Nṛsiṃha of Kamalapura

Nṛsiṃha was a devout brahmin of Kamalapura. He is the central figure of the first Caitra-snāna (holy bath in the month of Caitra) account in the Manohara Khaṇḍa of the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Chapter 11. Divine guidance sent him to Pratishṭhāna on the Godāvarī river. There he bathed at the Rāmahrada tīrtha (sacred bathing place), where Bhagavān Rāma appears on Caitra Navamī.

By an act of giving away his puṇya (merit), Nṛsiṃha freed three beings trapped in the piśāca (ghostly) state. The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa also names him as the father of Rāmadāsa, the narrator of several khaṇḍas.

Identity and home

Nṛsiṃha was a brahmin of Kamalapura. The exact place is not given, except that it lies in the region of the Godāvarī. He was told to travel to Pratishṭhāna (Paithan) for the Caitra pilgrimage. His name Nṛsiṃha means the man-lion, the fourth avatāra of Bhagavān Vishṇu.

The journey

Nṛsiṃha received a divine prompting. It sent him to Pratishṭhāna for the Caitra snāna at the Rāmahrada. This is the sacred lake on the Godāvarī where Bhagavān Rāma appears on Caitra Navamī. Nṛsiṃha left his ordinary routine and made the pilgrimage.

The freeing of three piśācas

At the Rāmahrada, Nṛsiṃha met three piśācas. They were trapped in ghostly existence by a śāpa (a curse) from their guru.

• Two brahmins who had offended their guru Nārāyaṇa were wandering as piśācas.
• One person who had put a śāpa on Nārāyaṇa’s daughter was in the same state.

The apsaras (heavenly dancer) Rambhā gave them short relief. She let sacred water drip from her wet cloth onto the piśācas. Their full freedom came from Nṛsiṃha. After his Caitra snāna at the Rāmahrada, he gave the merit of his bath to the three suffering beings. This is called puṇya-saṃkramaṇa (the giving over of merit). It is one of the highest acts of compassion in the dharmic tradition.

All three piśācas were freed. They went back to the āśrama (hermitage) of their guru Nārāyaṇa and married his daughters.

Father of Rāmadāsa

The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa tells that Rāmadāsa was born as the son of Nṛsiṃha. Rāmadāsa is the devoted narrator who speaks the Yātrā, Yāga, Vilāsa, Janma, Vivāha, Rājya and Manohara Khaṇḍas to Vishṇudāsa. His father was a devotee of Bhagavān Rāma who freed others by giving them his puṇya.

Sources

• Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Manohara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 11