Lord Caitanya traveled throughout South India, visiting numerous temples along the way. At the South Indian temple of Jiyada-nrsimha He offered prayers to Lord Nrsimhadeva. On His way, He introduced the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra in every village.
After visiting the temple of Trimalla, or Tripadi, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu had to subdue some atheists. He then visited the temple of Ahovala-nrsimha in Daksinatya. There are eight other temples also, and all of them together are called the Nava-nrsimha temples.
Lord Caitanya visited the Jiyada-nrsimha temple, which is situated on the top of a hill about five miles away from Visakhapatnam. There is a railway station on the South Indian Railway known as Simhacala. The temple known as Simhacala is the best temple in the vicinity of Visakhapatnam. This temple is very affluent and is a typical example of the architecture of the area. In one stone tablet it is mentioned that formerly a queen covered the Deity with gold plate. The original Deity is situated within the depths of the temple, but there is another Deity, a duplicate, known as the vijaya-murti. This smaller Deity can be moved from the temple and taken on public processions. Priests who generally belong to the Ramanuja-sampradaya are in charge of the Deity worship.
After seeing the Deity of Lord Nrsimha in the temple, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu offered His respectful obeisances by falling flat. Then, in ecstatic love, He performed various dances, chanted, and offered prayers. " 'All glories to Nrsimhadeva! All glories to Nrsimhadeva, who is the Lord of Prahlada Maharaja and, like a honeybee, is always engaged in beholding the lotuslike face of the goddess of fortune.
In this way Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu recited different verses from the sastra. The priest of Lord Nrsimhadeva then brought garlands and the remnants of the Lord's food and offered them to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
After visiting the temple of Jiyada-nrsimha, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to the banks of the river Godavari, to a place known as Vidyanagar.
After leaving Vidyanagara, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited such places of pilgrimage as Gautami-ganga, Mallikarjuna, Ahovala-nrsimha, Siddhavata, Skanda-ksetra, Trimatha, Vrddhakasi, Bauddha-sthana, Tirupati, Tirumala, Pana-nrsimha, Siva-kanci, Visnu-kanci, Trikala-hasti, Vrddhakola, Siyali-bhairavi, Kaveri-tira and Kumbhakarna-kapala.
Pana-nrsimha, or Panakal-narasimha, is located in the district of Krishna in the hills known as Mangalagiri, about seven miles from a city known as Vijayawada. One must climb six hundred steps to reach the temple. It is said that when the Lord is offered food with syrup here, He does not take more than half. Within this temple is a conchshell presented by the late king of Tanjor, and it is said that this shell was used by Lord Krsna Himself. During the month of March, a great fair takes place in this temple.
In great ecstatic love, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu offered obeisances and prayers unto Lord Nrsimha. The people were astonished to see Lord Caitanya's influence.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu also cleansed the Nrsimha temple inside and outside. Finally, He rested a few minutes and then began dancing.
Purport: The Nrsimha temple is a nice temple just outside the Gundica temple. In this temple there is a great festival on the day of Nrsimha-caturdasi. There is also a Nrsimha temple at Navadvipa where the same festival is observed, as described by Murari Gupta in his book Caitanya-carita.
There he saw Lord Mahadeva [Siva], the servant of Lord Rama. He then went to Ahovala-nrsimha. After seeing the Ahovala-nrsimha Deity, Caitanya Mahaprabhu offered many prayers unto the Lord. He then went to Siddhavata, where He saw the Deity of Ramacandra, the Lord of Sitadevi.
Excerpts from Caitanya-caritamrta, Madyam lila
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.
