Lord Nrsimhadev's Appearance at ISKCON Mayapur

Based on a talk with H.G. Atmatattva das
On the 24th of March, 1984, at 12:20 am, thirty five dacoits (thieves) armed with weapons and bombs attacked Sri Mayapur Chandrodaya Temple. They harassed the devotees and treated them with derision. But the greatest shock came when the dacoits decided to steal the Deities of Srila Prabhupada and Srimati Radharani. Fearlessly the devotees challenged the attackers. How could they see Srila Prabhupada and Srimati Radharani carried away? Shots were fired, a few dacoits fell, and their plans were foiled. Srila Prabhupada was rescued, but that beautiful form of Srimati Radharani would no longer grace the main altar.
This incident really disturbed the minds of the devotees. Those involved in management were especially concerned to make some permanent solution. This was not the first time the devotees had faced violence and harassment in Mayapur. Bhavananda das, who was the co-director of ISKCON Mayapur, suggested that Lord Nrsimhadev be installed. When the dacoits had threatened devotees at the Yoga Pitha, Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur and his son Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, had promptly installed Sri Sri Laksmi Nrsimhadev. There had been no further disturbances. Other devotees in Mayapur were not so keen to follow so closely in these footsteps. The pujari must be a naisthika brahmacari (celibate from birth), and the worship of Lord Nrsimhadev must be must be very strict and regulated. Who would be prepared to worship Him?
Despite such hesitancy, Bhavananda das was enthusiastic to bring Lord Nrsimhadev to Mayapur. He asked Bhaktisiddhanta das and myself to draw some sketches. One day quite spontaneously he said that the Deity's legs should be bent, ready to jump, He should be looking around ferociously, His fingers should be curled, and flames should be coming from His head. I sketched a Deity in this mood.
The devotees liked in and Pankajanghri das agreed to worship Him. Radhpada Das, a wealthy devotee from Kolkata, offered to sponsor the sculpting and installing of the Deity. It seemed Lord Nrsimhadev's appearance in ISKCON Mayapur would be a simple, straight forward affair. Radhapada Das promptly gave Rs. 130,000, and it was accepted that the Deity would be ready for installation in three months.
I left for South India to get things organized. By Krishna's grace I soon found a very famous sthapati. A sthapati not only sculpts Deities; he also expert in temple architecture and engineering. The man was very obliging until I mentioned that the Deity we wanted carved was Ugra Nrsimhadev. He emphatically refused to make such a Deity. I approached man Deity sculptors, but the answer was always the same: No. I had made a number of trips between Mayapur and South India. Six months had passed, but Lord Nrsimhadev had not yet manifested in His Deity form.
Radhapad Das was very anxious to see Lord Nrsimhadev installed in Mayapur. He asked me to visit the original sthapati I had seen and once again plead our case. This time the sculptor was a little more congenial and offered to read me a chapter from the Silpa Sastra (A Vedic scripture on sculpture and temple architecture.) that deals with different forms of Deities. He read aloud some verses describing Lord Nrsimhadev. A series of verses described His flamelike mane, His searching glance, and His knees bent with one foot forward ready to jump from the pillar. When he read this I was amazed. This was exactly what we wanted. I showed him the sketch I had done.He was impressed and offered to draw an outline based on the scriptural description, which we could use as a guide for sculpting the Deity. He reminded me, though, that he would not carve the form himself. It took him a week to complete the sketch. It was very impressive. I returned to Mayapur and showed the sketch to the temple authorities. Everyone wanted the same sthapati to carve the Deity. Once again I was sent back to South India to try to convince him.
I went straight to the house of the sthapati. I was feeling very anxious. What could I do but pray to Lord Nrsimhadev to be merciful and agree to manifest Himself in our temple in Sri Mayapur Dham? I had hardly said two sentences when the man matter-of-factly said he would carve the Deity. The story of how he came to this decision is interesting.
