The demon Hiraṇyakaśipu attacked Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva with great force, but the Lord captured him and placed him on his lap, supporting him with His thighs. Then, in the doorway of the assembly hall, the Lord very easily tore the demon to pieces with the nails of His hands.
Five Prayers to Lord Narasiṁha
By Śrīla Sacchidānanda Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
(Śrī Navadvīpa Bhāva Tarāṅga 36-40)
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has written five beautiful prayers in “Śrī Navadvīpa Bhāva Tarāṅga” for propitiating the mercy of Lord Narasiṁha following in the wake of spontaneous love and devotion to Śrī Śrī Rādhā & Kṛṣṇa.
e duṣṭa hṛdaye kāma ādi ripu chāya
kuṭīnāṭī pratiṣthāsa sāthya sadā rāya
hṛdāya-śodhana āra kṛṣṇera vāsana
nṛsiṁha-carane mora ei to’ kāmana
“Within my sinful heart the six enemies headed by lust perpetually reside, as well as duplicity, the desire for fame, plus sheer cunning. At the lotus feet of Lord Narasiṁha, I hope that He will mercifully purify my heart and give me the desire to serve Lord Kṛṣṇa.“
kāndiyā nṛsiṁha-pade magibo kakhana
nirapāde navadvīpe jugala-bhajanā
bhāya bhāya pāya yan’ra darśane se hari
prasānna hoibo kabe more dāya kari
“Weeping, I will beg at the lotus-feet of Lord Narasiṁha for the benediction of worshipping Rādhā & Kṛṣṇa in Navadvīpa, perfectly safe and free from all difficulties. When will this Lord Hari, Whose terrible form strikes fear into fear itself, ever become pleased and show me His mercy?“
yadyapi bhiṣana mūrti duṣta-jīva-prati
prahlādādi kṛṣṇa-bhakta-jane bhādra ati
kabe va prasānna ho’ye sa kṛpa-vācane
nirbhāya karibe ei mūḍha akiñcane
“Even though Lord Narasiṁha is terrifying toward the sinful souls, He offers great auspiciousness unto the devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa headed by Prahlāda Mahārāja. When will He be pleased to speak words of compassion unto me, a worthless fool, and thereby make me fearless?”
svacchande baiso he vātsa śrī-gauranga-dhāme
jugala-bhajanā hau rati hau nāme
mama bhakta-kṛpa-bale vighna jabe dūra
śuddhā cite bhājo rādhā-kṛṣṇa-rasa-pura
“He will say, “Dear child! Sit sown freely and live happily here in Śrī Gauranga-dhāma. May you nicely worship the Divine Couple, and may you develop loving attachment for Their Holy Names. By the mercy of My devotees, all obstacles are cast far away. With a purified heart, just perform the worship of Rādhā & Kṛṣṇa, for such worship overflows with sweet nectar.”
ei boli’ kabe mora mastaka-upāra
sviyā śrī-caraṇa harṣe dharibe iśvāra
āmani jugala-preme sāttvika vikāre
dhāraya luṭibo āmi śrī-nṛsiṁha-dvāre
“Saying this, will that Lord delightedly place His own divine lotus-feet upon my head? I will experience sublime love for the Divine Couple Rādhā & Kṛṣṇa and undergo the ecstatic transformations called sāttvika. Falling on the ground, I will roll about at the door of Śrī Narasiṁha’s temple.”
In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam we find a similar prayer
offered by Prahlāda Mahārāja. (SB 5.18.8: )
oṁ namo bhagavate narasiṁhāya
namas tejas-tejase āvir-āvirbhava
vajra-nakha vajra-daṁṣṭra karmāśayān
randhaya randhaya tamo grāsa grāsa oṁ svāhā;
abhayam abhayam ātmani bhūyiṣṭhā oṁ kṣraum.
I offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, the source of all power. O my Lord who possesses nails and teeth just like thunderbolts, kindly vanquish our demonlike desires for fruitive activity in this material world. Please appear in our hearts and drive away our ignorance so that by Your mercy we may become fearless in the struggle for existence in this material world.
Prabhupāda: So he (Hiraṇyakaśipu) was destroyed. …These demonic leaders will not stay.
They’ll be destroyed. But everything takes some time. (Prabhupada Lecture to WHO)
This is the age of Kali and it is a very dangerous age due to the increase of ignorance and of passion. Previously the demons lived in different planets, like in Satya yuga, mostly demons lived in the lower planets. But gradually as time passed the demons came here to this planet as well in Tretā yuga, and incarnations such as Lord Rāma killed such asuras. In Dvāpara yuga even in the same families, and in Kali yuga the demon may even appear in one’s own heart.
