Sri Nrusinghanath also known as Marjara Kesari Narasimha Temple is a great and ancient temple located at the foot of Gandhamardhan hill, near Paikmal, Bargarh, Odisha. The King of Patnagarh, Baijal Singh Dev, laid the foundations for this historic temple in 1313 AD. It is only 45 feet high, divided into two parts: the first is the seat of Lord Nrusinghnath, the second is attributed to Jagamohan (the anteroom has 3 doors and each supported by 4 pillars.
Lord Nrusinghnath temple is also known as Bidala Nrusingha, Marjara Kesari and Marjara Nrusingha. (In the Oriya language, bidala and marjara mean “cat”, and Kesari means “lion”. In addition, Oriyans pronounce “Nrsimha” with a distinctive sound of “u”, hence the different spelling) Located around 300 kilometers from the famous Lord Jagannath temple in Puri, the Nrusinghnath temple is at the top of the famous hill of Gandhamadan, where the ancient Rishis would have come to meditate. Some publications say that Gandhamadan Hill was originally in the Himalayas, but some fell there when Hanuman took him to Lanka with the herbs necessary to cure Lakshman.
Nrusinghanath Temple History:
Gandhamadan Hill is also said to be one of the places the Pandavas visited during their exile. The local tradition of this deity was compiled in the middle of the 18th century by the poet Yuga Das Kondh in his Nrsimha-charita. In Treta-yuga, it is said that there was a rishi called Uttanka who performed austerities on the bank of the Godavari River. He had a pretty young girl named Malati. One day Ravan passed by this place and saw the beauty of the young woman. Ravan raped her and threw her into the Godavari River. Godavari took pity on her and led her to the ground. When Malati regained consciousness, she started looking for her father and crying. Indura, Ganesh’s mouse carrier, heard her crying and offered to help her join her parents if she agreed to enjoy with him. From Indura, a demon named Mushika Daitya (literally, “mouse demon”) was born. The newborn was so fierce that as soon as he emerged from the womb, he immediately devoured his mother.
Then he began to perform tapas to please Lord Shiva. Shiva was pleased with him and blessed him that he would have no reason to fear anyone except Lord Nrisinghadev of Satya-yuga. Seeing his power, the devas were afraid and asked Lord Ramachandra to save the universe. As a result, Lord Ramachandra manifested Nrisinghadev’s way of catching the demon. Mushika Daitya began to fear and ran from place to place to seek refuge until she finally appealed to Gandhamadan Hill. The personified Gandhamadan gave refuge to Mushika Daitya, who then entered a crevasse on the hill. When Lord Ramachandra arrived later, Gandhamadan asked him not to enter the hill to search for the demon. Lord Ramachandra then took the form of marjara-kesari, with the head of a cat and the body of a lion, and began to protect the area next to the Sudanga or inner door of the Gandhamardan. Just as a cat sits quietly near a hole, waiting for a mouse, so too, Lord Marjara Kesari is still seated and waiting for the demon Mushika to emerge.
Marjara Kesari Narasimha Temple Address:
Nrusinghanath Temple,
At-Durgapali Po- Paikmal,
District.-Bargarh,
Orissa – 768039.
Tel: +91-06684-230514
Cell: 9437534862
Email: srisrinrusinghanathtemple@gmail.com