Śiva’s Stotra to Nṛsiṃha

This is a stotra in the Garuḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Āchāra Khaṇḍa, chapter 231. Mahādeva Śiva sings it to Bhagavān Nṛsiṃha, the avatāra of Bhagavān Vishṇu with the face of a lion and the body of a man. Bhagavān Nṛsiṃha came to protect Prahlāda and to destroy Hiraṇyakaśipu. The stotra is a series of salutations (namaskāras) to his fierce and gentle forms. It praises his endless power, his care for his devotees and his being the one reality under all that exists.

The setting

Mahādeva Śiva speaks the stotra, and it is addressed to Bhagavān Nṛsiṃha. The Garuḍa Purāṇa names Śiva as a great devotee of Bhagavān Vishṇu.

The salutations

The stotra goes through a series of respectful salutations to Bhagavān Nṛsiṃha in his many forms.

  • Ugra-Nṛsiṃha is the fierce form. He roared with a sound that shook the three worlds and destroyed the asura Hiraṇyakaśipu.
  • Śānta-Nṛsiṃha is the calm form. After he had destroyed the asura, he became gentle at the touch of Prahlāda’s loving hands and in the presence of Lakshmī Devī.
  • Mahā-Nṛsiṃha is the great form. His power goes beyond all the limits of the worlds. He cannot be held in any definition.
  • Jvālā-Nṛsiṃha is the form that blazes with flames. His mane gives out fire and his eyes burn like suns.
  • Vīra-Nṛsiṃha is the form of the hero. He is the mighty one whose courage has no match among all the lokas.
  • Divya-Nṛsiṃha is the divine, shining form beyond the side that destroys. It is the body of light of Bhagavān Nṛsiṃha.
  • Sarvatomukha-Nṛsiṃha is the form with faces on all sides. He is present in all directions at once.
  • Prahlāda-varada-Nṛsiṃha is the form that gives varas (boons) to Prahlāda. It shows endless compassion right after the show of endless power.

Each salutation comes with a list of the qualities, deeds or roles of that form.

What the stotra teaches

  • Bhagavān Nṛsiṃha came down only for the sake of Prahlāda. The cry of the devotee is always answered.
  • The same Bhagavān Nṛsiṃha who destroyed an asura was calmed by the love of a child. In Bhagavān Vishṇu, destruction and compassion are one.
  • Bhagavān Nṛsiṃha is neither fully man nor animal. So he goes beyond the vara that Hiraṇyakaśipu had won, which set conditions on how he could die.

The phalaśruti

The one who recites this stotra with devotion is protected from all fears and is freed from the hold of enemies. He is given bhakti to Bhagavān Vishṇu. The recitation is especially auspicious on Narasiṃha Jayantī, which falls on the fourteenth day (caturdaśī) of the bright half of Vaiśākha.

Sources

  • Garuḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Āchāra Khaṇḍa, chapter 231