Hiraṇyakaśipu controlled the whole universe, but Hiraṇyākṣa threw the earth into the Garbhodaka ocean, so demons have always harassed mother Earth. As we know, Lord Varāha killed Hiraṇyākṣa, and there are many times this pastime repeats itself in different kalpas, and so does the killing of Hiraṇyakaśipu. I have found as much material as I could from various Purāṇas to bring to life some of these accounts from different kalpas. Lord Narasiṁhadeva has many forms in this material world, and incarnates again and again to kill demons and protect the devotees. He is even considered the protector of Kṛṣṇa, though obviously Kṛṣṇa is the source of all incarnations and forms, including Lord Narasiṁhadeva. Nanda Mahārāja used to worship Narasiṁhadeva in Nandagrāma, and his Narasiṁhadeva deity is still there in Nandagrāma in Vraja. Mother Yaśodā chanted Narasiṁha bīja mantras to protect Kṛṣṇa before He would go to the forest. This has been stated in Govinda Lilamrita. Lord Rāma also went to Ahovalam and worshipped Lord Narasiṁhadeva.
In this age most persons become influenced by the demoniac mentality and the only savior from this demoniac mentality is this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Some persons may ask why give attention to Lord Narasiṁhadeva, and not just focus on Kṛṣṇa as He is svayam Bhagavān .However we give respects to all the Lord’s incarnations. But especially this form of Narasiṁhadeva is very scary for the demoniac. When we talk about demons we don’t mean some ghostly creature with horns, etc., though there are such demoniac creatures in existence. The demons in modern age are persons that enviously teach that there is no God in existence and that religion “is Opium for the people”. Often such demons try to kill devotees of Kṛṣṇa. This has been seen, for example, in Russia during the communist area.
There are also the internal demons a devotee my struggle with in the form of lust, anger, greed, etc. For that, a devotee prays to Lord Narasiṁhadeva to destroy these anarthas. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura prayed to Narasiṁhadeva at Narasiṁha palli in Navadvīpa.
KILLING THE DEMONS WITHIN THE HEART
“I offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, the source of all power. O my Lord who possesses nails and teeth just like thunderbolts, kindly vanquish our demonlike desires for fruitive activity in this material world. Please appear in our hearts and drive away our ignorance so that by Your mercy we may become fearless in the struggle for existence in this material world.” (SB/5/18/8)
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in his Śrī Caitanya Siksamrita describes the demons Krishna killed in His Vṛndāvana pastimes and the anarthas (unwanted things) with which they may be associated.
Pūtanā (the witch) – the pseudo guru.
Śakaṭāsura (the cart demon) – carrying the burden of a cart-load of old and new bad habits, lethargy and vanity.
Trinavarta (the whirlwind demon) – false pride which comes from material scholarship, which leads to bogus philosophies.
Deliverance of Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva (breaking the twin arjuna trees) – Arrogant pride which comes from puffed-up prestige, which is rooted in a madness for wealth.
Vatsāsura (the calf demon) – a childish type of mentality which gives rise to a type of greediness which results in a wicked type of mischievousness.
Bakāsura (stork demon) – Cunning duplicity, deceptiveness and false types of behavior.
Aghāsura (the snake demon) – Cruelty and violence.
Brahma-vimohana Pastime (Lord Brahmā steals the cowherd boys and calves) – mundane activities and speculative scholasticism.
Dhenukāsura (the ass demon) – gross materialistic intelligence, ignorance of spiritual knowledge.
Kāliya (chastising the Kāliya serpent) – brutality and treachery.
Extinguishing the Forest Fire – inter-communal discord among Vaishnavas.
Pralambāsura (killing the Pralamba demon) – lusty inclinations; desire for personal gain and honor.
Second Forest Fire – disturbance of religious principles and interference with religious people by those who are atheist.
Brāhmaṇas Performing Sacrifice – indifference toward Krishna caused by pride because of one’s status (position) in varṇāśrama.
Overcoming the Pride of Indra – demigod worship, and the tendency to think “I am Supreme.”
Nanda Mahārāja Captured by Varuṇa – thinking that spiritual life can be enhanced by intoxication.
Nanda Mahārāja Swallowed by Vidyādhara (the snake) – rescuing the truth of Krishna consciousness from being swallowed by the impersonalists.
Śaṅkhacūḍa (killing the conch-shell demon and getting the jewel that was stolen by him) – proneness toward acquiring name and fame, and desire for sensuous enjoyment, under the plea of devotion.
Ariṣṭāsura (the bull demon) – pride arising from indulging in false religions invented by cheaters which causes neglect of devotional service (bhakti).
