The Nava Narasimha Temples of Ahobilam
- Anuradha Shankar
- 50 minutes ago
- 9 min read
The story of Narasimha is a fascinating one. Lord Vishnu is said to have incarnated as half-man, half-lion, to kill the demon Hiranyakashipu, keeping to the boons given to the demon by Lord Brahma. Narasimha is the fourth avatar of Lord Vishnu. After Mastya (the fish), Kurma (the tortoise), Varaha (the wild boar), Narasimha is followed by Vamana (dwarf) and the other avatars who are all human. He falls in between the animals and the humans, and everything about his story is about in-betweens. He kills Hiranyakashipu, neither on land nor in the sky, but on his lap; neither in the day not at night, but at twilight; neither inside nor outside, but on the stoop; he is neither human nor animal, but both. The evolutionary theory of the Dashavatar puts him at the intermediate stage of evolution, when humans are not yet fully developed. You can read the full story of Narasimha here, but this post is about the site where the events of Narasimha’s story are believed to have occurred.
This is the sacred site of Ahobilam in Andhra Pradesh, where there are 9 temples, all dedicated to Lord Narasimha, and mark different sites where various events from the story occur.
Ahobilam is located in the Nandyal district of Andhra Pradesh, about 350 Km from Hyderabad. The sacred site is located on the Nallamala hills, surrounded by dense forests. Narasimha is a ferocious being, a wild one, and his abode is aptly located within what is still a relatively wild region. The forests are dense and the terrain is rugged.
Ahobilam can be roughly demarcated into two parts – Lower Ahobilam and Upper Ahobilam. As the names suggest, one is at the foothills, and the other is up in the mountains. The main village or settlement of Ahobilam is in the foothills, at Lower Ahobilam. There is a gorgeous Vijayanagara period temple of Prahalada Varadar here on the foothills. However, the main temple of Narasimha is in Upper Ahobilam, about 8 Km away, up in the hills.
Other than the main Narasimha temple in Upper Ahobilam, there are 8 other shrines, all situated amidst the hills, each of which represent different aspects of Narasimha seen in these mountains, or depicting an event from the story of Narasimha. Together, these 9 temples are called the Nava Narasimha Temples of Ahobilam. These 9 temples are –
1. Ahobila Narasimha Temple
2. Jwala Narasimha Temple
3. Malola Narasimha Temple
4. Varaha Narasimha Temple
5. Karanja Narasimha Temple
6. Bhargava Narasimha Temple
7. Yogananda Narasimha Temple
8. Chatravata or Kshatravata Narasimha Temple
9. Pavana Narasimha Temple
All these temples are located in and around Ahobilam, and can be covered in a little more than a day. 2 days is ideal. I recently visited these temples in February 2025, and let me take you on a virtual tour….
The Ahobilam trip for me always starts from the main temple – The Ahobilam Narasimha Swamy Temple, located at Upper Ahobilam. The idol here is a Swayambhu (self-manifested), depicting the Lord killing Hiranyakashipu. This is believed to be the site where Narasimha first appeared after killing the demon.
This is a beautiful temple, built around the central shrine which is a cave, with the Swayambhu idol of the Lord. While the temple does see quite a lot of crowds, it is also inherently peaceful and serene, as well as picturesque.
This temple is accessed via a short set of steps from the Upper Ahobilam parking lot, which is where all vehicles have to stop. Guides are available here, at the parking lot and near the temple, to guide pilgrims to all the 9 temples.
Further from the Ahobilam Narasimha temple, is a path leading to 3 of the Nava Narasimha shrines.
As we walk down this path, we first come to a mandapam, called the Kalakshepa Mandapam. This mandapam has some beautifully carved pillars, and was probably used at one time for performances, or rituals. Since this temple has for long been associated with the Ahobila mutt and its seers, this is also probably where the seers gave their talks to their disciples.
