Twelve Narasimha Temples of Tamil Nadu- Part 3

One legend that I came across reading is once A group of workers was breaking down stones on a hill called Sampathgiri in Polur village in Thiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu. Workers were busy doing their job. One of the worker’s spear hit a rock, and to everyone’s shock, it started bleeding. They were frightened and left for the day. On the same night, Lord Narasimha appeared in one of the devotee’s dreams. Lord Narasimha said that he has come on his own to Sampathgiri as Shanta Murti. The next day, the devotee informed the villagers. All the villagers came to see the idol. They were all shocked to see the Lord bleed. All the villagers came together and built a  place of worship for Lord Narasimha. A temple was built atop the hill for Lord Narasimha. Later people installed Lakshmi- the consort of Lord Narasimha.

Lord Narasimha later invited two brothers namely Sage Kolasthiya and Sage Pulasthiya to this temple. These two Sages were ardent devotees of the Lord. These two sages did penance to please Lord Narasimha. Pleased by their Devotion, Lord Narasimha gave them a mango. A fight broke up between the two brothers as to who would take the mango. In the spur of the moment, Sage Pulasthiya chopped his younger brother Kolasthiya’s hands. Even after losing both hands, Sage Kolasthiya continued to worship the Lord with great devotion. He took bath at ”seyyar” for 48 days and circled the Sampathgiri. After the 48th day, Kolasthiyar’s hands reappeared magically! This not only surprised the sage, but also others present. It was Lord’s plan that Ustav Murthi should be installed by Kolasthiya. Lord came in Kolasthiya’s dream and gave direction as to where the Utsava Murti was. It was in a place called Karapoondi in Seyyar. The sage went to look for the Utsava Murti with the direction given by the lord. He found the Utsava Murti and established a temple.