Narasimha Temple Keelapavoor is an ancient temple of Lord Narasimha. Keelapavoor is a small village which is located 2 kms away from Pavoorthatram in between Tenkasi and Tirunelveli in the Indian State of Tamilnadu. The Narasimha Temple Keelapavoor is a very beautiful and serene temple located in this village. This temple is revered as Dakshina Ahobilam Kshetra.
The surrounding scenic beauty of a huge lake surrounded by thick tall trees is a visual treat to the devotees. Narasimha Temple Keelapavoor is approximately 1500 years old. While the renovation work was carried out in the temple, many inscriptions dating to Pandya and Chola Kings were discovered here. It is said that around 300 years ago, the sound of roaring of lions would be heard from inside the garbha griha and devotees had to perform the abhisheka of Lord Narasimha with coolants like coconut water, etc.
The main Deity of Narasimha Temple Keelapavoor is Sri Prasanna Venkatesha Swamy, along with Parvathi Devi. Lord Narasimha is in the form of a bas relief on a wall behind the main Deity of Lord Venkatesha.
The form of Lord Narasimha at Narasimha Temple Keelapavoor
The Agamas mention 70 forms of Lord Narasimha. And out of these forms, some of them carry an angry mood like Jwala Narasimha, Ugra Narasimha, etc. The form of Lord Narasimha in Narasimha Temple Keelapavoor is one such fierce form. The Deity has 16 hands holding various weapons. Such a form can only be found at places like Ahobilam and Singirikudi. Every day devotees offer panakam to Lord Narasimha which is later distributed as prasadam to the visiting devotees. Many devotees throng to this temple to get rid of their enemies – external as well as internal. Especially on the Swati Nakshatra day many devotees visit this temple.
In this rare form, Lord Narasimha is seated while facing west. He has a demon Hiranyakashipu lying on His lap. The Lord has 16 arms, out of which 4 arms are tearing the stomach of Hiranyakashipu, one arm holding the demon, another arm removing the intestines and the remaining ten arms holding weapons like Sudarshana Chakra, Panchajanya, Sword, etc. At the feet of Lord Ugra Narasimha, there is Kayadhu, Prahlada, The Kashi Pandiyan Maharaja and Narada Rishi. On either side of the head of Lord Narasimah, there are chamaras. Lord’s tongue is protruding out with the left leg folded and the right left over another demon.
The origin of Narasimha Temple Keelapavoor
Kashyapa Muni, Narada Muni, Varuna Devata and Sukosha prayed to Lord Narayana to give darshan in the Narasimha form. Lord Narayana advised them to perform austerities on the bank of River Chitra near Pothigai Hills and an appropriate moment, their wish would be granted. They abided by the instructions of Lord Narayana and continued to perform the tapasya. The heat of their tapasya reached Vaikuntha Loka and during the pradosha kala i.e, between 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm, Lord Narayana gave them darshan as Prasanna Venkatesha along with Mahalakshmi Thayar. They suddenly heard a roaring of lion and thus were blessed with the darshan of Lord Narasimha’s fierce form too.
Eventually a temple was built on the spot where they had darshan of the Lord. When the Lord had appeared there, the entire place was reduced to ashes. To calm the anger of the Lord, devotees installed the vigraha of Mahalakshmi on the chest of Lord Narasimha.
Devotees suffering from the delay in marriage and debts pray to Lord Narasimha here.
Best time to visit Narasimha Temple Keelapavoor
October to February is the best time to visit the temple. Post raining season is preferred for nature lovers.
How to reach Narasimha Temple Keelapavoor
If you wish to relish the spiritual diaspora of this temple, travelling with Tirtha Yatra should be your first choice. To reach Keelapavoor, you must reach Tirunelveli first and from there take state transport buses to Poorvachatram and then a private transport to reach the village or private taxis to reach the village from Tirunelveli or Tenkasi.
By Airways: The nearest airports are Madurai and Thiruvananthapur. From there reach Tenkasi and then Poorvachatram by roadways
By Railways: Poorvachatram has a railway station. The major station is however at Tenkasi.
By Roadways: Hire a taxi from Madurai / Tenkasi / Thiruvananthapur / Tirunelveli to reach Keelapavoor
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