The Nine Forms Of Lord Narasimha Which We Did Not Know About

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We have myriad varieties of Gods in the Hindu Pantheon and each God has his different forms. We have all heard of Ashta vinayaka temples, Dwadasa Jyotirlinga temples, 108 divya deshas, etc out of which Nava Narasimha is relatively unexplored. Let us learn about them.

Narasimha is a fierce aspect and an avatar of Lord Vishnu, the other fierce avatar being Parashurama. Named as Nava Narasimha temples, they are present together in a place called Ahobilam, which is known to be the place where Hiranyaksha lived in the past and was annihilated by Lord Narasimha.

Nine Narasimhas are known as Bhargava Narasimha, Chatravata Narasimha, Yogananda Narasimha, Karanji Narasimha, Ugra Narasimha, Krodha Narasimha, Malola Narasimha, Jwala Narasimha and Pavana Narasimha.
The nava Narasimha loacations are known by different nomenclature.

They are Ahobilam, Yadagirigutta, , Simhachalam, Vedadri , Malakonda, Antarvedi, Mangalagiri, Dharmapuri and Penchalakona. Ahobilam temples are spread over Andhra and Telangana states.

Narasimha swamy is worshipped in different forms everywhere. But it is here in Ahobilam that nine different forms of Narasimhaswamy are demarcated, installed in separate templs and worshipped.

The entire Ahobilam is demarcated into two parts, upper and lower. It takes two days to explore this entire set of 9 temples and in some places you have to trek your way through as roads are not motorable there.

Bhargava Narasimha Swamy: This temple is located a little away from Lower Ahobilam, on a hill, near the Bhargava Teertham which is where Bhargava Rama or Parashu rama carried out Tapasya. The Narasimha here is known as Bhargava Narasimha Swamy due to the above reason.
Yogananda Narasimha Swamy: This temple is situated to the south-east of Lower Ahobilam. After annihilating Hiranya kashipu, Lord Narasimha showed some yogasanas to Prahlada and trained him in them, So at this juncture, he came to be titled as Yogananda Narasimha.
Chatravata Narasimha Swamy: Since Lord is installed here under a Peepal tree, amidst bushes, he is known as Chatravata Narasimha Swamy.
Ahobila Narasimha Swamy: This temple is on the upper ahobilam, about 8 km away from the lower Ahobilam. It was the first and was built the earliest compared to all other Narasimha temples.
Lord is in his ferocious aspect and is known as Ahobila Nrisimha Swamy. Swamy's idol is self manifested here.
Krodhakara (Varaha) Narasimha Swamy: Situated one kilomtre away from Ahobila temple, the temple of this Lord which is on the upper ahobilam, houses the Narasimha idol with a face of a boar, who is accompanied by Lakshmi.
Hence he is named as the Krodakara (Varaha) Narasimha Swamy.
Karanja Narasimha Swamy: This temple is located about one kilometre away from the upper ahobilam, where in the image of the lord is installed under the karanja tree. Hence swamy's name became associated with the Karanja Vruksha.
Malola Narasimha Swamy: Situated About 2 kilomtres away from the main temple of Ahobilam, is the mild and gentle form of, Malola Narasimha Swamy. Lakshmi is Ma and lola is the husband who is engrossed in her (Or beloved).
Hence the deity here is known as Malola Narasimha swamy. The utsavamoorti of the lord, which appeared for the first time before the first jeeyar of Ahobila matt, is being safeguarded by all the other succeeding Jeeyars even today.
Jwala Narasimha Swamy: There is a hill called Achalachaya Meru, above the Malola temple and this is where the temple of Jwala Narasimha swamy temple is built.
This was where Narasimha's anger reached the peak when he tore apart the stomach of Hiranya kashipu.
Pavana Narasimha Swamy: Near the Pavana Narasimha Swamy is the shrine of Pavana Narasimha, on the banks of the river, pavana. Hence Swami is called Pavana Narasimha swamy.
Other shrines There is yet another temple called Prahlada Varada Sannidhi, ugra sthambham and prahlada mettu.

Ugra Sthambham: A few kilometers away from the temple, the mountain splits into a cleft into two parts At a distance of eight kilometres from the Upper Ahobilam temple, we can see a cleft of the mountain dividing it into two visible parts.
It is a long-held view that from the cleft, the Lord appeared in the form of Narasimha and this cleft is known as 'Ugra Sthambham'.

Prahlada Mettu: In between Ugra Sthambham and the Upper Ahobilam the Prahlada Narashimha Swamy temple is located. Prahladas idol is in a small cave here.

There are a few ponds here. Rakthakundam is very significant as Lord Narasimha washed his hands in this Teertha once he killed Hiranya kashipu. Water is reddish in appearance for this same reason. hence the water is still reddish in appearance.