You are here: SriPedia : Oppiliappan : Sri Venkatesa Ashtotthram Home  Index  VarAha : Home  Nama List :  CD&Donation  Credits

Sri Venkateswara Ashtotthram 

Prev   ::   (pranavam) SimhAchala nivAsaaya SrI VenkatEsAya nama: - 63   ::   Next

Guess the name of the perumal and Check the answer
63) SimhAchala nivAsaaya SrI VenkatEsaaya nama:
 
Salutation to Lord VenkatEsa , who lives in the SimhAchalam hills !
 
The Tirumala Hills belong to a long and huge range of mountains, shaped like a serpent, with its head at Tirumala (called Seshaachalam), its midportion at Ahobilam (called Garudaachalam) and tail at Srisailam. According to Puranas, this range spans a distance of 30 Yojanaas.
 
Of this Ahobilam is known as Simhaachalam, due to Sri Nrisimhamurthy manifesting Himself there in the form of a glorious Man-Lion, for protecting Prahlada and to destroy Hiranyakasipu, which is evident from the following Varaha Purana sloka :
 
"Hiranyaakhya vinaasaaya Prahlaada anugrahaaya cha
 Naarasimha aakriti: jagye yasmaat asmaat svayam Hari:
Simhaachaala iti praahu: tasmaat enam Munisvara:"
 
Legend has it that Sri Nrisimha Murthy was present on these hills much before Srinivasa's manifestation and that the latter, during His wedding with Sri Padmaavati, ordered that all food should first be offered to Sri Nrisimha, before consumption. Perhaps to attest to this, Sri Nrisimha still reigns resplendently at a sannidhi in the Tirumala temple, with Srinivasa facing the former.
 
UtthamUr Swamy's SlOkam passage on SrI VenkatEsa KalyANam refers to the two reasons why one of the hills of SrI Sailam(Thirumala) is named SimhAdhri :
 
" Aavir-nrusimhamAhuryam simham simhaadhi-sEvitham "
 
One of the seven hills is named SimhAdhri because Lord NarasimhA incarnated here and He is worshipped by the lions that reside in this hill .
 
In one version , the seven hills of VenkatAchalam are counted as: Sesha , Venkata , Vrusha , NaarAyaNa , Anjana , Simha and GarudAdhri . 
 



Donate by credit card via PayPal