The sthapati had approached his guru, the Sankaracharya of Kanchi Puram, about our request. His guru's immediate reply was "Don't do it." When he heard that it was Hare Krsihna people from Navadvip, he became very concerned. "They want Ugra Nrsimha? Are they aware of the implicatins of sculpting and installing Ugra Nrsimha? Such Deities were carved over three thousand years ago by very elevated sthapatis. There is a place on the way to Mysore there is a place where a very ferocious Ugra Nrsimha. The demon Hiranyakasipu is torn open on His lap and his intestines are spilling out all over the altar. Once the standard of worship there was very high. There was an elephant procession and a festival every day, but gradually the worship declined. Today that place is like a ghost town. The whole village is deserted. No one can live there peacefully. Is that what they want for their project?"
The sthapati replied, "They are very insistent. They are constantly coming to talk to me about the Deity. Apparently they have some problem with dacoits." Handing his guru a sketch of the Deity, he said "This is the Deity they want." His guru took the sketch and looked at it knowlingly.
"Ah,this is Ugra category," he said, "but a Deity in this particular mood is called Sthanu Nrsimha. He doesn't exist on this planet. Even the demigods in the heavenly planets don't worship a form like this. Yes, this Deity belongs to the Ugra category. Ugra means ferocious, very angry. There are nine forms within this category. They are all very fierce. The one they want is Stanu Nrsimha: stepping out of the pillar. No. Don't carve this Deity. It will not be auspicious for you. I will talk with you about this later."
A few nights later the sthapati had a dream. In the dream his guru came to him and said, "For them you can carve Sthanu Nrsimha." The next morning he received a hand-delivered letter from Kanchipuram. The letter was from the Sankaracharya and gave some instructions regarding temple rennovations. There was a footnote at the bottom. It read, "For ISKCON you can carve Sthanu Nrsimha."
The sthapati showed me the letter and said, "I have my guru's blessings. I will carve your Deity." I was overwhelmed with joy. I gave him an advance payment and asked him how much time it would take to carve the Deity. He said the Deity would be ready for installation within six months. I returned to Mayapur.
After four peaceful months in the Holy Dham, I decided to go to South India and purchase the heavy brass paraphernelia required for Nrsimha worship and then collect the Deity. The trip was well-organized and trouble-free until I visited the sthapati. I explained to him that all the paraphernelia required for the worship had been purchased and that I had come to collect the Deity. He looked at me as though I had lost me senses and exclaimed, "What Deity? I haven't even found a suitable stone!" I couldn't believe my ears.
"But you told me He would be ready in six months," I exclaimed.
"I will keep my promise." he said. "Six months after I have found the stone the Deity will be ready for installation." His reply was emphatic, but I just couldn't understand or accept the delay. In frustration I challenged him, "There's big slabs of stone all over South India. What's the problem.?" He looked at me the way a teacher would view a slow student and said very deliberately, "I am not making a grinding mortar. I am making a Deity. The scriptures tell us that only a stone that has life can be used to make a Vishnu Deity. When you hit seven points of the stone slab, and each makes the sound mentioned in the scriptures, then that stone may be suitable. But there is a second test to indicate whether the stone is living stone. There is a bug that eats granite. If it eats from one side of the stone to the other, and leaves a complete trail behind it, then the second test of living stone has been passed. That stone is living stone, and expression can manifest from it. Only from such a stone can I carve your Nrsimhadev. Such stone speaks poetry. All features a Deity sculpted from such a stone will be fully expressive and beautifu. Please be patient. I've been searching sincerely for your six-foot slab."
I was amazed and a little anxious. The devotees in Mayapur were expecting the arrival of the Deity soon. How was I going to explain the "living stone" search to them? Maybe they would decide to make Nrsimhadev from marble I decided to try to lighten the subject by discussing the Prahlad Maharaj murti with the sthapati. "Please forgive me but I forgot to tell you last time I came that we also want a Prahlada Murti. We want to worship Prahlada Nrsimhadev. What do you think?
