narasimhanrisimhavishnumadhvacharya

නෘසිංහ නඛ ස්තුතිඃ

Narasimha Nakha Stuti in Sinhala · සිංහල

🕉️ hindu·📿 3× repetitions·🕐 Early morning and at dusk; especially on Narasimha Jayanti and Saturdays·📜 Invocation to the Vayu Stuti (Madhva / Dvaita tradition)

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हिन्दी / देवनागरी తెలుగు தமிழ்ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം ગુજરાતી বাংলা ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Englishසිංහල𑌗𑍍𑌰𑌨𑍍𑌥

Origin & Story

Invocation to the Vayu Stuti (Madhva / Dvaita tradition) · Sri Madhvacharya (Anandatirtha) · 13th century CE

When Sri Trivikrama Panditacharya, a disciple of Sri Madhvacharya, composed the celebrated Vayu Stuti in praise of his guru as an incarnation of Vayu, Madhvacharya himself is said to have added two verses in the Sragdhara metre — one at the beginning and one at the end — in praise of Lord Narasimha. The opening verse, the Narasimha Nakha Stuti, glorifies the claws of the Man-Lion that destroyed Hiranyakashipu, and is chanted first as a shield of protection before the Vayu Stuti.

✦ As told in scripture

It is traditionally believed that Lord Narasimha manifested before Sri Madhvacharya, and that reciting these two verses invokes the Lord's claws as a living shield; devotees in the Madhva tradition chant the Nakha Stuti to ward off fear, illness and unseen dangers, holding that no darkness can stand before the radiance of those nails.

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Complete Text with Meaning

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Verse 1

පාන්ත්වස්මාන් පුරුහූතවෛරිබලවන්මාතඞ්ගමාද්යද්ඝටා- කුම්භෝච්චාද්රිවිපාටනාධිකපටුප්රත්යේකවජ්රායිතාඃ . ශ්රීමත්කණ්ඨීරවාස්යප්රතතසුනඛරා දාරිතාරාතිදූර- ප්රධ්වස්තධ්වාන්තශාන්තප්රවිතතමනසා භාවිතා භූරිභාගෛඃ .. 1 ..

Pantvasman puruhutavairibalavanmatangamadyadghata- kumbhoccadrivipatanadhikapatupratyekavajrayitah | Shrimatkanthiravasyapratatasunakhara daritaratidura- pradhvastadhvantashantapravitatamanasa bhavita bhuribhagaih || 1 ||

Meaning:May the long, beautiful claws of the glorious lion-faced Lord protect us — each one of them sharper and more capable than a thunderbolt at ripping open the lofty, mountain-like temple-bones on the heads of the rutting elephant-herd that was the mighty enemy of Indra (Hiranyakashipu). Those claws, which tore the foe asunder and drove away all darkness, are meditated upon with serene and expansive minds by the most fortunate of souls.

Verse 2

ලක්ෂ්මීකාන්ත සමන්තතෝ(අ)පි කලයන්නෛවේශිතුස්තේ සමං පශ්යාම්යුත්තමවස්තු දූරතරතෝ(අ)පාස්තං රසෝ යෝ(අ)ෂ්ටමඃ . යද්රෝෂෝත්කරදක්ෂනේත්රකුටිලප්රාන්තෝත්ථිතාග්නිස්ඵුරත්- ඛද්යෝතෝපමවිස්ඵුලිඞ්ගභසිතා බ්රහ්මේශශක්රෝත්කරාඃ .. 2 ..

Lakshmikanta samantato'pi kalayannaiveshituste samam Pashyamyuttamavastu duratarato'pastam raso yo'shtamah | Yadroshotkaradakshanetrakutilaprantotthitagnisphurat- khadyotopamavisphulingabhasita brahmeshashakrotkarah || 2 ||

Meaning:O beloved of Lakshmi! Though I search in every direction, I behold no excellent thing anywhere equal to you, the Lord — you who are the supreme 'eighth flavour', set far beyond all the rest. By the fire that blazed and leapt from the corner of your wrath-filled eye, the very hosts of Brahma, Shiva and Indra were reduced to mere ashes, like sparks no brighter than fireflies.

