High medieval · Hindu · India

Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, Simhachalam

Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh · 17.7666°, 83.2504°

Varaha Narasimha (Vishnu)Eastern GangaKalinga–Dravida fusion

Sacred since

1087 CE

first attestation / structure

Standing structure

attested 1087; central shrine 13th c.

patron: Kulottunga Chola I (inscriptions); Narasimhadeva I

History & significance

Hill temple above Visakhapatnam where the fierce man-lion is kept eternally cool under a covering of sandalwood paste, removed for just twelve hours a year (Chandana Visarjana on Akshaya Tritiya) when the true form gives darshan. Over 500 inscriptions make it one of the best-documented temples of the Andhra country.

Sthala katha — the legend

Prahlada himself is said to have raised the first shrine to the boar-lion who saved him; the paste soothes the burning rage Narasimha carried from tearing Hiranyakashipu apart.

Reaching there

The shrine stands on the Simhachalam hills about 16 km from Visakhapatnam. Simhachalam has its own railway station some 3 km from the temple and a bus stop about 1 km away; Visakhapatnam international airport is roughly 28 km off. Autorickshaws, buses and taxis cover the final stretch.

Open in Google Maps ↗Wikipedia ↗View on the atlas map