Narasimha Chaturdasi Special Puja done by Srila Prabhupada
Narasimha Chaturdasi is the appearance day of Lord Narasimha. Lord Narasimha is the master of one of the Vaikuntha planets in the spiritual sky. In that abode, Lord Narasimha eternally resides with His two consorts: goddess Lakshmi and goddess Sarasvati. Lord Narasimha has four hands. In his lower right hand, He holds the Sudarsana Chakra and a lotus flower in the right upper hand, a club in the upper left hand, and a conch shell in the lower left hand. Siddhartha Samhita describes His form as follows:
“Cakram padmam gadam narasimho vivarti yah”
The form of Lord Narasimha is the personified death and is very terrifying to the non-devotees. But to a devotee, He is the one who removes all the obstacles and bestows fearlessness. He is the protector of bhakti and the devotees. Wherever there is animosity towards bhakti and the devotees that is the place where
Lord Sri Narasimha appears.
Receiving Narasimha mantra & worshipping Lord Narasimha by Srila Prabhupada :
In 1884 AD, when Bimala Prasad (Srila Prabhupada) was in the fifth grade at Srirampur High School, he received the Sri Harinama Mahamantra on Tulasi beads and Sri Narasimha mantra from Thakura Bhaktivinoda. Srila Prabhupada explained why he received the Narasimha mantra and worshipped Lord Narasimha in a speech on his Vyasa-puja day. It was as follows:
“At the beginning of Srimad Bhagavatam, we recite a verse as mangalacarana. That is:
“nārāyaṇaṁ namaskṛtya naraṁ caiva narottamam
devīṁ sarasvatīṁ vyāsaṁ tato jayam udīrayet”
At the beginning of the year, we also sing the glories of Sri Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa. Lord Sri Narayana is the worshippable deity of Vyasa. Lord Narayana is puruṣottama, the supreme puruṣa (being) and the absolute Lord. And goddess Sarasvati is His intrinsic potency i.e. Narayani. The Supreme Lord manifested as “Nara”, the grandfather of the universe. Lord Brahma is His representative. Brahma is the primordial constituent of the material universe. Therefore it is a tradition to sing the praises of the guru i.e. Sri Vyasa after offering obeisances to the divine couple.
Sridhara Swami, an acharya in the line of Sri Vishnusvami, said:
“vāg-īśā yasya vadane lakṣmīr yasya ca vakṣasi
yasyāste hṛdaye samvit taṁ nṛsiṁham ahaṁ bhaje”
Lord Brahma, the four-headed god is the very first Mahanta guru. He retained the Lord’s ‘samvita’ energy i.e. goddess Sarasvati (who is present at the lotus face of Lord Narasimha as ‘Vagisa’as well) in his own heart. It was the same Sarasvati who appeared in Brahma’s heart and manifested the four Vedas. Sri Narada received the message from Brahma and conveyed it to Vyasa. Being propitiated by Narada, Vyasa has revealed the literary manifestation of Lord Narasimha through the hymns of Srimad Bhagavatam for the welfare of the universe. Lord Brahma is called ‘adi-kavi’ (the first poet). That particular form of Vishnu, Who infused Lord Brahma’s heart with the intrinsic transcendental qualities of the Supreme Absolute, is non-different from Lord Narasimha. Therefore His pastimes are non-different from Lord Narasimha’s pastimes as well.
It is for this reason that Sridhara Swami, a preceptor in the line of Visnu Swami determined Lord Narasimha as his avista-deva (worshippable deity) and the form of Lord Visnu. He revealed the aksaratmika form i.e. the literary form of the Lord for His devotees. So that they can experience the divine form of Lord Narasimha.
Jagatguru Srila Prabhupada, possessed the samvita potency of Lord Narasimha (i.e. Sarasvati Devi, who resides in the lotus face of Lord Narasimha) in his heart and appeared as Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati, the embodiment of the teachings of Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu in the eyes of living beings on this planet. In this way, he showed his mercy to the world. This is why he worshipped Lord Narasimha in his childhood.
Here is the link to the full Glories of Lord Narasimha Deva by Srila Prabhupada
Powerful Narasimha Stavaka Kirtan by HDG Srila Bhakti Bibudha Bodhayan Maharaj
