Yoga Narasimhar Temple, Sholingar

Going out with childhood friends for a day trip is exciting and a temple trip after months and perhaps years of planning fructified recently and the destination was the Yoga Narasimha temple, a 108 Divya Desam at Sholingar, a few hours drive from Chennai.

The three of us decided to start early and grab breakfast on the way. A little tip — it’s best to eat before turning onto Sholingar Road. Once you leave the National Highway, good restaurants become few and far between.

Sholingar has twin hills, Periya Malai (Big hill) and Chinna Malai (Small Hill). The Periya Malai houses Yoga Narasimhar with his consort Thaayar Amirthavalli. There are 1305 steps to reach the top of Periya Malai, but the 3 of us weren’t sure taking on the challenge, so we opted for the rope car up to the hill. The rope car station was inaugurated by Tamilnadu CM Shri Stalin at the cost of 8.34 crores in 2023. The facility is pretty good with rest rooms, waiting hall and organized ticket counters. I believe lots of donors pitched in for the amenities.

As our car rolled up to the rope car station, the driver stopped to buy the entry ticket. Out of nowhere, six women vendors swooped in like a well-coordinated squad, each armed with Archana plates stacked with coconuts, tulsi garlands, lotus flowers, and bananas. The air was instantly filled with a lively, overlapping chorus of sales pitches. The three of us sat frozen for a second — and before we knew it, coconuts were in one hand, flowers in the other, and someone was tucking bananas onto our laps. We had no idea who had agreed to what, but the vendors certainly did — and they made sure we paid for it!

Arms full of flowers and offerings, we got out of the car and headed towards the building, first stopping at the designated spot to deposit our footwear. Two transgenders trailed us closely — right from the footwear counter to the ticket desk — refusing to be shaken off. We tried to ignore them, hoping they’d give up, but their persistence only grew, and their tone began to turn a little aggressive. It was one of those moments when you’re torn between awkward politeness and making a quick escape.

There was not much crowd at the ticket counter. It was Rs 100 per person, to and fro. I believe the counters open at 8 am and are open till 5 pm. A security personnel demanded that we throw away the plastic bags which held all the garlands and coconuts into a nearby bin. This was news to us. We had no clue that plastic bags were not allowed up hill. No sign outside as well. Thankfully one of us had a cloth bag and so we stuffed a few items in that, and the rest we carried in our hands.

Boarding and alighting from the rope car was well-organized. Helpful attendants directed the crowd into neat groups of three or four, making sure the flow was quick and fuss-free. It was a scenic sight going uphill and in a few minutes, we had reached the top of the 750 feet Periya Malai. We took a short walk towards the temple. As we were chatting with each other about how wonderful it was that finally we were on the long-planned temple trip, Usha shrieked! Out of nowhere, a big monkey lunged towards her, sending her into panic mode. She flung the cotton bag — the one stuffed with all the offerings we’d bought for the deity — as far as she could. In seconds, a whole troop of monkeys swooped in, tearing into the bag like it was a festival feast. Mallika’s bag met the same fate, snatched away in a flash. I was clutching only a tulsi garland, but when a particularly fierce-looking monkey fixed its gaze on me, I didn’t wait for negotiations — I tossed it away too. And just like that, the three of us entered into the temple complex… empty-handed!

There wasn’t much of a crowd, so we made it to the Thaayar sannidhi first. Thankfully, I still had one lone lotus tucked safely in my bag — a survivor from the monkey attack! After all the offerings we had bought earlier, this single lotus was all I could present. We consoled ourselves with a smile, deciding that perhaps the rest had already found their way to Anjaneya… through the monkeys.

We then proceeded to the Yoga Narasimhar sannidhi . The steps leading to the deity were covered with brass sheets, giving the feeling of walking on acupressure tiles. We didn’t mind the gentle pressure on our feet, though — our eyes were too busy drinking in the divine sight of Yoga Narasimhar, seated with four hands: the shanku (conch) and chakram (discus) in two, and the other two resting in a serene yogic posture. At His feet were the utsavars of Adiseshan, Lord Krishna, and Garudan. We wouldn’t have realized if not for the priest mentioning them while performing the deepa aradhanai.

