Nava Narasimha Temple of Chennai

If I say "Nava Narasimha Temple", you would immediately think about Ahobilam. Few of you might even think about Avaniyapuram. But, I will not talk about those Nava Narasimha Temples but the one located right within Chennai.

Thanks to the IT industry, some of the unknown localities of the city's suburbs came into the limelight in the last two decades. Navalur is one such locality. All of us could easily list the IT companies located in this locality. However, not many of us know that there is a temple for Nava Narasimha here. This small temple, run by a private entity, is located in a lane behind AGS Cinemas.

This temple becomes unique not only because it has Nine Narasimha Murtis but also because each of the Murtis is in unusual forms/postures.

The east-facing temple has a modern-day structure as it was built 2-3 years ago (I am writing this post in 2018 CE). There is no tower, and the vimana is not artistic.

The sanctum enshrines Narasimha along with his two consorts. In this shrine, he is called Surya Narayana. Seated on Adisesha, he has four arms and holds conch and discus in his upper arms. The sculpture is around six feet high and is a magnificent icon. The metal icons of Surya Narayana and his two consorts are also kept in the sanctum.

All other eight Narasimhas are found around the sanctum.

On either side of the sanctum entrance, two niche images of Narasimha are seen. The true left side has Narasimha in the standing posture, with four arms. He is named Divya Narayana. On the right side is Narasimha with two arms, who is seated. He is called Mathi Narayana.

On the prakara, the first image is Veera Narayana. Here, Narasimha is seated with his right leg folded, somewhat similar to the posture of Ayyanar. Ramanuja and Desikar are found in the same shrine.

The next image is Sarva Narayana. He is in the reclining posture, similar to Ranganatha. Lakshmi is seen near his feet.

Then, there is Gnana Narayana, who holds a bow and arrow like Rama. His wife is Chenju Lakshmi, who has the typical posture of Sita. Hanuman is also there in this shrine.

Kroda Narayana comes next. Here, Narasimha is found in Adi Yoga form.

Brahaspati Narayana is the next form of Narasimha, where he has four arms and holds a book in his left upper arm. Brahaspati accompanies him in the same shrine.

With Garuda standing nearby and having Lakshmi on his left lap, Deva Narayana is found as the next form of Narasimha.

Although it is a new temple, all the representations of Narasimha are unique. When you get an opportunity, go and visit this temple.

Happy travelling.

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