Traditional — A:dhi Sankara:cha:rya's stotra corpus
Lakshmi:-Nrisimha Kara:valamba Stotram
लक्ष्मीनृसिंहकरावलम्बस्तोत्रम्
A:dhi Sankara:cha:rya·8th century CE·17 verses·Daily recitation for protection; before any undertaking requiring fearless strength; sankata-harana observances; Nrisimha Jayanthi:; Friday Lakshmi: Pu:ja:; recited at moments of grave personal or family distress
A:dhi Sankara:cha:rya's supreme stotra to Lakshmi:-Nrisimha — the Lord of fierce protection in eternal union with the Mother. Each of the seventeen verses ends with the same refrain — *lakshmi:nrisimha mama dehi kara:valambam* — "O Lakshmi:-Nrisimha, grant me the support of Thy hand." The doctrinal point is precise; the fierce Lord is approached not directly but through His union with Lakshmi:, whose presence in His lap transforms the destroyer of Hiranyakasipu into the saviour of every devotee who calls upon them together.
The Lakshmi:-Nrisimha Kara:valamba Stotram is among the most beloved compositions of A:dhi Sankara:cha:rya — seventeen verses of mounting urgency in which the soul, recognizing its danger in the samsa:ric ocean, cries out for the hand of the Man-Lion Lord and the Mother who sits eternally in His lap. Each verse builds an image of the seeker's peril — pulled by the senses, beset by relations, swept by the currents of birth — and closes with the same refrain: lakshmi:nrisimha mama dehi kara:valambam — "O Lakshmi:-Nrisimha, grant me the support of Thy hand."
The theological precision of the stotra lies in the compound vocative. Sankara does not address Nrisimha alone. He addresses the Lord precisely in His inseparability from Lakshmi: — the form in which the fierce protector who tore Hiranyakasipu apart becomes the gentle refuge of the devotee, because the Mother sits upon His lap and softens the dharma of His justice into the warmth of His grace. This is fully consonant with the Sri:vaishnava purushaka:ra: the hand that supports is given not by the Lord alone but by the Divine Couple, and any approach to Nrisimha that bypasses the Mother is an approach to terror rather than refuge. The complete Sanskrit text with translations is available through the external sources linked below.