"I don't think that will be possible," the sthapati replied matter-of-factly. I looked at him incredulously, not sure what to say. He smiled and continued. "You want everything done exactly according to the scriptures. Your Nrsimhadev will be four feet high. Comparatively speaking, that will make Prahlada Maharaja the size of an amoeba."
"But we want Prahlada Maharaja one foot high," I interrupted.
"Fine," the sthapati replied, "but that means your Nrsimhadev will have to be about 120 feet high." We began to argu back and forth about Prahlada Maharaja's form. Finally the sthapati sighed in resignation and agreed to make Prahlada Maharaja one foot tall. At least now I had something positive to report when I returned to Mayapur.
After two months I returned to South India. There had been no developments. I shuttled back and forth from Mayapur to South India every thirty or forty days. Finally our stone was found, and the sthapati became a transformed man. For over a week he hardly spent any time at home. Hour after hour, day after day, he just sat staring at the slab. He had chalk in hand but didn't draw anything. He refused to allow his laborers to do anything besides remove the excess stone to make the slab rectangular. The next time I visited him, he had made a sketch on the stone. Thatwas all. I was worried. The Mayapur managers were becoming impatient.
"Are you sure the Deity will be finished in six months?" I asked in desperation.
"Don't worry. The work will be done," he replied.
I returned to Mayapur, only to be sent back to South India to check on some details of the Deity. I found the sthapati carving the form himself with intense care and dedication. At that stage the stone had gone and the shape had come. The sthapati had just started on the armlets. He took two weeks to carve them. All the features were so refined an delicate. I was impesssed and very happy.
It took the sthapati a little ove twelve months to finish the Deity. When he complete the work he didn't immediately inform me but decided to visit some friends for a few days. It was the monsoon season. There were few visitors, and he felt it safe to lock up Lord Nrsimhadev securely in his thatched shed. Two days later his neighbours ran to inform him that the thatched shed was on fire . There was ha\eavy rain and everything was wet, but the coconut tree roof had caught fire. He ran to the scene to find Nrsimhadev untouched but the shed burned to ashes. Immediately he phoned me, "Please come and take your Deity, He's burning everything. He's made it clear He wants to go NOW!"
Enthusiastically I traveled to South India, hired a truck, and half-filled it with sand. I arrived at the sthapati's studio thinking this final stage would be relatively simple. I had foolishly forgotten that Lord Nrsimhadev is a very heavy personality. He weighed one ton! Aftern two or three hours we managed to lift the Deity safely from the shed onto the truck. To ravel across the border safely, we also needed police permission, along with signed papers from the Central Sales Tax Department, the Archeological Director, and the Art Emporium Directorate in Tamil Nadu.
All the officers demanded to see the Deity before signing the necessary papers. Once they took darshan of Lord Nrsimhadev, they all became very obliging and efficient. We had all the necessary papers in hand within twenty-four hours--a miracle given the usual quagmire of bureaucracy found in government offices in India. The trip back to Mayapur was also amazingly troulbe-free and peaceful. Our protector was certainly present with us.
Usually the sthapati comes on the day fo the installation ceremony, goes into the Deity room, and carves the eyes of the Deity This is called netra-nimilanam (opening the eyes). It was an exceptional case that our Nrsimhadev's sthapati had already carved the eyes. He had not only carved the eyes; he had also done the prana-pratistha (installing the life force), a little puja and an arati. I am sure that is why all the papers were prepared so obligingly, and transporting the Supreme Lord was so easy. He was already present. And who would dare to say no to Lord Nrsimhadev?"
The installation of Lord Nrsimhadev was very simple and lasted three days: from the 28th to the 30th of July, 1986. I remember feeling apprehensive that perhaps the installation was so simple. The grave warnings of the Sankaracarya of Kanchipuram had deeply impressed me. But my mind was soon appeased by an awareness of loud, dynamic kirtana. Sankirtana-yajna, the only true opulence of Kali Yuga, was dominating the scene. I felt enlivened and satisfied. Lord Nrsimhadev, the protector of the sankirtana mission, had finally decided to manifest at Sri Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir.