On the Simhachalam hill near Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh stands the temple of Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha — Vishnu worshipped in a rare combined form bearing the features of both his Varaha (boar) and Narasimha (man-lion) avatars. Its legend, drawn from the Vishnu and Bhagavata Puranas, tells of the boy Prahlada, whose unwavering devotion to Vishnu enraged his demon father Hiranyakashipu; when the Lord burst forth as Narasimha to slay the tyrant and protect his devotee, his fury was so great that, to soothe him, the deity is kept coated in cooling sandalwood paste.
For all but one day of the year the image is hidden beneath this fragrant paste, resembling a smooth lingam; only on Akshaya Tritiya, in the festival of Chandanotsavam, is the paste removed and the Lord's true form (nija-roopa darshan) revealed to throngs of pilgrims. Built in the Kalinga style and rich with sculpture, west-facing Simhachalam is among the most powerful Narasimha shrines of the South.
