नृसिंह अष्टोत्तर शतनामावली — Benefits & How to Chant
नृसिंह अष्टोत्तर शतनामावली
Complete guide to chanting correctly for maximum benefit
Benefits of Chanting नृसिंह अष्टोत्तर शतनामावली
Chanting the 108 names of Narasimha grants powerful, fearless protection from all dangers and evil.
Invoked to destroy enemies, black magic, negative forces and obstacles, as he destroyed Hiranyakashipu.
Each name is offered as an archana for the courage, strength and fearlessness the man-lion embodies.
Shields the devotee and the home like a protective fortress, as he protected the child Prahlada.
Especially powerful on Narasimha Jayanti and Saturdays; suitable for daily recitation with devotion.
Calms fear and anxiety by surrendering to the Lord who is Sharanagatavatsala, loving to the surrendered.
How to Chant नृसिंह अष्टोत्तर शतनामावली
Instructions
Bathe and sit before an image of Lord Narasimha, ideally after lighting a lamp. Recite each of the 108 names beginning with 'Om' (ॐ) and ending with 'namaha' (नमः), offering a flower or a leaf for each name (archana). Narasimha is said to have appeared at dusk (neither day nor night), so twilight and Narasimha Jayanti are especially auspicious. Many devotees chant his names for the protection of children and the home, often together with the Narasimha Kavacham.
Spiritual Significance
It is told that the boy Prahlada, though thrown from cliffs, trampled by elephants, given poison and cast into fire by his own father, remained unharmed because he never ceased to remember the Lord; and that Narasimha burst from a stone pillar to prove that God is present everywhere — so devotees hold that his 108 names form an invincible shield around all who chant them.
Origin & History
Source: Traditional (Vaishnava tradition; sanskritdocuments.org)
Author: Traditional
Lord Narasimha is the fourth of the ten principal avataras of Vishnu, who burst forth from a pillar in the form of a half-man, half-lion to slay the demon-king Hiranyakashipu — who could be killed neither by man nor beast, by day nor night, inside nor outside — and so to save his five-year-old devotee Prahlada. This garland of his 108 names celebrates both the terrifying wrath with which he destroyed evil and the boundless tenderness with which he protects those who take refuge in him.