NRSIMHA PRAYERS

FROM SRI CAITANYA CARITAMRTA

CC Madhya ch. 8

TEXT 5

sri-nrsimha, jaya nrsimha, jaya jaya nrsimha

prahladesa jaya padma-mukha-padma-bhrnga

sri-nrsimha—Lord Nrsimha with Laksmi; jaya nrsimha—all glories to Lord Nrsimha; jaya jaya—again and again glories; nrsimha—to Nrsimhadeva; prahlada-isa—to the Lord of Prahlada Maharaja; jaya—all glories; padma—of the goddess of fortune; mukha-padma—of the lotuslike face; bhrnga—the bee.

TRANSLATION

“‘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.

PURPORT

The goddess of fortune is always embraced by Lord Nrsimhadeva. This is mentioned in the commentary on Srimad-Bhagavatam written by the great commentator Srila Sridhara Svami. The following verse was composed by Sridhara Svami in his commentary on Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.87.1):

vag-isa yasya vadane laksmir yasya ca vaksasi

yasyaste hrdaye samvit tam nrsimham aham bhaje

“Lord Nrsimhadeva is always assisted by Sarasvati, the goddess of learning, and He is always embracing to His chest the goddess of fortune. The Lord is always complete in knowledge within Himself. Let us offer obeisances unto Nrsimhadeva.”

Similarly, in his commentary on the First Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.1.1), Sridhara Svami describes Lord Nrsimhadeva in this way:

prahlada-hrdayahladam bhaktavidya-vidaranam

sarad-indu-rucim vande parindra-vadanam harim

“Let me offer my obeisances unto Lord Nrsimhadeva, who is always enlightening Prahlada Maharaja within his heart and who always kills the nescience that attacks the devotees. His mercy is distributed like moonshine, and His face is like that of a lion. Let me offer my obeisances unto Him again and again.”

TEXT 6

ugro ’py anugra evayam

sva-bhaktanam nr-kesari

kesariva sva-potanam

anyesam ugra-vikramau

ugrau—ferocious; api—although; anugrau—not ferocious; eva—certainly; ayam—this; sva-bhaktanam—to His pure devotees; nr-kesari—having the body of a human being and a lion; kesari iva—like a lioness; sva-potanam—to her young cubs; anyesam—to others; ugra—ferocious; vikramau—whose strength.

TRANSLATION

“‘Although very ferocious, the lioness is very kind to her cubs. Similarly, although very ferocious to nondevotees like Hiranyakasipu, Lord Nrsimhadeva is very, very soft and kind to devotees like Prahlada Maharaja.’”

PURPORT

This verse was composed by Sridhara Svami in his commentary on Srimad-Bhagavatam (7.9.1).

Nrsimha-kavaca

Text 30

garjantam garjayantam nija-bhuja-patalam sphotayantam hatantam

rupyantam tapayantam divi bhuvi ditijam ksepayantam ksipantam

krandantam rosayantam disi disi satatam samharantam bharantam

viksantam purnayantam kara-nikara-satair divya-simham namami

iti sri brahmanda-purane prahladoktam sri-nrsimha-kavacam sampurnam

Lord Nrsimha roars loudly and causes others to roar. With His multitude of arms He tears the demons asunder and kills them in this way. He is always seeking out and tormenting the demonic descendants of Diti, both on this Earth planet and in the higher planets, and He throws them down and scatters them. He cries with great anger as He destroys the demons in all directions, yet with His unlimited hands He sustains, protects, and nourishes the cosmic manifestation. I offer my respectful obeisances to the Lord, who has assumed the form of a transcendental lion.

Bhaagavatam 5.18.8

om namo bhagavate nara-simhaya namas tejas-tejase avir-avirbhava vajra-nakha vajra-damstra karmasayan randhaya randhaya tamo grasa grasa om svaha. abhayam abhayam atmani bhuyistha om ksraum.

om--O Lord; namah--my respectful obeisances; bhagavate--unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; nara-simhaya--known as Lord Nrsimha; namah--obeisances; tejah-tejase--the power of all power; avih-avirbhava--please be fully manifest; vajra-nakha--O You who possess nails like thunderbolts; vajra-damstra--O You who possess teeth like thunderbolts; karma-asayan--demoniac desires to be happy by material activities; randhaya randhaya--kindly vanquish; tamah--ignorance in the material world; grasa--kindly drive away; grasa--kindly drive away; om--O my Lord; svaha--respectful oblations; abhayam--fearlessness; abhayam--fearlessness; atmani--in my mind; bhuyisthah--may You appear; om--O Lord; ksraum--the bija, or seed, of mantras offering prayers to Lord Nrsimha.

