10 Famous Temples Dedicated To Lord Vishnu And His Avatars #6

Lakshmi Narasimhar Temple, Narasinghapuram

Sri Lakshmi Narasimhar Temple is located about 55 km from Chennai and 21 km from Arakkonam, in Narasingapuram, Thiruvallur. The temple is dedicated to the Hindu deity Narasimha, who is an avatar of Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi. 

From the days of glory and grandeur that prevailed in South India, the temple of Lakhsmi Narasimha at Narasingapuram still boasts the era of Cholas and Vijayanagara Rayas. The Lakshmi Narasimha Temple is situated in the village of Narasingapuram in the Thiruvallur district.

There are as many as 14 inscriptions in and around the temple in which two of which belong to the Chola period. And this stands as evidence that the temple even survived the Saivism wave that took effect under the Cholas in the early period like many other important Vaishnavite temples that survived it in South India in the early period.

The 12 stone inscriptions that are found in the temple dates back to the Vijayanagar period describe about the glorious past of the temple and the Emperors. Most of the inscriptions belong to the reign of Emperor Atchudha Deva Maharaja describing about the donations and renovating construction led by his government at the temple.

 In those five important inscriptions belong to the years of A.D. 1533, 1534 and 1536 which are some of the important years of his rule. Emperor Atchudha Deva Maharaya is the younger brother of Krishna Devaraya whose reign was considered to be the golden period of south Indian history. 

One inscription belongs to the reign of Venkatapathy Deva Maharaya describing about his esteemed work for the temple. It dates back to the year 1608 and is also considered to be the latest inscription to be found in the temple premises. 

All these inscriptions are in Sanscritised Telugu which is still a local language prevailing in the surrounding areas of Narasingapuram.