Pancharatra Anushtup — Narasimha Gayatri

Notes · scriptural context, prerequisites, phalas

The Narasimha Ga:yathri: follows the universal thrishtubh / anushtup pattern of every Vedic ga:yathri: — vidmahe (may we know), dhi:mahi (may we meditate), pracho:daya:th (may he impel) — applied to the avatha:ra by way of two iconic epithets: vajra-nakha (he whose claws are the diamond-thunderbolt) and thi:kshna-dhamshtra (he of the sharp fangs). Attestation runs through the Maha::na:ra:yana Upanishadh and the Pancharatra adaptations of the same; both lineages preserve the form unchanged. It is the ga:yathri:-ru:pa intended for daily recitation at the three sandhyas, complementing the Sa:vithri: Ga:yathri: rather than replacing it. Vaikha:nasa Agama prescribes it specifically before the study of Bha:gavatha Pura:na Seventh Skandha and before any pa:ra:yana of the Narasimha Kavacha; Pancharatra prescribes it before the Mantra Raja Pada Stotra. Phalas described: jaya (victory in lawful contests), tejas (radiance of personality), buddhi-vridhdhi (sharpening of the intellect), and protection from aka:la-mrithyu (untimely death). Recitation count: ten or twenty-eight repetitions at each sandhya is standard; a full forty-eight-day anushtha:na of 108 daily is prescribed before major undertakings. Like all ga:yathri:s, ideally received at upanayana from a qualified guru and chanted with the appropriate pra:na:ya:ma; in the absence of formal initiation, devotional recitation is accepted by Sri: Vaishnava acharyas as part of any stotra-patha.