Kattavakkam, a village near Walajabad, has a temple, constructed approximately 10 years back, for a rare deity worshipped as Vishvaroopa Lakshmi Narasimha Swami (Vishnu). This majestic image is in a seated posture with the seven hoods of Adisesha outspread above the head. He holds the discus (chakra) in the right upper hand and the bow and arrow together in the left upper hand.
The lower right hand is in the pose of offering protection (abhaya hasta) and the lower left hand is in the boon-giving pose (varada hasta). Mahalakshmi, holding a lotus in the left hand, with the right hand in abhaya hasta, is seated on Narasimha’s left lap.
The UNESCO World Heritage site, Hampi, the capital of the Vijayanagar dynasty from 1336 AD to 1565 AD, near the Tungabhadra River in Karnataka, has a huge monolithic Narasimha image, 6.7 metres high, in a damaged condition.
This deity was consecrated in the reign of Krishnadeva Raya in 1528 AD, as mentioned in an inscription.
In Hampi, the mutilated image of Narasimha is seen seated on the coils of Adisesha whose seven hoods are outspread above and with the yoga-patta (band) around the knees.
Narasimha’s four arms which once held various weapons and the image of goddess Lakshmi, once seated on the left leg, have been broken.
Although the weapons held in Narasimha’s hands and the Lakshmi image are not seen today, the pieces once found in the debris near this temple reveal that this deity once held a chakra in the upper right hand, a bow and arrow in the upper left hand, while the lower hands were in the abhaya and varada mudras.
The deity in Kattavakkam is similar to the one in Hampi of the Vijayanagara times.
Chithra Madhavan
cityexpresschn@gmail.com
The writer is a historian who focuses on temple architecture