Kole Narasinghpur

Location:
Kole

Shree Lakshminarasimha called as Jwala Narasimha selfmanifested idol at Narsimhapur (kole), Tah.Walva, Dist. Sangli,Maharashtra,India..

Uniqueness:

Jwala Narasimha,Kole Narasinghpur (Maharashtra, India) – one of the ancient self manifested idol of shaligrama shila Narsimha. The place has same importance as Multan (Pakistan). This is the biggest Shaligram idol in world.

Description:

Kole Lord Narsimha idol in Kole Narsimhapur is made of shaligram. It is a self manifested form of the Lord. As seen, the appearance of the lord is enormously impressive and a pleasure to the eyes. In this murti, one can see the lord with 16 arms, holding the demon Hirankyakashapu tight in it.

Known to the locals as “Jwala [flaming] Narasimha”, this impressive sixteen handed form of the Lord standing on one foot has been the protector and benefactor of his reverential devotees for thousands of years. The local tradition related to this deity has been compiled in a book known as Krishna-mahatmya. A verse reads as follows:

यदा पुनस्तदा भक्त्या तपः कर्तुं पराशरः |
नारसिंहं तदा ध्यायन् कृष्णा तीरे मुनीश्वरः ||
”The foremost amongst the sages, Parashar, performed austerities on the bank of the river Krishna with a heart full of devotion, meditating on Lord Narasimhadev.”

This Idol of Narasimha Lord at Kole Narsimhapur has sharply carved shapes of the various avtaars of Lord Vishnu. On the left bottom of the Lord one can see forms of Bhakt Pralhada and beside him Goddess Mahalaksmi, while on His right is Goddess Bhudevi and Garuda the vehicle of Lord Vishnu. One can see various ornaments like the “Bajubandh” on his arm and rings which make Him more beautiful . The beauty of the Murti is beyond description. We have to take a darshan and experience the aroma of this form of Lord Narasimha and feel blessed . All around the form of Lord Narasimha were wonderful carvings of the famous dashavataras, ten incarnations of Lord Krishna.

Sthala Purana:

Kole
According to the local tradition, Lord Narasimhadev was pleased with the devotion of Parashar Muni and hence appeared in a wonderful sixteen-handed form. This was the same blazing form that the Lord had assumed while killing Hiranyakashipu.

Seeing that it was not possible for anyone to establish this ferociously blazing form on earth, the Lord ordered Parashar Muni to immerse him in the river Krishna. With a heavy heart, the sage immersed the deity in the water.

Centuries later, around the year 178 A.D., a brahmin couple staying at a village named Anjana had been cursed to become blind and dumb by a sage. On begging forgiveness, they were advised by the sage to perform austerities for the pleasure of Lord Narasimha to absolve themselves of the curse. After twelve years of rigorous austerities, the Lord appeared in their dreams and told them that he now wished to establish himself on earth as a deity and asked them to approach the local king named Bhimadev to get him out of the river. When asked how they would find the exact location where he was under the water, the Lord told them to place some dry kusha grass in the stream and that they would find him exactly under the place where the grass caught fire. After having darshana of the Lord in the dream, the couple immediately regained their sight and speech and set off to inform the king.

On hearing the request of the couple, the king sent his entourage to discover the deity. While searching in the river according to the procedure specified by the Lord, one of the blades of grass caught fire and the wonderful sixteen-handed form of the Lord was discovered from the depths of the river.

On examining the deity, the devotees could see that the Lord was positioned with his left leg raised and bent in order to place the demon Hiranyakashipu upon it, and also to hold the left arm of the demon to prevent him from escaping. His other foot was placed firmly on the doorstep of Hiranyakashipu.

Temple Architecture:

Kole
The temple has two main doors — one on the northern side and another on the eastern side. Visitors generally enter through the eastern door. The deity is located 14 feet under the ground, and in order to reach there one has to climb down steep staircases and pass through narrow tunnels many of which are under several inches of flowing water from the nearby Krishna river. The temple complex contains a painting and samädhi of a siddha- mahätma named Sri Siddheshwar Maharaja.

Address:

Shri Narasinha Devsthan- Sarvjanik Nyas
A816 Kshetra Kole – Narsinhapur.
Tal, walwadist, Sangli 415 409
Contact: Trustee: Nadhuram Kulkarni , Mob: 09423038801
Contact Priest: Dananjaya Kulkarni Mob: 09850069887
Lakshmi temple
Subash Krishna Gurav & Sridhar Subhas : Mob: 9058227372

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