Walking further along, and crossing a stream, the first temple we come to, is the Varaha Narasimha temple. It is believed that Prahalada wanted to see the previous incarnation of the Lord as a wild boar or Varaha, and hence the Lord appeared in front of him here, in this form. This temple is about 1 Km from the main temple, and is an easy walk.
Continuing further, a steep set of stairs, about 1 Km long, leads us to the Malola Narasimha Temple. Here, the Lord appeared in a peaceful form, with Goddess Lakshmi on his lap.
This temple has been recently renovated, but the presence of older sculptures in the compound tells us about an older temple at this site.
A narrow path from this temple leads to the Prahaladuni Badi, what is believed to be the pathashala or the school where Prahalada studied. My energy was all spent by the time I managed to reach Malola Narasimha, and I elected not to go further, so sorry, no photographs.
From the Malola Narasimha temple, we come back down to the Varaha temple, from where we take the route which leads to the Jwala Narasimha temple, which is around 3 Km away. This is quite a difficult trek, so I did not attempt it. However, dolis (palanquins) are available, carried by 4 men, in case you want to visit the temple without exerting yourself. The cost estimate would be around 2000 per head. This is believed to be the exact spot where Narasimha appeared and killed Hiranyakashipu.
Returning to the Ahobilam Narasimha temple at Upper Ahobilam, we can take the car and drive to the Karanja Narasimha Temple, which is on the way to Lower Ahobilam. It is said that Lord Narasimha appeared here under a Karanja tree, holding a bow and arrow.
This temple has also been recently renovated, but the presence of some old pillars nearby suggests an older temple here. There is also a pillared mandapam dating to the Vijayanagara period, opposite this temple which now has an idol of Hanuman. However, the mandapam appears much older than the idol.
These 5 temples are all accessed from Upper Ahobilam, and other than Jwala Narasimha, the others are all either easily accessible, or only have moderate walking involved. The rest of the 4 shrines can be accessed from Lower Ahobilam.
The Yogananda Narasimha temple is about 2 Km from Lower Ahobilam, and is located just off the road. This where the Lord appeared in front of Prahalada, calm and peaceful, seated in Yogic posture.
Along the same road, on the way back to Lower Ahobilam, is the Chatravata or Kshatravata Narasimha Temple. The Lord appeared here under a vata vruksha, or banyan tree, to bless devotees. It is believed that the Lord enjoyed the music of two gandharvas here, which is why he is shown smiling, unlike most idols of Narasimha.
The two final temples involve a bumpy ride into the forests around Ahobilam. Regular vehicles cannot access these roads, and hence to go to these temples, one has to hire Jeeps. Jeeps are available outside the AP Tourism Haritha hotel in Lower Ahobilam. Depending on the day and time of your visit, you can either hire a specific number of seats, or you will have to hire the entire jeep for your journey. Saturday and Sunday mornings are good times to do this journey. Lots of jeeps are available, and it is more efficient and cost-effective to combine with other pilgrims making the same trip. We went early on a Saturday, and chose to hire an entire jeep for this journey. The cost was around Rs.2500.
The first temple inside the forest is the Pavana Narasimha temple. This temple is located on the banks of the Pavana river, about 20 Km inside the forest. This is where the Lord appeared in front of Bharadvaja Rishi to cleanse him of his sins. It is a much simpler shrine than the others, but extremely peaceful, and isolated.
Other than the temple, the drive to this temple is superb, if you love nature and solitude. A not-to-miss experience. The drive to and from this temple itself takes about 2 hours.
The final temple in this circuit is the Bhargava Narasimha temple. This temple is located on the banks of the Pennar river, at the site where the sage Bhargava performed penance and the Lord appeared before him. It is located deep within the forest, about 5 Km from Lower Ahobilam, and there is steep set of steps to climb.
This temple is in another part of the forest, and the same jeep takes you there, though it takes another hour to and from this temple. Just visiting these two temples easily takes around 4 hours or so, though it’s a very enjoyable experience.
That completes the tour of the Nava Narasimha temples in Ahobilam, but there is one more temple to visit in Ahobilam. The Prahalada Varadar temple is located in Lower Ahobilam, and is the biggest temple here. However, that temple requires a post of its own, so look out for that one.
