Varaha Narasimha Temple - Simhachalam

This  is a Hindu temple located near Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, South India. It is dedicated to the incarnation (avatar) of Vishnu known as Narasimha . The word Simhachalam means the hill of the lion. It is the hill of the great Nara-Simha, the forth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu descended on Simhachalam Mountain to save Prahladaha devotee, who was about to be dropped in the sea from the mountain top.

The idol of Lord Narsimhadeva is about 2 feet high. The Lord presents himself in an two-armed, threefold-bending human form with the head of a boar and tail of a lion, Simhachalam is one of the 108 Divya Desam temples and also one of the major Vishnu temples in India.It is one of the eighteen "Naarasimha Kshetras" i.e. shrines of Lord Narasimha in India. 

The main deity inside the temple sanctorum gives "nijaroopa darshan" for only 12 hours in a year i.e. on Akshaya Tritiyaday, the rest of the time the deity is covered with Sandalwood paste. The darshan described as 'Chandana yatra' or 'Chandanotsavam' falls every year in Vaisakha masa (May).

The most important thing about this temple is that here we can't see the God's feet. It is said that the feet is buried inside the earth. Lord Narayana came to rescue Parahalada on Garuda and when they threw Parahalada Lord Narayana jumped from Garuda to save him and in this process his feet went deep into the earth.

Varaha Narasimha  swamy :

This great temple built in the 11th century by the King Sri Krishnadevaraya .

The presiding deity here is Varaha Lakshminarasimha, combining the iconographic features of Varaha and Narasimha. The image resembles a Shivalingam covered with sandal paste. It is only once a year, during the Chandana Visarjana that the sandal paste is removed, and the image is seen by pilgrims. The artwork here has elements of similarity with that of Konark. Elephants, flowers and plants are portrayed in plenty. The outer walls of the sanctum depict images of a royal personality (said to be King Narasimha) in various postures. The Kalyana Mandapa within the temple has 16 pillars with bas relief depicting the incarnations of Vishnu.

Varaha Lakshminarasimha temple boasts of a beautiful stone chariot drawn by horses. The Kalyana Mandapa within the temple has 16 pillars with bas reliefs depicting the incarnations of Vishnu. Narasimha, the man lion incarnation of Vishnu is seen in several depictions throughout the temple.

Millions of devotees visit this temple every year especially during the Chandanotsavam Festival Season. On the annual ritual Chandanotsavam day, the Lord is covered with a new fresh layer of Sandalwood.

LEGEND : 

Hiranyakasipu was a king. He wanted to become immortal and hence performed austerities (tapasya) to propitiate Lord Brahma. However, Lord Brahma said that was not possible so Hiranyakasipu asked Lord Brahma to grant him a boon so that he could not be killed by any animal or a man neither in the morning nor in the night, by any weapons, neither in sky nor on the earth.

He wanted entire world under his control. But his son Prahalada was a great devotee of Lord Narayana and always expressed his bhakti towards Him.Hiranyakasipu could not alter Prahlada's devotion.This made Hiranyakasipu angry and he made number of attempts to kill Prahalada,Vishnu rescued him by moving the mountain and made a small path for Prahaladha. It is said that in the place where the Lord stood to protect Prahaladha is the place where the temple is built.

Temple Timings : Morning 7am to 4pm , Evening 6pm to 9pm

HOW TO REACH :

BY Air : The nearest airport is at Vishakhapatnam, which is well connected with flights from major cities.

By Rail : The nearest railway station is Vishakhapatnam Railway Station. From Chennai - Calcutta lane, it is around 20-kms, and is well connected with trains to all important destinations in A.P. and India viz. New Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar etc.

By Road : There are frequent buses operated between Vizag and Simhachalam and the main bus stand is at Vishakhapatnam. APSRTC operates buses to all important towns/cities in Andhra Pradhesh like, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Rajahmundry, Tirupati and so on. There is bus facility from the foot of the hill to the temple for every 10 to 15-minutes.