arasinha, a man lion incarnation of lord Vishnu, was manifested in the sateye yuga on the fourteenth of the light half (shukl Paksh) of the month of Vaisakha (April-May) in the city of Hiranyapura (now Hindaun) near Agra. Hiranyakasipu of the daitya race spent many long years on a life of austerity until the Deity appeared to him and asked him to ask for a boon. His first prayer was that his death might not take place by night nor by day, the next, he begged protection against all noxious animals, which he severally named, above and below. His request was granted. The deities yielded submission to him and the world was filled with terror and cruelty, as narrated in Visnu Purana (chapters 17-21) and Bhagvata Puranja. The chief spirits implored aid of Visnu and B’rhma and their prayer was heard. Hiranyakasipu’s son Prahalada worshipped supreme God. One day where the supreme being dwelt. He replied that he was omnipresent, even in that pillar. The daitya, is folly smote that pillar with his sword, and by a miracle from heaven, narasinha, as Visnu’s incarnation came forth and tor him to pieces at the interval of time between day and night and his deathwas caused by a specially created man-animal. In Andhra Pradesh, in simhachalam, called Narasinha temple, this incarnation is worshipped in Akshey Tritya in Baisakh (april-may). The sandalwood paste smeared deity’s actual form in visible only during the Chandan Yatra. People believe that childless women will be blessed with children if they offer puja before the kappam pillar of the main temple. In puri (Orissa), it is a festival to mark the Hindu New Year. Images of Lord Jagannath and other deities are taken in a procession on boats, which are profusely decorated.
