Ahobilam - Myths and Facts

For quite a few years I have been mystified by Ahobilam mainly due to the strange and often scary tales told by people. I have asked these people a few questions to figure out if these tales are authentic and in almost all instances have have been given vague answers. Here is all the crap that I heard

- Ahobilam is home to 9 Narsimha Shrines
- Its not a place for women
- It is dangerous to visit the 9th Shrine
- The 9th shrine is littered with carcases of sacrificed animals
- People who visit the Jwaala Narasimha Shrine have not returned

This obviously increased my curiosity and a year later I found someone who knew someone who could take me to Ahobilam. And here is what I saw

Ahobilam is located in the Nallamalai hills of the eastern ghats in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. You can reach Ahobilam from Chennai if you take the Renigunta - Cudappah - Allagadda route. From Hyderabad / Secundrabad reach Nandyal then onward to Allagadda and Ahobilam (about 75 kms from Nandyal). By either route it takes about 7 to 10 hours to reach Ahobilam. Ahobilam is about 75 kms from Tirupathi. Ahobilam is one of the 108 Divya Desams and is also known as Singavel Kundram

According to Hindu mythology the Nallamalai hills are a personification of Adishesha the serpant bed of Lord Vishnu. Four important Shaiva (Lord Shiva) and Vaishnava (Lord Vishnu) places of worship are located in the Nallamalai hills - Srisailam (Shaiva) is at the tail end, Ahobilam (Vaishnava) is in the middle, Tirumala (Vaishnava) is at the head end and Srikalahasti (Shaiva) is at the mouth of Adishesha.

According to Brahmanda Purana Ahobilam is the place where the Lord in the form of Narasimha, a half human half Lion personification, killed Hiranyakasipu and saved Prahalada. On introspection I wonder if God had to take such a powerful avatar how powerful Hiranyakasipu would have been. Its also believed that Lord Narasimha granted Hiranyakasipu two wishes before enticing him to come to the door step and then killed him. One look at the terrain and you would notice that it has all the hallmarks of having borne a palace sometime in the past. The layers of rock, the pillars and slabs all of them tell a story, silently! As per legend the palace burned after Narasimha killed Hiranyakasipu and that destruction caused what we know today as the "Cuddapah Stones".

Since the Lord had to take the Narasimha form in a hurry to save Prahalada he left his abode without his Vahana, Garuda. Garuda was upset and so wished for a vision of Lord in the Narasimha Avatar. To fulfill his wish, the Lord settled in the hills around Ahobilam in the midst of dense forests in nine different forms. For this reason this hill came to be known as Garudadri, Garudachalam, and Garudasailam.

According to Stala Purana, there are two popular legends for the derivation of the word 'Ahobilam'. It is stated that the Devas, while witnessing the Ugra Kala, the lord took on in order to tear Hiranyakasipu, sung praises as 'Ahobala' (Aho - Surprise Bala - strength). Hence this place has come to be known as Ahobilam. The other version is that because of the great cave, the Ahobila (Aho - Great Bila - Cave), where Garuda worshipped, did penance and realised the lord, the place itself has come to be called Ahobilam

The whole complex is in two parts - one called Eguvu Ahobilam (Upper Ahobilam) with Nava Narasimha shrines and the other called Diguvu Ahobilam (Lower Ahobilam)

Thirumangai Azhvaar has sung ten verses about this temple in Periya Thirumozhi.

- Ahobilam is home to 9 Narsimha Shrines - Well Right and Wrong it is home to 10 Narasimha Shrines. Nava Narasimhas and the Tenth Narasimha - Prahaladha Varadhan at Lower Ahobilam which is not counted among the other shrines
- Its not a place for women - Wrong. Its very safe. Just dont wander out alone in the dark thats not safe anywhere in the world.
- It is dangerous to visit the 9th Shrine - Pavana Narasimha Temple, The 9th shrine is accessed by a 6 km trek through the forest. Ofcourse you should not venture out alone but going in groups of 5 - 10 people is definitely safe. There have been reported sightings of Grizzly Bears but in my visit we were fortunate not to have such encounters. Have faith in the lord and dont take this trip as if it was a picnic.
- The 9th shrine is littered with carcases of sacrificed animals - The Chenchu Lakshmi shrine does have feathers strewn about and traces of blood from sacrifices. In fact you'll observe this while climbing the first few steps of the trek but there is nothing to scare the daylights of you. You'd have probably seen this sight in your neigbourhood.
- People who visit the Jwaala Narasimha Shrine have not returned - I belive there was a single incident of two people falling into the gorge but considering the number of people who visit the shrine Lord Narasimha Swamy has been great to his devotees. Have faith, will-power and devotion and leave the rest to him. But yes don't get over-emotional or panic and run through the path. Such behaviour causes accidents. Walk in a single line and allow the opposite traffic to pass. Have patience.