TRANSLATION

I offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Nrsimhadeva, the source of all power. O my Lord who possesses nails and teeth just like thunderbolts, kindly vanquish our demonlike desires for fruitive activity in this material world. Please appear in our hearts and drive away our ignorance so that by Your mercy we may become fearless in the struggle for existence in this material world.

Purport

Any devotee aspiring to be free of material desires should offer his respectful prayers to Nrsimhadeva as Prahlada Maharaja did in this verse.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto

Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 7: Chapter Nine, Text 28

evam janam nipatitam prabhavahi-kupe

kamabhikamam anu yau prapatan prasangat

krtvatma-sat surarsina bhagavan grhitau

so ’ham katham nu visrje tava bhrtya-sevam

evam--thus; janam--people in general; nipatitam--fallen; prabhava--of material existence; ahi-kupe--in a blind well full of snakes; kama-abhikamam--desiring the sense objects; anu--following; yah--the person who; prapatan--falling down (in this condition); prasangat--because of bad association or increased association with material desires; krtva atmasat--causing me (to acquire spiritual qualities like himself, Sri Narada); sura-rsina--by the great saintly person (Narada); bhagavan--O my Lord; grhitah--accepted; sah--that person; aham--I; katham--how; nu--indeed; visrje--can give up; tava--Your; bhrtya-sevam--the service of Your pure devotee.

My dear Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, because of my association with material desires, one after another, I was gradually falling into a blind well full of snakes, following the general populace. But Your servant Narada Muni kindly accepted me as his disciple and instructed me how to achieve this transcendental position. Therefore, my first duty is to serve him. Mow could I leave his service?

Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 7: Chapter Nine, Text 43

naivodvije para duratyaya-vaitaranyas

tvad-virya-gayana-mahamrta-magna-cittau

soce tato vimukha-cetasa indriyartha-

maya-sukhaya bharam udvahato vimudhan

na--not; eva--certainly; udvije--I am disturbed or afraid; para--O Supreme; duratyaya--insurmountable or very difficult to cross; vaitaranyah--of the Vaitarani, the river of the material world; tvat-virya--of Your Lordship's glories and activities; gayana--from chanting or distributing; maha-amrta--in the great ocean of nectarean spiritual bliss; magna-cittah--whose consciousness is absorbed; soce--I am simply lamenting; tatah--from that; vimukha-cetasah--the fools and rascals who are bereft of Krsna consciousness; indriya-artha--in sense gratification; maya-sukhaya--for temporary, illusory happiness; bharam--the false burden or responsibility (of maintaining one's family, society and nation and elaborate arrangements for that purpose); udvahatah--who are lifting (by making grand plans for this arrangement); vimudhan--although all of them are nothing but fools and rascals (I am thinking of them also).

TRANSLATION

O best of the great personalities, I am not at all afraid of material existence, for wherever I stay I am fully absorbed in thoughts of Your glories and activities. My concern is only for the fools and rascals who are making elaborate plans for material happiness and maintaining their families, societies and countries. I am simply concerned with love for them.

TEXT 44

prayena deva munayau sva-vimukti-kama

maunam caranti vijane na parartha-nisthau

naitan vihaya krpanan vimumuksa eko

nanyam tvad asya saranam bhramato ’nupasye

prayena--generally, in almost all cases; deva--O my Lord; munayah--the great saintly persons; sva--personal, own; vimukti-kamah--ambitious for liberation from this material world; maunam--silently; caranti--they wander (in places like the Himalayan forests, where they have no touch with the activities of the materialists); vijane--in solitary places; na--not; para-artha-nisthah--interested in working for others by giving them the benefit of the Krsna consciousness movement, by enlightening them with Krsna consciousness; na--not; etan--these; vihaya--leaving aside; krpanan--fools and rascals (engaged in materialistic activity who do not know the benefit of the human form of life); vimumukse--I desire to be liberated and to return home, back to Godhead; ekah--alone; na--not; anyam--other; tvat--but for You; asya--of this; saranam--shelter; bhramatah--of the living entity rotating and wandering throughout the material universes; anupasye--do I see.

TRANSLATION

My dear Lord Nrsimhadeva, I see that there are many saintly persons indeed, but they are interested only in their own deliverance. Not caring for the big cities and towns, they go to the Himalayas or the forest to meditate with vows of silence [mauna-vrata]. They are not interested in delivering others. As for me, however, I do not wish to be liberated alone, leaving aside all these poor fools and rascals. I know that without Krsna consciousness, without taking shelter of Your lotus feet, one cannot be happy. Therefore I wish to bring them back to shelter at Your lotus feet.