Avatar of the Supreme God Vishnu
Located on the riverbed of Alakananda river, the Narasimha Shila is one of the five Shilas gracing the holy land of Badrinath. Visible only when the water of the river recedes, the Shila is connected to Narasimha Dev who is a fierce incarnation of the Supreme God Vishnu. Being half-lion and half-man, his tales about wiping out the evil are powerful enough to send chills down your spine. Endowed with special powers, he is capable of fighting negative spirits, punishing the wicked and protecting the benevolent.
This mighty avatar of neither being a man nor an animal was adopted by Lord Vishnu when the need came to kill the demon Hiranyakashyap, who was mercilessly prosecuting Lord Vishnu’s devotees, especially Prahlada, the son of Hiranyakashyap. The demon had been granted a boon by Brahma that he could not be killed by man, animal, deva or asura. He could not be killed during day or night, inside the house or outside, neither in the sky nor earth nor in water. After getting these boons, Hiranyakashyap became all powerful, conquered the three worlds and started torturing people making them offer prayers only to him. His ultimate goal was to defeat the Supreme Lord Vishnu who had slayed his elder brother Hiranyaksha in an earlier avatar as Varaha. However, his son Prahlada was a staunch Vishnu devotee, and come what may, refused to worship his father instead of Vishnu. Hiranyakashyap angered by his son’s defiance tortured and punished him. Watching the suffering of His devotee, Lord Vishnu reincarnated as Narsimha and killed Hiranyakashyap on his lap, at twilight, at the porch that was neither inside nor outside fulfilling Brahma’s boons as well as saving the earth and His devotees from the atrocities of the demon King. Thereafter, fulfilling the very purpose of His birth, Lord Narsimha declared to settle at Badarikashram as Narsimha shila to extend his blessings to all the Bhakts.
Known as the Great protector, Narasimha shila is a huge stone that looks like a Lion. The Lord who resides at the rock formation with jaws open and sharp claws protects and safeguards His devotees against evil spirits. He blesses his devotees to become abundant in terms of health and wealth while his enemies are crushed and demolished. Endless adoration for Narasimha Deva makes the Shila an embodiment of the highest form of sanctity.