August 2015 : After walking through the cities of Nellore, Buchi Reddy Palem, Siddhipuram, Sangam, Atmakur and Badvel in the Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh, the Padayatra India devotees reached Ahobilam on July 14th. They stayed there for two days under the shelter of Lord Nrsimhadeva, whose main temple is located on top of a hill.
Ahobilam is also known as Ahobalam. It is located in the Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh, at a distance of 70 km from Nandyal and about 150 km from Kurnool, the district headquarters. There are two sections, lower Ahobilam and upper Ahobilam, with a total of nine (Nava) Nrsimhadev deities. The name of each one is related to a specific pastime of that deity.
Upper Ahobilam includes the following temples:
1. Ahobilam Ugra Narasimha : the main temple
2. Varaha Nrsimha (also known as Kroda Nrisimha)
3. Jwala Narasimha
4. Malola Narasimha
5. Karanja Nrsimha
Lower Ahobilam includes temples of these deities:
1. Yogananda Narasimha
2. Chatravata Narasimha
3. Pavana Narasimha.
4. Bhargava Narasimha
Lord Nrsimhadev is Bhakta vatsala, the protector of His devotees. The padayatris were very happy to have his darsana while remembering how He protected Pralhad Maharaja from his tyrannical father. They prayed to Him for the protection of all the devotees in ISKCON so that they can fearlessly preach all over the world. We did sankirtana in the main temple for the pleasure of Lord and recited prayers glorifying Him. We also heard katha of Lord Nrsimhadev and discussed His pastimes. We all enjoyed the transcendental blissful atmosphere of the dhama, and desired to come again one day.
