Reposting: Audaaryam Of Lakshmi Nrisimhan

[Guest guest]

Dear friends,

 

Since there is quite a bit of discussion on Narasimha, I'm

reposting this article, which I wrote and posted on a religious

group pertaining to Sri Vaishnavism on Tue, Jul 20, 2004.

 

***

 

Audaaryam Of Lakshmi Nrisimhan

 

The July 2004 English Edition of Sri Nrisimhapriya describes

"Audaaryam" as the quality of not being satisfied even after

giving enormously to the needy person. This is a quality of

Sriman Narayana, which has been extoled by great acharayas like

Ramanajucharya and Desikacharya.

 

One naturally wonders--which among the Lord's great avatars has

this quality to the maximum extent possible? The forgiving Rama

and the mischievous Krishna come immediately to mind, but this

grand credit should ultimately go to Lakshmi Nrisimhan and

Lakshmi Nrisimhan alone, because only He had the magnanimity to

practice this towards a terrible sinner like Hiranyakashipu.

Such was Nrisimha's benevolence that He even treated

Hiranyakashipu, the mortal enemy of His dear devotee Prahalada,

with a great deal of kindness, albeit of a very different kind.

 

God is usually amenable to the wishes of devotees and not to the

desires of sinners, but such was Nrisimha's greatness that the

moment Hiranyakashipu hit the pillar, He emerged. While one eye

looked at Hiranyakashipu was like the sun and the other one

which looked at Prahalada was like the moon, we must understand

that both the sun and the moon shower their benevolence on us in

different ways.

 

Another act of kindness of Nrisimhan was allowing Hiranyakashipu

to perceive Him in the form of the attractive and terrible Man

Lion. According to the Nrisimhan Poorva Thaapini Upanishad,

Vishnu initially appeared before Brahma as Nrisimhan and gave

him the Mantra Nrisimhan Anushtup with which Brahma was able to

create the Vedas. Such was Nrisimha's greatness that He showed

the same great form to both Prahalada and Hiranyakashipu!

 

Some say that Nrisimhan did not use weapons because of Brahma's

boons to Hiranyakashipu, but is it possible that the Supreme

Nrisimhan, who is the father of Brahma, should be bound by

Brahma's word? No! The greatness of Nrisimhan was that He wanted

to use the divine touch of His adorable and terrible hands to

personally rid Hiranyakashipu of his sins, without

Hiranyakashipu asking for forgiveness.

 

Think about it--there was no place where Hiranyakashipu's

request to Brahma said that he should be killed by being placed

on somebody's lap. Nrisimhan could have merely lifted

Hiranyakashipu and squeezed the life out of him in the doorway,

thus fulfilling Brahma's conditions, but this was contrary to

His kind attitude. Therefore, Nrisimhan placed Hiranyakashipu on

His lap--a fortune that was not bestowed even on Brahma, and

which would be granted to even Prahalada only a little

later--and rid him of his sins.

 

Nrisimhan could have killed Hiranyakashipu by merely squeezing

his neck, but He tore apart the adamantine chest of

Hiranyakashipu with His glorious nails to rid the evil demon of

all the sins accumulated over a great period of time. In fact,

such was Nrisimha's greatness that He, disregarding the fact

that a corpse is impure, still adored Himself with

Hiranyakashipu's intestines in the same way that lesser Gods are

adored with mere lotuses!

 

So far, we have merely dealt with Nrisimha's great kindness to

the evil Hiranyakashipu. But, even after doing so much, such was

His Audaaryam that He was not satisfied. So much so that, when

Prahalada begged forgiveness for his father after his death,

Nrisimhan said that the moment Prahalada was born to

Hiranyakashipu, Hiranyakashipu was forgiven of all sins along

with 21 previous generations.

 

The Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana printed by Gita Press, Gorakhpur

(IV English Edition, 1997) says that Hiranyakashipu, the son of

Kashyapa, the progeny of Marici, the mind-born creation of

Brahma, was merely in the third generation from Brahma. This

implies that all of Hiranyakashipu's ancestors, stretching back

to the previous Kalpa, were forgiven, without asking for it.

