Narasimgha Chaturdasi Sunnyvale

Sri Narasimha Jayanti

We are celebrating the appearance day of Lord Narasimha on May 09, 2017. Narasimhadeva is the protector of the devotees. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gita, the Supreme Lord appears in every millennium to protect the devotees, annihilate the miscreants and to establish religious principles. On His appearance day devotees fast till dusk.

There is a common misconception that one should not worship Lord Narasimhadeva at home. Some people say that if you worship Lord Narasimha at home, He would rip you apart. However this is not true. People who say that identify themselves with Hiranyakashipu rather than with Prahlada.

Prahlada was a great devotee and Hiranyakashipu was the greatest demon who was envious of Lord Vishnu. Narasimhadeva appeared to protect His devotee and annihilate the demon. See the picture of Lord Narasimha. Hiranyakashipu is being ripped apart and behold… Prahlada Maharaja is standing next to Him with a garland. The demigods and even Lakshmidevi were afraid of approaching Narasimhadeva to pacify Him; but Prahlada Maharaja went and offered prayers to pacify Him.
Narasimhadeva protects us from all evil influences and He removes all the obstacles in our spiritual path. In the Brahma Samhita it is stated that Ganesha always holds the lotus feet of Lord Narasimha and thus he obtains his power to destroy all the obstacles on the path of progress in the three worlds. Narasimha is everywhere and He also resides in our heart.

Devotees always worship the Supreme Lord Narasimhadeva who is also known as bhakta-vatsala. It is important that we

worship Him on His appearance day.

For more details visit:

www.iskconbangalore.org/festivals or

www.iskconbangalore.org/sri-narasimha-jayanti

How to celebrate Narasimha Jayanti Festival?

Wake up early in the morning. In the scriptures it is recommended that one should wake up early in the morning. Brahma-muhurtha (approximately 1 ½ hours before sunrise) is the most auspicious time for spiritual activities.

Cleanse yourself. Clean yourself externally by brushing your teeth, taking a bath etc. For internal cleanliness one has to think of Krishna always and chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. It is said that the Narasimha Kavacha Stotra is the king of  all mantras. One who reads this becomes free from all sins. It removes all evil influences in the family and drives away ghostly disturbances. Whatever one desires in this world can be definitely attained if one chants this mantra regularly as per the procedure with a pure heart. All the diseases (especially those of the abdomen) will vanish and he will achieve victory in all his endeavors.

The Narasimha Kavacha Stotra is given as an annexure to this e-book. To hear the mantra, download the Narasimha Kavacha Stotra Video from our website.

hare kṛṣṇa, hare kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa, hare hare
hare rāma, hare rāma, rāma rāma, hare hare

Before observing any vow, cleanse yourself externally and internally by taking a bath and chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra at least 108 times. This is very important.

Narasimha Ashtottara Archana. Purchase different varieties of fragrant flowers for performing archana. Chant the Narasimha Ashtottara mantra (refer annexure) & offer flowers at the lotus feet of Lord.

Prepare for the worship. If you have an altar, clean it, remove the old flowers and decorate the altar with fresh flowers. If you do not have the Deity or Picture of Lord Narasimha on the altar, then set up a table and purify it by sprinkling water or wiping with a cloth soaked in water. Keep the picture / Deity of Lord Narasimha on that table. Offer flower garlands and decorate the place of worship with flowers.

Offering Bhoga. Prepare a variety of delicacies as per your ability and offer them to the Lord. Distribute the Prasadam. The devotees observing the vow shall fast till dusk & then partake the Prasadam.

Offer Obeisances. Chant Narasimha Pranama mantra and offer obeisances to Lord Narasimha.
Narasimha Arati: Chant the following mantra (or you can also sing) and perform an arati.

śrī-nṛsiṁha, jaya nṛsiṁha, jaya jaya nṛsiṁha
prahlādeśa jaya padmā-mukha-padma-bhṛṅga
tava kara-kamala-vare nakham adbhuta-śṛṅgaṁ

namas te nara-siṁhāya prahlādāhlāda-dāyine

dalita-hiraṇyakaśipu-tanu-bhṛṅgam

hiraṇyakaśipor vakṣaḥ-śilā-ṭaṅka-nakhālaye

keśava dhṛta-narahari-rūpa jaya jagadīśa hare
jaya jagadīśa hare jaya jagadīśa hare

ito nṛsiṁhaḥ parato nṛsiṁh
yato yato yāmi tato nṛsiṁhaḥ

Prayer to forgive offenses: With folded hands request the Supreme Lord to accept your worship and forgive any offenses committed knowingly or unknowingly in the process of worship.

bahir nṛsiṁho hṛdaye nṛsiṁho
nṛsiṁham ādiṁ śaraṇaṁ prapadye

Pray for the Protection of Lord Narasimha by chanting Narasimha Kavacha Stotra. This is the prayer
from Brahmanda Purana, formerly spoken by Prahlada Maharaja. It is said that one who chants this mantra is bestowed with all opulences and can be elevated to the heavenly planets. One should first meditate on the transcendental form of Lord Narasimha (as described in verses 3 to 6 of Narasimha Kavacha Stotra) and pray to Him for our protection.

www.iskconbangalore.org/sri-narasimha-jayanti

Visit www.iskconbangalore.org/live-darshan/for live darshan.

Bhoga-offering Procedure: Arrange all the bhoga-offerings in front of the Deities. On each item place a tulasi leaf. Chant each of the following mantras 3 times as you ring a bell with your left hand.

nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracārine
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
namo mahā-vadānyāya kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te
kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ
namo brahmaṇya-devāya go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca
jagad-dhitāya kṛṣṇāya govindāya namo namaḥ

Leave the bhoga in front of the Lord for 10 to 15 minutes. Come out of the altar room. After 15 minutes, clap your hands gently and enter the altar room. Ring the bell and remove the plate.

Ārati Procedure Items required: Bell, ārati lamp, incense sticks, ghee wicks, matchbox, conch to offer arghya, conch stand, a handkerchief, small plate to keep flowers, fragrant flowers, ācamana cup, cāmara and vyajana (peacock feather fan), a big plate to keep all the paraphernalia. Offer the ārati in the following sequence: dhūpa (incense sticks): 4 rounds to the Lord's lotus feet, 3 rounds to Lord's navel and 7 rounds to Lord's body; dīpa (ghee lamp): 4 rounds to Lord's lotus feet, 3 rounds to Lord's navel, 2 rounds to Lord's face & 7 rounds to Lord's body; arghya (water in a conch shell) - 7 rounds above Lord's head. After offering, pour the water into a separate pot; vastra (handkerchief) - same as the lamp; puṣpa (fragrant flowers) - 4 rounds to Lord's lotus feet. And then keep the flowers at the Lord's lotus feet; cāmara (fan made of yak-tail hair) - Wave it for a suitable number of times; vyajana (peacock-feather fan) - Wave it for a suitable number of times.

Offer obeisances and beg forgiveness from the Lord for the offenses committed unknowingly while rendering services.