In the forested Nallamala hills of the Kurnool region of Andhra Pradesh lies Ahobilam, revered as the supreme abode of Lord Narasimha — the very spot where, tradition holds, the man-lion avatar of Vishnu burst forth to slay the demon Hiranyakashipu and save his devotee Prahlada. Here the Lord is worshipped across nine shrines, the Nava Narasimha, scattered through the hills in his nine fierce and grace-giving forms.
The kshetra is divided into Lower and Upper Ahobilam, the higher shrines reached by treks through wild and beautiful country, and is the seat of the revered Ahobila Mutt. Ahobilam is among the most powerful and awe-inspiring of all the shrines of Narasimha, drawing pilgrims to the forest hills where the Lord's fury and compassion met.