Word-by-Word Meaning

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පාන්තු අස්මාන්🔊Pantu asmanMay they (the nails) protect us

පුරුහූතවෛරි🔊Puruhuta-vairiThe enemy of Indra (Puruhuta) — i.e. the demon Hiranyakashipu

බලවත්🔊BalavatPowerful, mighty

මාතඞ්ග🔊MatangaElephant

මාද්යද්ඝටා🔊Madyad-ghataAn intoxicated (rutting) herd

කුම්භෝච්චාද්රි🔊Kumbhocca-adriThe mountain-like high temples (kumbha) of the elephant's head

විපාටන🔊VipatanaTearing apart / ripping open

අධිකපටු🔊Adhika-patuExceedingly sharp and capable

ප්රත්යේකවජ්රායිතාඃ🔊Pratyeka-vajrayitahEach one acting like a thunderbolt (vajra)

ශ්රීමත්කණ්ඨීරවාස්ය🔊Shrimat-kanthirava-asyaOf the glorious lion-faced one (Narasimha)

ප්රතතසුනඛරාඃ🔊Pratata-sunakharahThe long, beautiful, outstretched nails (claws)

දාරිතාරාති🔊Darita-aratiWhich tore apart the enemy (Hiranyakashipu)

ධ්වස්තධ්වාන්ත🔊Dhvasta-dhvantaDispelling the darkness (of ignorance and danger)

භාවිතාඃ භූරිභාගෛඃ🔊Bhavitah bhuri-bhagaihMeditated upon by the most fortunate ones (with peaceful minds)

ලක්ෂ්මීකාන්ත🔊Lakshmi-kantaO beloved of Lakshmi (Narasimha / Vishnu)

සමන්තතඃ අපි🔊Samantatah apiEven searching everywhere / in every direction

න ඒව සමං පශ්යාමි🔊Na eva samam pashyamiI do not see anything equal (to you, the Lord)

රසඃ යඃ අෂ්ටමඃ🔊Rasah yah ashtamahThat which is the eighth rasa (the supreme flavour, set far beyond the seven)

යද්රෝෂ🔊Yad-roshaBy whose wrath / anger

දක්ෂනේත්ර🔊Daksha-netraFrom the corner of the (right/keen) eye

අග්නිස්ඵුරත්🔊Agni-sphuratThe blazing, leaping fire

බ්රහ්මේශශක්රෝත්කරාඃ🔊Brahmesha-shakra-utkarahThe hosts of Brahma, Shiva and Indra (reduced to sparks like fireflies)

Benefits of Chanting Narasimha Nakha Stuti

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A potent prayer for protection (raksha) invoking the thunderbolt-like claws of Lord Narasimha

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Recited as the auspicious invocation before the Vayu Stuti and other Madhva recitations

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Believed to remove fear, obstacles and the influence of evil forces

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Short enough to memorise yet majestic in its Sragdhara metre, ideal for daily chanting

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Strengthens courage and faith by recalling the Lord's destruction of the demon Hiranyakashipu

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Carries the special grace of Sri Madhvacharya, the great Dvaita acharya

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Traditionally chanted for warding off dangers, disease and negativity

How to Chant Narasimha Nakha Stuti

Repetitions3times

Best TimeEarly morning and at dusk; especially on Narasimha Jayanti and Saturdays

Sit facing east before an image of Lord Narasimha, recite the two verses clearly in the Sragdhara metre, visualising the radiant claws of the Lord dispelling all darkness. It is traditionally chanted first, as the invocation, before reciting the Vayu Stuti. Recite three or more times for protection, especially when beginning a journey or any important undertaking.

Frequently Asked Questions

This page shows the complete Narasimha Nakha Stuti written in the Sinhala script — the same Sanskrit/Hindi verses, transliterated character-by-character so you can read and chant comfortably. Tap any line (or the ▶ button) to hear it recited aloud.

Yes — only the script changes; the words and their meaning are the original. The verse-by-verse meaning, benefits and how-to-chant guidance on this page apply exactly the same.

It is a famous two-verse Sanskrit hymn composed by Sri Madhvacharya in praise of the nails (nakha) of Lord Narasimha, the claws with which he slew the demon Hiranyakashipu. It is renowned as a powerful prayer for protection and as the invocation to the Vayu Stuti.

It was composed by Sri Madhvacharya (also called Anandatirtha or Purnaprajna, 13th century CE), the founder of the Dvaita (Tattvavada) school of Vedanta. He wrote it as the auspicious opening of the Vayu Stuti by his disciple Trivikrama Panditacharya.

In the Narasimha avatara, Vishnu used his bare claws to tear apart the demon Hiranyakashipu — who could not be killed by any weapon. The hymn therefore extols those very nails as sharper than thunderbolts and prays for their protective power.

It is recited daily for protection, especially in the morning and at dusk, on Narasimha Jayanti, and as the customary invocation before the Vayu Stuti and other recitations in the Madhva tradition.