The Supreme Praise: Lord Shiva's Mantra Raja Mritha Stotram of Narasimha at Ahobilam
Ahobilam, nestled in the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, is one of the most sacred Vaishnava shrines in all of Bharata. It is here, according to Vaishnava Agama and Pancharatra traditions, that Lord Narasimha — the fierce half-lion, half-human avatar of Lord Vishnu — slew the demon Hiranyakashipu and rescued His devotee Prahlada. This very soil is considered charged with divine energy, and the nine forms of Narasimha present at Ahobilam are collectively worshipped as Nava Narasimha.
It is at this supremely hallowed ground that an
extraordinary event unfolded during the Krita Yuga, the first and most
spiritually luminous of the four great ages of time.
Lord Shiva as the Devoted Worshipper
In the Krita Yuga, an age when dharma stood on all four
pillars and divine beings walked more openly among creation, Lord Shiva himself
descended to Ahobilam to perform an elaborate pooja in honor of Lord
Narasimha. This is deeply significant. Shiva, revered by hundreds of millions
as Mahadeva — the greatest of gods — chose to assume the posture of a devoted
worshipper before Narasimha, thereby conveying an eternal teaching: that the
Supreme Brahman in the form of Narasimha transcends all sectarian divisions and
stands as the Paramatma, the Universal Soul.
This act of Shiva reinforces the Advaitic and Vaishnava
understanding that Hari and Hara, though appearing as distinct deities, are
ultimately expressions of one supreme reality. The Skanda Purana and several
Shaiva-Vaishnava reconciliatory texts record instances where Shiva openly
acknowledges Vishnu or His avatars as the highest truth.
The Mantra Raja Mritha Stotram: Its Nature and Significance
The Mantra Raja Mritha Stotram — also rendered as Mantra
Raja Mruta Stotram — is the sacred hymn of praise that Lord Shiva composed and
chanted at Ahobilam in adoration of Narasimha. The name itself is richly
layered in meaning. Mantra Raja means the King of Mantras, pointing to the
supreme position this hymn holds among all sacred formulas addressed to
Narasimha. Mritha or Mruta means nectar or the ambrosia of immortality,
signifying that the recitation of this stotram is itself like drinking divine nectar
that liberates the devotee from fear, disease, sin and the cycle of birth and
death.
The stotram is therefore not merely a devotional poem but is
classified in the tradition as a Raksha Stotram — a hymn of divine protection.
It invokes Narasimha in His most ferocious and protective aspect, calling upon
Him to destroy all forms of evil, illness, black magic, enemy afflictions and
existential fear.
Mantra Raja Mritha Stotram Text and Transliteration
The Mantra Raja Mritha Stotram, as preserved in Vaishnava Agamic literature and Ahobila Mutt traditions, is chanted as follows:
Prathamah
jvalantam sarvato mukham
Nrisimham bhishanam bhadram
mrityur mrityum namamy aham
I bow to Narasimha, the fierce and the heroic, the all-pervading Mahavishnu, blazing and facing all directions, terrifying yet auspicious — He who is the death of death itself.
Dvitiyah
sarva-shatru-vinashanam
Raksha mam sarva-papebhyo
namaste deva-pujita
O Narasimha of great splendor, destroyer of all enemies — protect me from all sins. I salute You, O Lord, worshipped even by the gods.
Tritiyah
Hiranya-kasha-pu-vaksho
Vidara-nakha-chamkura
Ito narasimha para to narasimha
Yato yato yami tato narasimhah
With blazing claws and terrifying fangs, having torn open the chest of Hiranyakashipu — Narasimha is here, Narasimha is there, wherever I go, Narasimha is present.
These verses are traditionally chanted in the morning after
Mangalacharanam prayers, and the full stotram as recited by priests at
Ahobhilam contains further verses in which Shiva directly addresses Narasimha
as Sarva-Vyapi (the All-Pervading), Para-Brahma (the Supreme Absolute) and
Prahlada-Varada (He who blessed Prahlada).
The Theology of the Supreme Being
That Shiva himself composed and chanted this hymn carries
profound theological significance. The Bhagavata Purana repeatedly affirms that
the greatest of devotees are those who see no difference between Hari and Hara
and yet recognize Narayana as the Paramatma. In the seventh canto, which
narrates the story of Prahlada and Narasimha in great detail, the universal
nature of Narasimha's grace is celebrated:
"He who is the protector of all beings, in whom all the
worlds rest, whose form is that of all existence — to that Narasimha I
bow." — Bhagavata Purana, Seventh Canto
Shiva's act of worship affirms this vision. Far from
rivalry, the relationship between Shiva and Vishnu as expressed in this sacred
event is one of deep spiritual harmony, each form being a window into the same
infinite light.
The Symbolism of Narasimha
Narasimha — the man-lion — is one of the most symbolically
potent of all Vishnu's avatars. The lion half represents divine power,
sovereignty and the destruction of adharma, while the human half represents
consciousness, compassion and cosmic intelligence. Together they signify that
the Supreme cannot be bound by any category — not fully human, not fully
animal, appearing at twilight in a doorway, on a lap rather than ground or sky
— defying every loophole that the demon Hiranyakashipu had built around himself.
This form teaches that divine grace operates beyond all
human logic and that Bhakti, pure devotion as embodied by Prahlada, is the one
force that draws the Supreme into manifest action.
Modern Day Relevance
In the contemporary age of Kali Yuga, when fear, anxiety,
adharma and spiritual confusion are widespread, the Mantra Raja Mritha Stotram
holds immense relevance. Devotees across South India, particularly in Andhra
Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, chant this stotram for protection against
harm, to overcome illness, to dispel negative energies and to invoke
fearlessness.
The Ahobhila Mutt, one of the oldest and most revered
Vaishnava institutions, preserves and propagates this tradition actively. The
stotram is also used in Narasimha Homams as a key invocatory text.
At its deepest level, the Mantra Raja Mritha Stotram teaches
the modern devotee that surrender to the Supreme — just as Shiva surrendered in
worship at Ahobhilam — is the highest spiritual act, dissolving the ego and
opening the heart to divine protection and liberation.
Om Namo Narasimhaya — Salutations to Lord Narasimha, the
fearless protector of all devotees.