Even Brahma, who was quaking in a corner with fear because it

was his fault granting the terrible boons to Hiranyakashipu, was

forgiven by Nrisimhan, without asking.

 

While Rama and Krishna are seen as benevolent forms of Vishnu,

Rama offered sharanagati to Vibeeshana only after the latter

approached Him, and this included Vibeeshana, and not others.

Krishna forgave Indra in the episode of the lifting of the

mountain, but only after Indra expressly sought forgiveness.

Both these Gods, though valorous, used long-range weapons like

bows and the discus to kill their enemies. They thus lacked the

personal touch of Nrisimhan.

 

This is the grand Audaaryam of Nrisimhan. He treats even

terrible sinners like Hiranyakashipu with a kindness that is not

deserved. He therefore is the sole refuge, and though He has a

terrible and fierce form, His capacity for forgiveness is a

thousand times greater than that of the other avatars of Vishnu.

Nrisimhan was not happy merely protecting Prahalada. His immense

capacity for Audaaryam was only partially satisfied after He

granted so much on Hiranyakashipu and his ancestors, all without

anybody asking for it.

 

As a final argument, Rama and Krishna, though divine, were born

of humans like Devaki and Kausalya, after much prayer. The

humble rock pillar in Hiranyakashipu's palace was not even

perhaps aware of the existence of Vishnu. Yet, Nrisimhan, in His

kindness, emerged from it as from a womb, and granted the

unassuming lump of dead rock the privilege of becoming Brahma's

grandmother!

 

Such is Nrisimha's Audaaryam that even other avatars of

Vishnu--who had the privilege of living for a long time on

Earth--cannot match even a billionth of it!

 

 

=====

Balaji Narasimhan * http://www.sherlock-holmes.com/balaji.htm

Author, Sherlock Holmes: Solutions from the Sussex Downs

Editor, The Partial Art of Detection

=====

 

 

 

 

 

Check out the new Front Page.

www.

[Guest guest]

Dear Balaji,

I heard the first deity in Jaganat Puri was Sri Narisimhadev and

later Sri Jagannath.

 

Jai Lakshmi Nrisimhan !

 

best regards

Shad

 

 

, Balaji Narasimhan

<sherlockbalaji> wrote:

> Dear friends,

>

> Since there is quite a bit of discussion on Narasimha, I'm

> reposting this article, which I wrote and posted on a religious

> group pertaining to Sri Vaishnavism on Tue, Jul 20, 2004.

>

> ***

>

> Audaaryam Of Lakshmi Nrisimhan

>

> The July 2004 English Edition of Sri Nrisimhapriya describes

> "Audaaryam" as the quality of not being satisfied even after

> giving enormously to the needy person. This is a quality of

> Sriman Narayana, which has been extoled by great acharayas like

> Ramanajucharya and Desikacharya.

>

> One naturally wonders--which among the Lord's great avatars has

> this quality to the maximum extent possible? The forgiving Rama

> and the mischievous Krishna come immediately to mind, but this

> grand credit should ultimately go to Lakshmi Nrisimhan and

> Lakshmi Nrisimhan alone, because only He had the magnanimity to

> practice this towards a terrible sinner like Hiranyakashipu.

> Such was Nrisimha's benevolence that He even treated

> Hiranyakashipu, the mortal enemy of His dear devotee Prahalada,

> with a great deal of kindness, albeit of a very different kind.

>

> God is usually amenable to the wishes of devotees and not to the

> desires of sinners, but such was Nrisimha's greatness that the

> moment Hiranyakashipu hit the pillar, He emerged. While one eye

> looked at Hiranyakashipu was like the sun and the other one

> which looked at Prahalada was like the moon, we must understand

> that both the sun and the moon shower their benevolence on us in

> different ways.

>

> Another act of kindness of Nrisimhan was allowing Hiranyakashipu

> to perceive Him in the form of the attractive and terrible Man

> Lion. According to the Nrisimhan Poorva Thaapini Upanishad,

> Vishnu initially appeared before Brahma as Nrisimhan and gave

> him the Mantra Nrisimhan Anushtup with which Brahma was able to

> create the Vedas. Such was Nrisimha's greatness that He showed

> the same great form to both Prahalada and Hiranyakashipu!

