The Pavana Narasimha shrine is about 6 kms from the Ahobilam Shrine and is reached by trek through thick forest. See the pictures. I suggest you take a guide along as there are several paths along the way that branch out from the main path and if by chance you take the wrong one you'll find yourself in the midst of the jungle. Also travel in small groups so that you can ward off animals, though I nor anyone I know had any encounters with wild animals, its better to take precautions.
After picking up our bamboo canes we started the trek at 7:15 am, the initial steps are steep and you'll notice a lot of feathers strewn around and blood stains, the remains of sacrifices. After a pleasant trek we reached the shrine at 10:15 am that's about three hours and we were walking barefoot, those with footwear made it in two hours. One person in the group made it in 1 1/2 hours! He was carrying packed breakfast for all of us.
Narasimha is on the banks of the river Pavana and hence the name. He is with his consort Chenchulakshmi with Lord Bharadwaj at his feet. We had a fantastic dharshan. One very informed couple in the group handed over a box of tea bags, milk powder and sugar to the
Archakar. I wondered if this was a ritual and was told that the
Archakar had Agricultural lands in Lower Ahobilam which could provide him sustainance however he wanted to continue the tradition in the shrine and so now resides near the Pavana Narasimha shrine. His dwelling is small without Electricity and he comes to lower Ahobilam once a week to buy groceries. People who know him carry food or other items for him. I suggest that you do the same when you visit the shrine so that he can sustain his modest living and continue the tradition.
The Chenchulakshmi shrine is about one km from the Pavana Narasimha Shrine. Some of us didn't visit this shrine since the sun was up and we wanted to reach Lower Ahobilam. A few who did told us that you'll have to crawl to see the diety and there are remains of animal sacrificies, but nothing so gruesome to scare you.
We started the return trek at 11 am and reached the Ahobilam temple by 1:30 pm. Yes we were the last and there were others who reached much earlier, remember we were walking barefoot.
We reached the Ahobilam mutt by 2pm, had lunch and some rest and left for the next shrine - The Bhargava Narasimha Temple.
Our last shrine was the Bhargava Narasimha Shrine located about two kms from the Ahobilam Mutt. We took the jeep with 10 people per jeep, which costs Rs 200 for trip. After 10 minutes of shoddy ride over rough terrain we reached the shrine and were glad to be alive. We had a brief darshan and returned back to the mutt. After coffee and some rest we set out for Chennai at 6pm and reached Chennai early morning on 28th Jan by 3am.
I shot this snap while returning from the Pavana Narasimha Shrine. This is Prahaladha మెట్టు (Mettu) or Prahalada పడి (Padi). In the snap its the plateau with the tree right near the top edge.
The Pavana Narasimha shrine is about 6 kms from the Ahobilam Shrine and is reached by trek through thick forest. See the pictures. I suggest you take a guide along as there are several paths along the way that branch out from the main path and if by chance you take the wrong one you'll find yourself in the midst of the jungle. Also travel in small groups so that you can ward off animals, though I nor anyone I know had any encounters with wild animals, its better to take precautions.
After some coffee we visited the Prahalada Varadhan shrine near the Ahobilam mutt. In the sanctum are the Utsava idols of Prahlada Varada, Pavana Narasimha and the processional idols of Jwala Narasimha., This is because its difficult to perform pooja at the respective shrines on the utsava days.
The Lord is under a peepal tree and hence called Chatravata Narasimha Swamy. We stayed here long enough and performed Abhishekam (Thirumanjanam) for the Lord.
We set out at 4pm by bus and ten minutes later reached the Yogananda Narasimha Swamy temple.
We boarded the buses and on our way back stopped by the Karangya Narasimha shrine to have Darshan .Lord Narasimha is under a tree, called 'Karanja Vruksham' and hence the name.
After Malola we made our way back to the Ahobilam temple and on the way I clicked this snap of the Varaha Narasimha Temple and the Mandapam which must have served as a resting place for pilgrims in earlier times.
After having darshan of Jwaala Narasimha we made our way to the Malola Narasimha shrine. By this time the sun was out and the rays were slicing through the thick vegetation canopy.
After darshan at the Varaha shrine we made our way to the Jwaala shrine which is on a hill called Achalachaya Meru about 4kms from the Ahobilam shrine. The last few metres to the Jwaala Narasimha temple is narrow with a deep gorge on one side and is just enough for two people to pass. There is a thick chain hammered into the mountain to serve as a hand rail. I shot the first snap when we first sighted the shrine. Its the small gap that you see slightly above the big leaf in the foreground.
After darshan at Varaha Narasimha shrine we made our way to see Jwaala Narasimha through thick vegetation. See the first picture on the left. We had a guide (the tour organiser who was from Ahobilam) and so managed to take the correct path and fortunately did not get lost. The vegetation is so thick that it camouflages the gorges and other steep drops.
The Kroda (Varaha) Narasimha swamy shrine is the first shrine we saw after a trek of about a kilometre over rocks and rivulets. Here Lord Narasimha is in the form of a Boar with his consort Lakshmi.
After having darshan of Narasimha Swamy and his consort Chenchulakshmi we setout on foot to the other shrines. Some of us picked bamboo canes to support our gait during the trek. You can see the terrain that was set out for us in the pictures. The first snap is the terrain adjoining the upper Ahobilam shrine, While the second is as you make your way to the Kroda (Varaha) Narasimha Shrine. Travel in groups to be safe as rocks and gravel are slippery.
We started by 7am and reached upper Ahobilam by bus and this is the first shrine we visited.
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