What Is Narasimha Jayanti?

Narasimha Jayanti on Vaishakha Shukla Chaturdashi marks the birth of Lord Narasimha, the Fourth Avatar or Incarnation of Lord Vishnu as half-man and half-lion who descended to vanquish the demonic King Hiranyakashapu. The fierce avatar of Lord Narasimha had manifested to save His ardent devotee, Prahlada from Hiranyakashyipu who had plans of killing him. The Lord always protects His devotees and Lord Narasimha served that mission. He wanted to put an end to the evil Hiranyakasyipu and in the most creative manner destructed the demon for ever.

When Is Narasimha Jayanti 2024? Date & Time

Narasimha Jayanti falls on Tuesday, May 21, 2024.

Sri Narasimha Jayanti Puja And Fast Timings (Muhurat):

Narasimha Jayanti on Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Narasimha Jayanti Sayana Kala Puja Time - 04:24 PM to 07:09 PM
Duration - 02 Hours 44 Mins
Next Day Parana Time for Narasimha Jayanti - before 12:18 PM, May 22

On Narasimha Jayanti Parana Day Chaturdashi Ends beyond 3 Prahar
Narasimha Jayanti Madhyahna Sankalp Time - 10:56 AM to 01:40 PM

Chaturdashi Tithi Begins - 05:39 PM on May 21, 2024
Chaturdashi Tithi Ends - 06:47 PM on May 22, 2024

Narasimha Jayanti Significance

As this day is celebrated on the birthday of Lord Narasimha, it represents the victory of good power over evil forces. Lord Narasimha protected His devotee Pralhad from a burning fire, showing how powerful God is. Worshipping Him on Narasimha Jayanti blesses an individual with His protection, safeguards from any mishaps, and solves problems related to legal matters.

Lord Narasimha Puja and Yajna

Book Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Pooja Vidhanam and Homam Puja

Narasimha is an avatar of Lord Vishnu, whose consort is Lakshmi. Vishnu took the avatar of Narasimha, which is a half-man and half lion to save His devotee Prahlada. He is seen with a human torso and lower body, with a lion face and claws, and with a demon Hiranyakashipu in his lap, whom he is in the process of killing. Hiranyakashipu gained special powers by which he could not be killed during the day or night, inside or outside, by God, demon, man, or animal. Knowing this, Vishnu took the half-man, half-animal form in which he is neither man nor animal and kills the demon at the junction of day and night, inside and outside.

Benefits of this puja

To overcome debts, financial difficulties, and relationship issues
For wealth and fulfilment of intentions
For protection against diseases and ailments
For success in court cases and legal matters

Rudra Centre Puja Services Performed Laxmi Narasimha Maha Puja And Yajna On 4th May 2023

On the occasion of Narasimha Jayanti on 4th May, Rudra Centre Puja Services performed Laxmi Narasimha Puja and Yajna with the recitation of Lakshmi Narasimha Kavach, Ashtottara Namavali, Mantra Japa 21,000 times and Homa for showering their blessings of prosperity and abundance and for protection against diseases and ailments.

Fasting: What To Do On Narasimha Jayanti, Lord Narasimha Prayers Benefits

Vaishakha Shukla Chaturdashi with Swati Nakshatra is extremely auspicious to observe Narasimha Jayanti Vratam. Just like on Ekadashi, one should have a single meal on the day prior to Narasimha Jayanti. One should not eat anything prepared with grains and cereals. Breaking of the fast is to be done on the next day of the Jayanti.

Vedic scriptures mention that Lord Narasimha was born when the sun was setting during Chaturdashi. One may take a Sankalpa on this Jayanti in the afternoon and execute Narasimha Puja before sunset. Also, one should have ‘jagaran’ (night vigil) and perform a visarjan puja the next day in the morning. Once the puja is done, one can break the fast.
Also, one can perform Pratyangira Devi Puja, Mantra Japa and Yajna (Homa) on this day. Goddess Pratyangira Devi immerged from Lord Shiva’s third eye and calmed down Lord Narasimha after the death of Hiranyakashapu. She defends a house against black magic, witchcraft, diseases, and misfortune.
The most powerful and effective spiritual practice is the installation of Narsimha Yantra. It is to be kept in the East portion of the house facing west. East is the governing direction of solar deity- Sun and Mahalaxmi, the Goddess of Abundance. It is considered the most auspicious of all directions from where positive energy enters your house. When Yantra is placed here, its energy spreads in the entire home to ward away malefic and purify all negativities, and usher in good luck, peace, prosperity, harmony, and health.
Know More about Narsimha Yantra and Pratyangira Devi Puja.