Meanwhile, to wrap up this post, here is a map of the nine temples, along with a few other related sites, which is from the Prahalada Varadar temple.
From what I could see, from the remnants of ancient temples scattered at every site we visited, all these temples have been known, and have been active, at least since the Vijayanagara period, if not earlier. However, like most sacred sites, they seem to have fallen into disrepair, and were forgotten for a while. From what we heard from the priests, these temples were once again identified and renovated sometime in the late 1990s and early 2000s, by the then Jeer (head) of the Ahobila Mutt, which has its headquarters in Lower Ahobilam. The Jeer not only began restoring these temples, but also set up a system of pujas at these temples. His system ensures that all the priests in the mutt take turns serving each temple, so that none are permanently inconvenienced by the difficulties of reaching some of these temples.
Further, the popularity of these nine temples has greatly increased because of their association with the nine planets or the navagrahas.
My first visit to Ahobilam was in 2005, and tours to these temples were just commencing then. There was a single board directing pilgrims to these temples, but no guides existed then, at least as openly and obviously as they do today. Also, at that time, we were told that it would take us 2 to 3 days to visit all the 9 temples, since we could only do around 3 temples a day.
Now, these 9 temples are the main attraction at Ahobilam, and hordes of pilgrims visit all of them. The minute we alight at the parking lot at Upper Ahobilam, we begin to be hounded by guides to take us around. How much we pay them depends on our capacity for haggling. At the AP Tourism Haritha Hotel also, we were asked at the reception if we wanted a guide. Also, it is now possible to visit all the 9 temples in a day if one is agile and used to trekking.
A few points to note if you are visiting Ahobilam with the intention of visiting the Nava Narasimha temples.
The main temple is at Upper Ahobilam. The Prahalada Varadar temple at Lower Ahobilam is a gorgeous temple and an important one, but it is not part of the Nava Narasimhar, and it is not the main temple.
If you are planning to visit Jwala Narasimhar, start early in the morning, before the heat begins getting to you.
The main temple at Upper Ahobilam opens at 7 AM. It is closed between 1 and 2 PM. This temple is open till 7 PM in the evening.
All the other 8 shrines are open from 9 AM to 4:30 PM.
Keep these timings in mind while planning a visit.
I would suggest visiting the main temple first, reaching by 7 am. Then do the trek to Jwala Narasimha which is the toughest. Plan on reaching by 9 AM when the temple opens. Then, on the way back, visit both Malola Narasimha and Varaha Narasimha.
On the way back to Lower Ahobilam, visit Karanja Narasimha.
Once you reach Lower Ahobilam, take a Jeep outside the AP Tourism Haritha Hotel, and visit Pavana Narasimha and Bhargava Narasimha. This trip will take at least 4 hours, so plan accordingly.
If you still have time, visit the Yogananda Narasimha and Chatravata Narasimha temples, which can be driven to.
By the time you return, I assure you, you will want to rest, which is why it is a good idea to make at least one night halt at Ahobilam, preferably two, so that you can do all these in a relaxed manner.
The Prahalada Varadar temple is open from 6:30 AM to 1 PM and 3 to 8 PM, so you can visit this temple after you finish all the others.
Let me end this post with an invocation to Lord Narasimha – the Narasimha Gayatri, which is especially evocative, and conjures up an image of the Lord, as we see Him at Ahobilam.
ॐ वज्रनखाय विद्महे तीक्ष्णदंष्ट्राय धीमहि तन्नो नृसिंहः प्रचोदयात्॥
Om Vajranakhāya Vidmahe, Tīkṣṇa-daṁṣṭrāya Dhīmahi, Tanno Nṛsiṁhaḥ Pracodayāt
"Om, let us meditate on the Lord who possesses nails as strong as thunderbolts and sharp teeth. May that fierce Lion-God (Narasimha) illuminate our intellect and protect us."
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