Narasimha Temple Simhachalam: Where the Lord remains covered in sandalwood throughout the year, gives a beautiful darshan only on Akshaya Tritiya

Narasimha Temple Simhachalam: An under-construction wall collapsed at the Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple in Simhachalam on Wednesday morning, killing devotees and injuring some others. The accident occurred when devotees were standing in a queue of Rs 300 during the annual Chandanotsav. Simhachalam Temple in Andhra Pradesh is about 16 km from Visakhapatnam. (Simhachalam Temple Accident)

Unique sandalwood tradition of Simhachalam temple

Simhachalam temple is located on the top of Simhachal mountain in Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh. In this temple, the combined form of Lord Vishnu’s Varaha and Narasimha incarnations is worshiped. This form of Lord Vishnu is seated with Goddess Lakshmi. Abode of Lord Narasimha is another name of this temple. A unique tradition of the temple is that the idol of the Lord remains covered with sandalwood throughout the year. Only during Akshaya Tritiya, when devotees get a unique opportunity to see the real idol, this cover is removed. On this day, the biggest festival of the year is celebrated in the temple.

Mythological history related to Prahlad and Narasimha Avatar

The history of this temple is associated with the famous devotee Prahlad of Satyayuga. Prahlad, the son of the demon king Hiranyakashyap (Narasimha Avatar History), was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu. After torturing him repeatedly, Hiranyakashyap finally burned him with the help of his sister Holika. Prahlad was not harmed by the fire, but Holika herself was injured. The festival of Holi is celebrated in memory of this incident. To protect Prahlad and destroy Hiranyakashyap, Lord Vishnu took the form of Narasimha.

Why is sandalwood removed from the idol only once a year

According to mythology, after the killing of Hiranyakashyap, devotee Prahlad built this temple in honor of Lord Narasimha. However, this temple gradually sank into the ground. Centuries later, King Pururava and his wife Urvashi were flying when their vimana landed in the Singhachal region due to some invisible force.

The king saw that the idol of the Lord was partially sunken in the ground. The Akashvani (voice from the sky) instructed him to apply sandalwood paste on the idol when he tried to remove it and clean the dust. Additionally, he also instructed that this paste be removed from the idol only once a year, on the Tritiya Tithi of the month of Vaishakh. Since then, this practice has been followed till date.