Lord Vishnu in the garb of Shiva

S.N.V Sudhir

Visakhapatnam: The Simhachalam temple is the only Vaishnava temple in the country in which the deity appears in a form which resembles the Shivalinga.
The presiding deity of the temple is Varaha Lakshminarasimha, an incarnation of lord Vishnu and combines the iconographic features of Varaha (Pig) and Narasimha (Lion) and is covered with sandal paste.
Local legends say that the ugra form of Narasimha as he killed the demon Hiranyakashipu was so fierce that devotees are not able to look at it. Sandal paste is applied on the deity throughout the year to ‘cool him down’.
Only once in a year, on Akshaya Tritiya Day, is the sandal paste removed from the idol. Then devotees will get to see the real shape. It is sculpted in tribhanga posture and has two hands with the head of a lion on a human torso.
The Nijaroopa Darshan, or appearance in true form, continues for 12 hours and lakhs of people from various parts of the State gather at the temple to worship the deity. The Chandanotsavam falls in Vaisakha month (May) every year. Peeling off the old sandal paste from the idol and applying new paste takes around 18 hours. It is believed that the sanctum sanctorum would get hot during this time. Devotees get to see the true form of the deity during the interregnum.
Sandalwood specially brought from Vellipoottur in Tamil Nadu is used to prepare the paste which is applied three times a year, on Vaisakha Pournami, Jyestha Pournami and Ashadha Pournami. About 120 kg of sandal paste is applied each time. "On Sravana Pournami, day the sandal covered idol is decorated with ornaments," said Mortha Seetaramacharyulu, the chief priest of the temple. "This rite is called Karala Chandana Samarpana."
Noted historian Dr Kolluru Suryanayana believes that the deity was originally Shiva and the temple became Vaishnavite after the great saint Shri Ramanuja visited it in the 11th century. "According to the Agama Shastra, the pedestal of the presiding deity in any Vaishnava temple would be near the rear wall," he said. "But in Simhachalam the pedestal is exactly in the centre of the sanctum sanctorum as in Shiva temples."
Kulottunga Chola I of Tamil Nadu made endowments to this temple and Vengi Chalukyas of Andhra Pradesh renovated the original shrine in the 11th century. The present structure was shaped by Narasimha I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty, in the second quarter of the 13th century. There are as many as 525 inscriptions in this temple, which also has a beautiful stone chariot drawn by horses. The Kalyana Mandapa within the temple has 16 pillars with bas-reliefs depicting the incarnations of Vishnu.