Lord Narasimha And The Meaning Of His Name

LORD NARASIMHA AND THE MEANING OF HIS NAME

The Sanskrit word Narasimha is formed of two words 'Nara' meaning ‘man’ and 'Simha' meaning Lion. Lord Narasimha's image is portrayed as the head of a Lion, claws in His hands, and the body of a man. Lord Narasimha is revered by other names like Hiranyakashipudvamsa, meaning the one who destroyed/killed Hiranyakashyipu, Bhairavadambara, meaning the one whose fierce roaring causes horror, Karala, which means the one who has sharp teeth projecting out, Agnilochana, the one who has eyes of fire or fiery-eyed one. In various languages of India, Lord Narasimha is revered in different ways, such as Nrusingha, Narasimba, etc.

Prahlada was the son of Asura (demon) King Hiranyakashyipu, who used to make a victim of anyone who dared to follow or invoke the Divine God. From the time of birth, Prahlada showed signs of being a devotee of Lord Vishnu. For Prahlada, Lord Vishnu was the centre of His Universe, which was not acceptable to King Hiranyakashyipu and made several attempts on his own son's life. But every time, Prahlada was saved by the Lord.

In desperation, Hiranyakashyipu connived with his sister Holika and tried to kill Prahlada by burning Him. However, the plan failed in this situation too. Prahlada remained unscathed, while Holika burnt to death. Hiranyaksyipu had been bestowed with a boon from Lord Brahma of being invincible, that no living or inanimate weapon could kill him, he could not be killed during the day nor night, he could not be killed by man/human or any animal, and that he would not be killed inside nor outside his residence. After Prahlada was saved, Lord Narasimha appeared to finish Hiranyakashyipu. The form of half- man-half-lion was taken by Lord Vishnu because of the conditions of Hiranyakashyipu's boons of invincibility. The demon king was killed by Lord Narsimha with his claws.

Lord Narasimha In Vedic And Puranic Scriptures

The Rigveda mentions a creature that is described as a 'wild-beast, mountain prowling' which is assumed to be Lord Narasimha. The Namuchi legend mentions Lord Indra killing Namuchi, where parallels to Lord Narasimha's story are found.

Legend of Namuchi: Lord Indra is referred to in Hinduism as the King of the Gods and the Lord of the river, thunder, and rain. Namuchi was an Asura/demon who was in a power-play with Gods. However, Namuchi and Lord Indra called for peace, and Namuchi demanded certain conditions. The conditions were that Namuchi could not be killed by Lord Indra's palm or fist, during night or day and that nothing dry or wet would be able to kill him, and Lord Indra promised all this. But the cunning Namuchi steals the elixir Soma, all the strength of Lord Indra.

This put Lord Indra in a dilemma as He had given the word to Namuchi, so He approached Goddess Saraswati and the Ashvins (twin sons of Surya and physician of Gods). They agree to help Lord Indra but want the Soma, nourishments, and powers to be shared with them, once it is all retrieved from demon Namuchi. When Lord Indra agrees, an innovative plan to slay Namuchi is drawn and a 'foam of water' is poured as a thunderbolt and Namuchi is killed with it, keeping the promise of neither wet nor dry weapon and the attack on Namuchi is done when it is neither day nor night, that is assumed as twilight. All that Namuchi had stolen is got back. However, as Namuchi had drunk the Soma and it had mixed with his bad blood, the Gods extracted it from the bad therefore separating the good from the evil.

It is derived by scholars that there are similarities between Lord Narasimha's story and the legend of Namuchi, especially in the terms and conditions laid down by the demon Namuchi and demon King Hiranyakashyipu.

Among the Puranas, the Ramayana, Vishnu Purana, Shiva Purana, Harivamsa and other Puranas mention the Narasimha avatar of Lord Vishnu. The Mahabharata also has Lord Narasimha references.