While alighting the steps we saw stone carvings of the 7 rishis sporting very distinct Naamams, (the saptharishis) who did penance here in this mountain. Sthala puranam says that Lord Narasimha appeared before them for 24 minutes (Gatigai) and blessed them. It is also said that sage Vishwamitra, Prahlad as well as Lord Brahma performed penance here and were blessed with Yoganarasimhar giving darshan for 24 minutes. That is why this place got its name Gatikachalam.

How Sholingar got its name?

A Chola king built a Shiva temple here, giving the place its original name — Cholalingapuram. Over time, it evolved into Cholasingapuram, with Singa referring to Lord Narasimha. This later became Sholingapuram, and eventually, the present-day name Sholingar. The temple bears inscriptions from the reign of Chola King Kulothunga III, as well as from subsequent rulers, including the Vijayanagar dynasty. The ancient name for this place is Ghatigai or Gatikachalam.

This temple is one of the 74 centres which Saint Ramanuja started to spread Visishtadvaitham.  Vishishtadvaitam is a Hindu philosophy that teaches the soul and universe are distinct yet inseparably connected to God, like parts of His body. Saint Ramanuja through his devoted disciple, Doddacharya was instrumental in spreading the teachings of Vishishtadvaita and in overseeing the upkeep of Sholingar’s temples, including the renowned Yoga Narasimha Swamy Temple. Thirukkadigai is celebrated in the Naalayira Divya Prabhandam, the 7th–9th century Vaishnava canon, through the hymns of Peyalvar and Thirumangai Alvar. The temple follows the Tenkalai tradition of worship, rooted in the Vaikasana Agamic practices. Its priests, believed to be descendants of Doddacharya, continue to uphold these hereditary rituals to this day.

On the full moon day in the tamil month of Karthigai Lord Yoganarasimhar is said to open his eyes and give darshan to the devotees. The rest of the 11 months he is said to be in a yogic state. People perform a giri valam (circumambulation of the hill) on that day.

After clicking pictures of the beautiful view as well as the gopuram we proceeded to the rope car station to go downhill.

A short distance away is the second hill which is called Chinna Malai which houses Yoga Anjaneya. We procured sticks for each of us to ward off the pesky monkeys and started climbing the steps. Usha and I sang the Hanuman Chalisa while climbing but became out of breath soon and we had to focus on warding off the monkeys which were found in our path. The climb is only 350 feet and there is a little shop midway selling butter milk, biscuits and juice for weary travellers.  But we quickly went past that shop as the monkeys were having a field day at that spot. Reaching the top took about 20 minutes, we took several stops in between to click pictures as well as to admire the view and also catch our breath.

We realized that restoration work was going on in the temple and we were asked to wait. Once we were called inside, we had darshan of the Utsavar (the processional deity) of Lord Anjaneya and Lord Rama with Sita and Lakshmana. We were unable to have  a darshan of the Moolavar but had read that Yoga Anjaneyar is depicted with chaturbhujam (four hands) — holding a conch and discus in the upper pair, and a japa malai (rosary) and japa shankaram (prayer bell) in the lower two.

A picturesque pond was set up (a recent addition) and we asked a young lady to click our pictures. She asked us whether we were sisters. We replied that we were schoolmates and have known each other from Kindergarten and we 3 will be turning 60 soon. She quipped, “Were you planning this trip from school days?”

On the way down from Chinna Malai, don’t miss the most delicious and refreshing masala buttermilk sold by a local lady — it’s the perfect reward after the climb.

At the foot of the hills lies another gem: the shrine that is also part of the Thirukadigai Divyadesam. Be sure to offer your prayers to Bakthavatsala Perumal at the “Town Temple” before you leave.

While coming back Usha was narrating how Lord Narasimhar should be worshipped every evening during Pradosha Kaalam. She also chanted the Ugram Narasimha Mantra….

“Ugram Veeram Maha Vishnum Jvalantam Sarvato Mukham, Nrisimham Bhishanam Bhadram Mrityur Mrityum Namamyaham.”

This mantra translates to: “I bow to the fierce and heroic Lord Narasimha, who is like Vishnu, blazing, with faces on all sides, terrifying, auspicious, and the death of death.”

She was remarking that people think that Lord Narasimha form is fearful and angry but it’s not so. She was telling with quiet conviction, “Pray To Lord Narasimha and get the blessings of the revered saint Ramanuja”

 

Location: Sholingur is located approximately 106 kilometres from Chennai. The most common route by road is via NH48, and the journey takes around 2.5 hours by car, depending on traffic.