20 hours ago
- General
- New Indian Express
A big image of Rama in a tiny village temple
In the prakaram (enclosure) is a small sanctum for Narasimha facing north. The Narasimha enshrined inside is said to be exactly like the image of Pavana Narasimha, one of the Nava Narasimhas (nine Narasimhas) in Ahobilam, the famous Vaishavite pilgrimage centre in Andhra Pradesh. The utsava-murti of this Narasimha shrine, worshipped as Prahlada Varadar is an image of Vishnu in a standing posture flanked by Goddesses Sridevi and Bhudevi, worshipped in the main sanctum. He holds the Sankha and Chakra in the upper hands, with the lower right hand in abhaya hasta (offering protection to devotees) and the lower left hand in gada hasta (resting on a mace).
The pushkarini (temple tank), situated behind the temple, is called Surya Pushkarini, which is very apt since Rama belonged to the Ikshavaku dynasty (Ikshvaku Vamsha), which claimed descent from Surya (Sun).