Keśī (the horse demon) – The feeling that “I am a great devotee and spiritual master.”
Vyomāsura (the demon in the sky) – associating with thieves and other rascals, and with people who put themselves forward as avatāras.
Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says: “The devotee who worships the holy name should first petition the Lord for the strength to cast out all these unfavorable tendencies and should pray thus before Lord Hari on a daily basis. By doing this regularly, the devotee’s heart will eventually become purified. Śrī Krishna has killed a number of demons which may arise in the kingdom of the heart, so in order to destroy these problems, a devotee must cry very humbly before the Lord and admit defeat then the Lord will nullify all contaminations.”
Pamho agtacbsp, SRILA BHAKTIVINODA as a acarya was automatically and naturally a maha purusa SRILA BHAKTISIDDHANTA SARASVATI PRABHUPADA and ACBSP
Also used to be maha purusa because of their vaisnava background i mean is not like the fake guru of nowadays, this article is very important especially in this difficult time i mean to recite the nrsimha kavacha three times daily can help any sincere sadhaka follower of the sanatana dharma to be always protected the perfection is 16 rounds of MMHK and 16 rounds of om ugram viram maha visnu jvalanda sarvato mukham…..of this maha mantra to NARASIMHA DEVA everyday by wake-up early in the morning ,everyone can do it we are not different ,suppose to be Aryans perfect human race, that can be achieve by doing as the acarya and mahajana advise us to do,SBVTP ki jay,everyone must follow the acarya exalted vaisnava ,great personality. agtacbsp ys haribol
Srila Prabhupada’s lecture at the WHO in Geneva on June 6, 1974 is one picture perfect example of the mighty, transcendental power of the Lords pure devotee. Srila Prabhupada was preaching in the lions den, fearless and bold. He was the transcendental lion protected by Lord Narasiṁha right in the hellhole HQ of the worlds most dangerous criminal organisation. He knew the organisation’s motives, he knew their plans, he knew what they were up to and he did not mince words. Full of authoritativeness and filled with confidence in Lord Krsna’s protection he faced the opposition of the planets most powerful organisation.
From the time Srila Prabhupada stepped off the Jaladuta until his disappearance from this world his path was a march of victory for the transcendental mission of Lord Caitanya. It was a sweeping victory against the soldiers of Kali. It was a triumph that brought honour and glory to all the predecessor ācāryas, sampradāya ācāryas, Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, Viṣṇu Svāmī, Nimbārka, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākur and all the Vaiṣṇavas devotees of the Lord. It struck wonder and etched a mark, burning like fire, in the hearts, minds and memories of those who think they are controlling the world, who are opposed to the Vedic principles of knowledge and austerities.
What a privilege it is to endeavour to be Srila Prabhupada’s disciple. What an honour it is to be holding in our hands Srila Prabhupada’s transcendental translations of Lord Krsna’s and Srila Vyasadevas transcendental words day after day, year after year, life after life. Can one imagine the heaps of pious activities we must have performed for many lives to be able to get this transcendental opportunity, to be put in touch with the pure devotee of the Lord? No, we cannot imagine this extraordinary, transcendental fortune. Srila Prabhupada shed tears of joy when Jayananda Prabhu left his mortal shell and went back to Krsna. ” If only one soul goes back to Krsna I consider my efforts a success!” A pure devotee gives all conditioned souls he meets that chance, but only few of those will understand the value of this special opportunity. We are some of those few fortunate ones who are in the process of realising the importance of listening to and following Srila Prabhupada’s transcendental instructions.
What is the benefit of following the sampradāya ācārya? The benefit we receive is that we will be protected from the attacks of the soldiers of death and other enemies. The soldiers of death are the followers of Yamaraja and they are known as the various types of disturbances that pertain to the body and mind in addition to miseries from other entities and providence. In the ignorance of “I”, “me” and “mine” we identify with the material body and are constantly disturbed. By knowing the basic misery of material existence the pure devotee induces one to get out of the material clutches and return home, back to Godhead.
Actually the living entity is not at all happy in this material body. Because of the body, he suffers thirst and hunger and is influenced by the mind, by words, by anger, by the belly, by the genitals, by the rectum, and so on. Manifold miseries encircle the transcendental living entity simply because he desires to satisfy his senses in this material world. If he simply withdraws from activities of sense gratification and applies his senses in the service of the Lord, all the problems of material existence will immediately diminish, and with the advancement of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he will be freed from all tribulation and, after giving up the body, will return home, back to Godhead.
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!
https://prabhupadabooks.com/sb/4/29?d=1 Text 23-25