By PRAGYANSHARAMA POLAVARAPU(VRS.SOMANCHI)
A little after the rituals the chief
sits for a few minutes on the floor and narrates the devotees and before the
god and narrates the many mysteries about the great lion god. The traditional
minded devotees listen most attentively, He tells how Lord Narasimha’s abdomen
is soft for touch (even though the statue was made of stone) and how there is a
“still unhealed injury” on the god’s body and how even a speck of the
sandalwood paste applied to the wound on the great god’s body can cure any
disease on human bodies.
The priest tells about the anger of
the great god that can burn even the forest trees etc. The great god strictly
keeps his great anger under control and the anger soon disappears
and the god soon bursts into smiles like a child! However after killing
the wicked king Hiranyakashipu the great god still was angry at heart. He felt
a little dejected and vexed wondering how people still commit cruel deeds. The
great god’s heart is as sensitive as a child’s heart and as sensitive as a
flower. It is said that god’s anger sometimes bursts into a forest fire and can
burn forest trees. People fear to stay in the forest environment after
nightfall for fear they may anger the god. But the god is said to be never
really angry and is as sensitive and playful as a child!The priests gave us a
good quantity of the holy prasadam. It was sufficient for both of us. It was a
sweetened rice- milk-sugar preparation with spices added to create great
flavor.
Here we mention a very important
custom among traditional Hindus who visit any temple. It is a beautiful poetic
custom reminding of farewell to a most loved friend or dear parents. The person
visiting a temple has to sit at least a few minutes somewhere in the temple
premises before leaving. Elderly people strictly insist on following this
custom. We too sat for a few minutes on the temple steps .
Then we went towards the giant
mango tree and sat there for an hour to rest our minds . we walked for a while
leisurely in the nearby forest beyond the temple area along with many others
entranced by the beauty of the lush greenery and the pleasant forest
environment. There were two or three hundred people. Many were revisiting
the temple for another glimpse of god. We too did the same. The temple area was
full of busy people. People were walking leisurely up and down the stairs
enjoying the beautiful forest environment. Many were collecting water from
Chintamani Spring in plastic bottles.
By 5pm all were leaving. Many
people, including us, felt entranced by the otherworldly calm on
the hill due to staying for many hours in the temple environment. We were among
the last to leave and traced our steps homeward by the same hill top
forest track by which we walked in morning. The ruddy skies made
the scene very nice and we caught the bus back to Kamalapuram town. I remember
all this vividly even now.
For seeing the lord and performing
the poojas ,the temple is open in morning 8-30am to 1.00pm and again between
2-30 pm to 5-30pm.
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