Lord Narasimha Story: Vedic And Historical Significance

Shrimad Bhagavatam, or the Bhagavata Purana, describes the pastimes of Lord Narasimha, and Prahlada Maharaja, son of the demonic King Hiranyakashipu of Multan, a region of present-day Punjab. Prahlada was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. The King had always held a grudge against Lord Vishnu, who had killed his brother, Hiranyaksha. Therefore, the King also despised his son Prahlada. It is not that the King always hated him since the beginning. He wanted his son to receive the best education under proficient teachers Sanda and Amarka.

The teachers tried their best to educate him in the field of politics, economics, architecture, and other sciences. Still, Prahlada was absorbed in the Hari Bhakti, devotion to Lord Hari (Vishnu or Krishna). Despite many attempts when the teachers failed, the King chastised them. When they informed him about other students listening to him, the King got angry. He kept his anger under control and affectionately asked Prahlada, who was in his lap: ‘Son, where did you learn this Vishnu Bhakti?’ To which the son said: “those who are attached to family life do not develop prema (love) for Lord Vishnu, either personally or collectively. Instead, they suffer repeated birth and death in this material world and continue simply chewing the chewed. The duty of every man is to take shelter of a pure devotee and, thus, become eligible to understand the Lord”.

The King who wanted to be worshipped as God despised his son Prahlada, the ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu. He tried to get him killed in many ways but failed. Finally, he told his evil sister Holika to kill Prahlada by setting him on a pyre. Holika, who tried to burn Prahlada, was herself devoured by the fire burning her to ashes. Later the King asked his son that if God is great, where is He? Does He live in these columns of my palace? Prahlada said, “Yes, He lives everywhere. The King then laughed at his reply. And then, suddenly, there was a tumultuous sound as Lord Vishnu, in His Narasimha avatar, emerged out of the columns and killed the self-proclaimed King.

Significance Of Lord Narasimha’s Characteristics

Lord Narasimha is an important symbol of hope, triumph over oppression and ill-treatment, innovative ways of resistance, eradicating evil forces, and destruction of the inner and outer demon/evil.

The iconography of the Narasimha avatar of Lord Vishnu is very popular in the Southern states of India with statues and paintings of the Lord.

In Lord Hanuma's form of Panchmukhi (5 faces), Lord Narasimha's face is one. Lord Hanuman is an ardent devotee of Lord Rama, an avatar of Lord Vishnu.

In the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Lord Narasimha is worshipped widely, and temples of Lord Narasimha are common. However, the deity which is worshipped is not the one of Lord Narasimha killing Hiranyakashyipu.

The Gupta empire had coins with Lord Narasimha's image, perhaps the Gupta kings intended to project that their rule followed Lord Narasimha, and as the Lord does, they destroy the evil.

The Indian classical dance forms like Kathakali have been performing the Lord Narasimha- Hiranyakashyipu story for ages as it is dramatic. Tamil Nadu celebrates Narasimha Jayanti by conducting drama performances of the Lord Narasimha story in temples.

Narsingh Jayanti Puja Mantra

The mantra of Lord Narasimha which removes obstacles from the path is the Sri Narasimha Mantra.

उग्रं वीरं महाविष्णुं ज्वलन्तं सर्वतोमुखम्।
नृसिंहं भीषणं भद्रं मृत्युमृत्युं नमाम्यहम् ॥

Ugram Viram Maha Vishnum Jvalantam Sarvato Mukham

Nirisimham Bhishanam Bhadram Mrutyur Mrutyum Namamy Aham

Meaning: May Lord Narasimha, who is highly ferocious and brave and the emanation of Lord Maha Vishnu, full of effulgence, terrific and auspicious and the death of death blesses us as we bow down to Him.

How To Celebrate Narasimha Jayanti?

One can visit their nearest Vishnu temple and also worship Lord Narsimha at home. Usually, Lord Narasimha and Goddess Laxmi are invoked together to seek their Divine grace. Performing the puja as per proper rituals bestows the worshipper with the protection and abundant blessings of Lord Narasimha and His consort Lakshmi.

Narasimha Jayanti Puja Vidhi

Start the day with a positive mind frame and purify yourself
Place a photograph of Lord Narsimha and Goddess Lakshmi on your puja altar
Light an oil lamp (diya) in front of the photo
Offer fresh flowers, fruits, panchmeva, kesar and roli to the deities
Further, offer a coconut, akshat, pitambar, Gangajal and black sesame seeds one by one
Burn incense sticks, dhoop and camphor
Recite the Lord Narasimha Katha and chant the mantra
Now close your eyes and ask God to fulfil your desires