Tirtha Atlas

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Early medieval · Hindu · India

Narasingam Yoga Narasimha Perumal Temple

Narasingam, Madurai district, Tamil Nadu · 9.9668°, 78.1889°

Vishnu as Yoga Narasimha PerumalPandyaDravidian rock-cut
Sacred since
770 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
begun 770 CE (Pandya)
Pandya

History & significance

A cave temple cut into the Yanaimalai hill 8 km from Madurai, begun in 770 CE by Maran Kari, minister to the Pandya king, and finished by his brother Maran Eyinan; the six-foot Yoga Narasimha is carved from the living rock. Inscriptions record later endowments by Srivallabha Pandya and Sundara Pandya, and there is a separate stone shrine for the goddess Narasingavalli.

Sthala katha — the traditional account

What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.

The Sthala Purana says sage Romasa did penance here for a child and asked to see the Narasimha avatar; the form proved so fierce that Prahlada and Mahalakshmi had to calm it, leaving the seated Yoga Narasimha worshipped today.

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Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-27 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Pandya