Lakshmi Narasimhar Temple, Keezhapavur, Thirunelveli
Lakshmi
Narasimhar Temple is dedicated to Hindu God Vishnu located at Keezhapavur
Village near Pavoorchatram in Thirunelveli District of Tamilnadu. Theertham of
this temple is Narasimha Theertham. Keezhapavur is a small village 2 kms away
from Pavoorchatram located in the route between Tenkasi and Thirunelveli in
Tamilnadu. This temple is also called Dhakshina Ahobila (south Ahobila) is
considered to be 1200-1500 years old. During the renovation work carried out in
the temple several inscriptions belonging to the Pandya and Chola kings were
discovered.
Legends
Legend
says that Narada, Kashyapa Rishi, Varuna and other devas wanted to see
Narasimha avatar and made penance propitiating Vishnu. The Lord Hari himself
appeared before them and asked them to go to the banks of Chitra River near the
Pothigai Hills and do penance. The Devas and the rishis (sages) came to this
place, Keezhapavur and performed a rigorous penance for several years.
Delighted by the sincere devotion of the sages, the Lord appeared as Prasanna
Venkatachalapathy along with his consort, Mahalakshmi and also showed the
fearsome multi-armed Narasimha form tearing apart the internal organs of the
Hiranyakasipu. As per the temple legends, around 300 years ago, the sound of
Lions roar used to come from the temple. Devotees then performed abishekam for
the lord with various coolants like coconut water etc.
The
Temple
Lord
Narsimha himself is recognized in the scriptures by a variety of forms. The
Vihagendra-samhita of the Pancharathra-Agama enumerates more than seventy forms
of Narasimha. Most of these forms are distinguished by the arrangements of
weapons in the hands, his different postures, or other subtle distinctions. One
such form of the Ugra Narasimha is his depiction with 16 hands. Ugra Narasimha
with 16 hands is seen only in very few temples, one such is in a serene village
of Keezhapavur, near Pavoorchatram in Thirunelveli district.
Though
in this temple, the Narasimha image is carved only on the wall just behind
the main deity, Prasanna Venkatachalapathy, the Ugra Narasimha
moorthy emulates the presiding deity by attracting the pilgrims with his
divine grace. The carving of Ugra Narasimha deity is seen with Hiranyakasipu
lying on his lap. Out of his sixteen hands six are
inside Hiranyakasipu’s abdomen, two arms holding the intestines
of the demon king like a garland and the other eight hands holding
his divine weapons including the Sudarsana chakra (disc) and conch.
At his
feet are seen, Hiranyakasipu’s wife Kayadu, Prahaladha, King Kasi Pandiyan and
Narada Maharishi. On the either side of the deity’s head, there are carvings of
hand-fans. It symbolically represents that the Devas and Rishis are fanning the
angry Lord to keep him ‘cool’. The Lord with his tongue protruding out is
seen in the sitting posture facing east. His left leg is folded and his right
leg is seen lying over a slain demon warrior (a solider of Hiranyakasipu’s
battalion). Such a fearsome angry looking form is seen only in Ahobila where
the lord is called Jwala Narasimha (with a flame-like mane).
Similarly
in Singirikudi, a place near Pondicherry, the Lord resides as Ugra Narasimha
depicted with 16 hands as seen in Keezhapavur. Narasimha Perumal graces in
sitting form facing west. The sanctum sanctorum is small in size as in
cave temples. Lord Prasanna Venkatachalapathy with Mother Alarmel
Mangai graces facing east in front of the temple. The sacred spring in the
temple is praised as Narasimha Theertham.
Paanakam
(lemon jaggery water), the favourite of the Lord, is offered to the deity in
the temple and distributed as prasadam. Offering Panaka to the lord not only
quenches his anger but also makes him exorbitantly happy. Visiting the temple
on the day of Swathi Nakshatram (birth star of Narasimha) especially
during the evening time is considered very auspicious. In front of this small
temple is a huge pond, which is several times bigger than the temple itself. It
is believed that the pond would have been constructed to bring down the Ugra
(anger) of the Lord.
The
serenity of place with a massive pond full of water with tall shady tress
around is a real visual treat for visitors. Besides this 800-year-old temple,
there are other temples for Lord Shiva (Vallipureeshwarar, worshiped by the
monkey King, Vaali) and Radha Krishna also situated in this small hamlet. The
priest stays locally and can be contacted for poojas and Aaradhana. The
devotees and locals who frequent this temple say that though the Lord appears
in a frightening form, his grace and blessings are boundless. To appreciate the
transcendence of the Narasimha avatar of Vishnu, one has to see all of his
varied forms like the one in Keezhapavur.
Temple
Opening Time
·
Morning: 08:00 AM to 11:30
AM
·
Evening: 05:00 PM to 08:00
PM
Festivals
Vaikunda
Ekadasi in December-January, Narasimha Jayanthi, Purattasi Saturdays in September-October,
Swathi star days are the festivals of the temple. Pradosham (13th day from new
moon or full moon day) is also observed with special pujas.
Prayers
People
appeal to Lord Narasimha for relief from debt burdens and for marriage to
happen standing delayed due to some reason or other. Devotees light ghee lamps
and circumambulate the prakara 16 times offering Panaka, a sweet drink as Nivedhana.
They perform abishek with milk and green coconut on Swati star days and on
Pradosham days.
Contact
Shri
Prasanna Venkatachapathy Temple,
Keezhapavur,
Alangulam Taluk,
Thirunelveli
District,
Mobile: +91
94423 30643
Connectivity
Keezhapavur
is a small village located at about 2 kms away from Pavoorchatram located on
the Tenkasi -Thirunelveli State Highway. Pavoorchatram is located at about 10 Kms
east of Tenkasi, 200 Kms from Madurai, 118 Kms from Thiruvananthapuram and 51 Kms
west of Thirunelveli. Pavoorchatram has a train station. Nearest Major Railway
Station is located at Tenkasi. Nearest Airport is located at Madurai and Thiruvananthapuram.