>

> Some say that Nrisimhan did not use weapons because of Brahma's

> boons to Hiranyakashipu, but is it possible that the Supreme

> Nrisimhan, who is the father of Brahma, should be bound by

> Brahma's word? No! The greatness of Nrisimhan was that He wanted

> to use the divine touch of His adorable and terrible hands to

> personally rid Hiranyakashipu of his sins, without

> Hiranyakashipu asking for forgiveness.

>

> Think about it--there was no place where Hiranyakashipu's

> request to Brahma said that he should be killed by being placed

> on somebody's lap. Nrisimhan could have merely lifted

> Hiranyakashipu and squeezed the life out of him in the doorway,

> thus fulfilling Brahma's conditions, but this was contrary to

> His kind attitude. Therefore, Nrisimhan placed Hiranyakashipu on

> His lap--a fortune that was not bestowed even on Brahma, and

> which would be granted to even Prahalada only a little

> later--and rid him of his sins.

>

> Nrisimhan could have killed Hiranyakashipu by merely squeezing

> his neck, but He tore apart the adamantine chest of

> Hiranyakashipu with His glorious nails to rid the evil demon of

> all the sins accumulated over a great period of time. In fact,

> such was Nrisimha's greatness that He, disregarding the fact

> that a corpse is impure, still adored Himself with

> Hiranyakashipu's intestines in the same way that lesser Gods are

> adored with mere lotuses!

>

> So far, we have merely dealt with Nrisimha's great kindness to

> the evil Hiranyakashipu. But, even after doing so much, such was

> His Audaaryam that He was not satisfied. So much so that, when

> Prahalada begged forgiveness for his father after his death,

> Nrisimhan said that the moment Prahalada was born to

> Hiranyakashipu, Hiranyakashipu was forgiven of all sins along

> with 21 previous generations.

>

> The Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana printed by Gita Press, Gorakhpur

> (IV English Edition, 1997) says that Hiranyakashipu, the son of

> Kashyapa, the progeny of Marici, the mind-born creation of

> Brahma, was merely in the third generation from Brahma. This

> implies that all of Hiranyakashipu's ancestors, stretching back

> to the previous Kalpa, were forgiven, without asking for it.

> Even Brahma, who was quaking in a corner with fear because it

> was his fault granting the terrible boons to Hiranyakashipu, was

> forgiven by Nrisimhan, without asking.

>

> While Rama and Krishna are seen as benevolent forms of Vishnu,

> Rama offered sharanagati to Vibeeshana only after the latter

> approached Him, and this included Vibeeshana, and not others.

> Krishna forgave Indra in the episode of the lifting of the

> mountain, but only after Indra expressly sought forgiveness.

> Both these Gods, though valorous, used long-range weapons like

> bows and the discus to kill their enemies. They thus lacked the

> personal touch of Nrisimhan.

>

> This is the grand Audaaryam of Nrisimhan. He treats even

> terrible sinners like Hiranyakashipu with a kindness that is not

> deserved. He therefore is the sole refuge, and though He has a

> terrible and fierce form, His capacity for forgiveness is a

> thousand times greater than that of the other avatars of Vishnu.

> Nrisimhan was not happy merely protecting Prahalada. His immense

> capacity for Audaaryam was only partially satisfied after He

> granted so much on Hiranyakashipu and his ancestors, all without

> anybody asking for it.

>

> As a final argument, Rama and Krishna, though divine, were born

> of humans like Devaki and Kausalya, after much prayer. The

> humble rock pillar in Hiranyakashipu's palace was not even

> perhaps aware of the existence of Vishnu. Yet, Nrisimhan, in His

> kindness, emerged from it as from a womb, and granted the

> unassuming lump of dead rock the privilege of becoming Brahma's

> grandmother!

>

> Such is Nrisimha's Audaaryam that even other avatars of

> Vishnu--who had the privilege of living for a long time on

> Earth--cannot match even a billionth of it!

>

>

> =====

> Balaji Narasimhan * http://www.sherlock-holmes.com/balaji.htm

> Author, Sherlock Holmes: Solutions from the Sussex Downs

> Editor, The Partial Art of Detection

> =====

>

>

>

>

>

> Check out the new Front Page.

> www.