Bhagavān Narasiṃha slew Hiraṇyakaśipu and routed his army, and in battle he slew the great daityas one after another.
He conquered the enemies who lived in the nether world (pātāla), then went to svarga and conquered it, then came to the earth and slew the daityas living on the mountains. In his lion form he slew daityas of many forms living in the rivers, villages and forests, and those living in the sky and the air, and those who had gone to the world of the luminaries (jyotir-loka). His claws were mightier than the vajra (thunderbolt), his great mane rose up, and his roar made the wives of the daityas miscarry. He had conquered all the rākshasas. He smashed the asuras with the blows of his paws, with mighty roars and with glances like the fire of the pralaya (the final dissolution), and scattered their entrails.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 79
The slaying of Ambarya
Having slain many daityas, Hari went to the Gautamī Gaṅgā, born of his own lotus feet, pleasing to the mind and the eye. There lived a daitya well known as Ambarya, the enemy of the king of Daṇḍaka, a warrior the devas could not conquer, with a vast army. A terrible battle broke out between Bhagavān Hari and him, so fierce that it made the hair stand on end, and they showered weapons and divine astras on each other. The glorious Bhagavān Hari slew that enemy on the northern bank, and there the tīrtha Narasiṃha arose, famous in the three worlds.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 79
The rite and its phala
A man should take his holy bath in that tīrtha and perform the pūjā of Bhagavān Narasiṃha. The Brahma Purāṇa promises:
- A holy bath and dāna (gifts) there destroy all the evils of the planets (graha-doshas).
- The tīrtha gives protection on all sides and keeps away old age and death.
- For one who bathes there and worships Narasiṃha, nothing is hard to reach in svarga, in the mortal world or in the nether worlds.
- Even when its name is remembered without reverence, all pāpas are destroyed.
There are eight such great tīrthas there, O Nārada, and the learned say that each of them gives the fruit of crores of tīrthas. Who can describe the fruit of resorting to the tīrtha where Bhagavān Narasiṃha is always present? Just as there is no one higher than Narasiṃha anywhere, so there is no tīrtha anywhere equal to Narasiṃhatīrtha.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 79
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 79