Naimisharanya Temple

Introduction

Naimisharanya temple is one of the 108 Divya Desams, the holy abodes of Lord Vishnu, glorified by the Azhwar saints in their Tamil hymns. Also referred to as Nimsar or Nimkhar, it is located on the left bank of the river Gomati in Sitapur district of the state of Uttar Pradesh. This is also one among the ‘Swayamvyaktha Kshetra,’ the 8 shrines where Vishnu is believed to have self-manifested. Deva Raja is the presiding deity here, and Pundarika Valli is his consort. Different explanations are given for the place getting the name ‘Naimisharanya.’ The term Naimisharanya is said to be associated with Lord Vishnu’s Chakra weapon. ‘Nemi’ refers to the disc of the wheel, the Chakra, and ‘Sharanya’ is where it fell. This apart, ‘Nimisha’ also denotes a short span of time, and the term ‘Aranya’ refers to a forest. It is said that Vishnu slew many demons in this forest area with his Chakra almost instantly, within short durations of time. While there is a sacred tank in the Naimisharanya temple called Chakra Kunda, named after the discus weapon of the Lord, this place was also said to have remained a dense forest, once. This holy place receives a lot of devotees from various parts of the country.

Temple Legends

Once demon Vrittasura defeated Indra, the king of the heavens, and seized his kingdom. Indra and the Devas took refuge in Lord Vishnu, who advised them to design a unique weapon made of the bones of sage Dadhichi, and fight the demon, as this alone can destroy him. The great sage Dadhichi agreed to provide his bones and thus sacrifice his life for their sake, but wished to bathe in all the holy rivers before giving up his body. Indra is said to have immediately brought all the sacred waters to Naimisharanya so that the sage could fulfill his last wish, and he gave up his life. Indra then made the mighty weapon Vajrayudha from his backbone, defeated Vrittasura, and regained his kingdom.

According to another story, once some sages wanted to perform a long penance and requested Lord Brahma to suggest them the right place for that. Brahma created a big wheel called ‘Manomaya Chakra,’ and told the sages that wherever this wheel fell, that will be the most suitable spot for their penance. They followed Brahma’s direction and found that the wheel broke down at the sacred Naimisharanya, where a self-manifested Shiva Linga also emerged from the earth. It is also believed that Lord Rama performed the ‘Ashwamedha Yagya’ in Naimisharanya after he returned triumphantly from Lanka.

As per another legend, demon Gayasura was annihilated by Vishnu, and one of his body parts fell in Naimisharanya, with the other two falling in Gaya in Bihar and Badrinath.

While Adi Shankara had visited this place, the saint-poet Surdas is said to have lived here.

The Architecture of the Naimisharanya Temple

There are shrines here for Lord Chakranarayana, Lord Ganesha, Lord Rama, and Lakshmana. The temple-tank ‘Naimishranya Tirth’ or ‘Chankra Kunda,’ is considered extremely holy with mystical powers. All the waters required for venerating the idols of the deities and worship are drawn from here. The temple complex also has some carvings, inscriptions, and stucco images.

The principal deity here is said to preside over the forest, and hence, the rituals and pooja are performed mainly to the forest.

Temple Festivals

Amavasya, the new Moon days are regarded sacred, when people in large numbers take a holy dip in the temple tank. It is believed that such a sacred bath and making offerings to the deity here can relieve them of all their past sins. Other festivals like Navaratri and Durga Pooja are also celebrated with piety. The temple carnival is also an important celebration, when the natives of Naimisharanya take part in festivities, along with people from other parts of the country. The government of Uttar Pradesh is also supporting many such festivals when free mass feeding is also done.

Benefits of Worshipping the Lord in Naimisharanya Temple

Naimisharanya is regarded as an ideal place blessed by the Gods to get liberation in this Kali Yuga. It is believed that one who performs penance here for more than 12 years can attain Moksha or salvation. Many people visit this temple to remove ignorance and get happiness. It is believed that offering prayers to the Gods here, can clear hurdles in life, grant good health, wealth, and prosperity, and help rise to higher levels of spirituality.