Kozha Sree Narasimhaswami Temple
Kozhaa Sree Narasimhaswami Temple is a Hindu shrine at Kozha, in the village of Kuravilangad, Kottayam, Kerala, in India. The temple is dedicated to Narasimha, the fourth incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu.
Location
Kozha is about north-east of Kottayam and about east of the pilgrim town of Vaikom.History
The belief is that it is the only swayambhu idol of Narasimha in Kerala. Till circa 1752 CE, Kozha, mostly uninhabited and wooded, was part of the Vadakkumkoor principality. It is believed that it was a vanavedan who happened to find the idol of Lord Narasimha in the jungles of what is now Kozha. The locals, with the blessings of the powers-that-be, consecrated the idol and over a period of time, it developed into a full-fledged shrine. Some people believe that he was not a real hunter but the Hindu god Shiva himself. The temple of Vettakkarumakan situated near the Narasimhaswami temple, lends credence to the story. The region is generally Shaivaite. Few Vishnu/Krishna temples suggest later influence of Vaishnavism.Legend of Hiranyakashipu
Puranas speak of Hiranyakashipu, an asur, who had acquired special boons from Brahma, the creator among the trinity of the Hindu pantheon. One of the boons was that he be not killed by a man, a deva ), an animal or anything animate or inanimate. Obviously deva in this context meant demigods. Another boon was that he could not be done away with - in the air or on earth or indoors or outdoors or during day or night. Insulated as he was with these boons, Hiranyakashipu conquered the whole universe and even dethroned Indra, the king of Swarga. He declared himself to be the almighty and decimated whoever choosing to accept Narayana as his lord. The word ‘Narayana’ in paeans, panegyrics and prayers was replaced by Hiranyakashipu with his own name.. The demon had tried to kill even his own son Prahlada who was a pious devotee of Vishnu; and on all such occasions, he was saved by the divine interference of the lord Vishnu, without manifesting himself on the scene. Hiranyakashipu's atrocities and misdemeanors began bothering even Brahma and upon the latter's request, Vishnu agreed to kill the demon king. Vishnu, whose opportune incarnations were always for ensuring peace and orderliness in the universe, took the form of Narasimha.The half man-half lion entity, an annihilator not envisaged in the boon, pounced on Hiranyakashipu at twilight as the demon king was furiously admonishing his son Prahlad during one of the torture sessions for his continued devotion to Vishnu. Sitting on the threshold of his palace, Narasimha then put the demon on his lap. It was disemboweled using his long sharp claw-like nails as weapon. The mighty asur thus met with his gory end, thereby attaining salvation which he was destined to as per the curse of the quartet of sages Sanaka, Sananda, Sadananda and Sanat Kumara.
Even after killing Hiranyakashipu, Narasimha could not control his extreme fury. None of the divine beings present including Vishnu's consort Lakshmi, were able to calm down him. Then, at the request of Narada, Prahlada was ushered to Narasimha and finally, he was calmed by the prayers of his devotee.