The Birth of Prathyangira
As told in Markandeya Purana: In the beginning of the Satya yuga, the Lord Narasimha, an avatar of Vishnu, killed the unruly King Hiranyakashipu by tearing up his body and drinking his blood. Because of the anger in Hiranyakashipu's body and the malicious effects of human blood, Narasimha was drunk on rage and could not be stopped. To calm him down with the power of compa
ssion, Lord Shiva came down as Sarabeswara, a bird-animal-human hybrid. Upon seeing this, Lord Narasimha created Gandaberunda, a two headed-bird that was Sarabeswara's opposite. Upon seeing this, Sarabeshwara turned into Bhairava (Shiva's fierce form) and created the godddess Prathyangira from his third eye. Prathyangira ate the bird, displaying rage the like of which the gods had never seen before. Prathyangira blesses a nameless goddess
Another legend states that in ancient times two rishis (seers), Prathiyangira and Angiras were meditating and through a root mantra, discovered a nameless goddess. Later she honoured the rishis by naming herself after them and hence, she was called as Prathiyangira Devi. According to the Narasimha Purana, Lord Narsimha was very angry after killing Hiranyakashyupu. He set on Hiranyakashyupu's sinhasana. Brahma and Laxmiji were afraid to go towards Narsimha so Brahmaji sent Prahlad towards Narsimha. Prahlad set on Lord Narsimha's lap. Prahlad is the one who calmed lord Narsimha. Appearance to Sarabeswara
Lord Shiva worshipped Parvati. Then, she made Sarabha Pakshi become Lord Sarabeswara. Then, Prathyangira came as she was flying in the sky. Her form was powerful, she was bigger than the other gods and goddesses. Her head was above the whole sky and her feet well into the down from a far distance, she had a thousand faces of lions, 2,000 eyes and possibly 2,000 hands with multiple weapons and a thousand tongues. It is believed her creation came with thunder and lightning and as soon as Narasimha Swami saw her huge figure, he realized the mission of his Avataram and calmed immediately. In her potri malai she is beautifully described as "Sarabeshan Rekkaiyaal Vandhavale Potri, Seeriya Simha mugam etravale Potri, Narasimhan Ugiram Thaniththavale Potri, Engal Annai Sri Prathyangira Potri". Mantras
It has been suggested that Pratyangira Maala mantra be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since March 2014. Among the Prathyangira sahasranamam and the Pratyangira Maala mantra, they are both mantras offered to Prathyangira. They both have a meaning, like in the Pratyangira sahasranamam, it has all the names of the devis. In Hindu Epics
Prathyangira is also mentioned in the Hindu epic Ramayana. Indrajit was performing "Nikumbala yaga" (a sacred ritual to worship Prathyangira) [1]while Rama and his soldiers were waging war in Lanka. Hanuman came down to stop this ritual because he knew that if Indrajit completed it, he would become invincible. In the Lalita Sahasranama
In the Lalita Sahasranama, the title "Maha Bhairava Poojitha" is identified with Prathyangira. She was also called "Bhairava pathni", (wife of Bhairava). Another one of her names is "Daksha yagna vinasini", "the goddess who destroyed Daksha's sacrifice". Beliefs and worship
Prathyangira is primarily conceived of as a protective, fierce godess capable of extreme rage and destruction in order to defeat evil. She is considered to be a powerful guardian against the effects of black magic, and also a bestower of many boons. It is believed that when Narashimhika shakes her mane, she sends the stars into disarray. In Sri Chakra worship, she protects her devotees against all odds and guides them along the right path. She is enveloped as bliss in the letter "Ksham". Hindus also do a hard penance and believe they will have dreams of Prathyangira in the heavens after they have worshipped Prathyangira. Temples
Temples in India dedicated to Prathyangira, usually consisting of a Sri Maha Prathyangira Devi statue, Sri Maha Prathyangira Devi Sannadhis and Sri Sri Sri Ugra Prathyangira Devi Temple. India
The main temple is in Ayyavadi near Khumbakonam. Here she is represented flanked by Lakshmi and Sarasvati. Only homam is performed for her. Sri Maha Prathyangira Devi Temple, situated in Sholinganallur, Chennai-119. It is the first temple with Sri Maha Prathyangira Devi as the main God, where the Goddess is throned "gigantically and powerfully".[citation needed]. Prathyangira Devi Temple, Bangalore, situated in St. John's road near Lavanya Theatre, Bangalore. Pratyangira Yogeshwari Bhagavathi Temple, located in South India. Sri Ugra Prathyangira Devi temple, which is situated in Thondavada, near Tirupati, chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh. The temple is just 11 km from famous holy shrine Tirupati, on the way going to Chandragiri. Sri Maha Prathyagira Parameswari Devi Temple at Ramakrishnapuram, in Hyderabad was constructed in 2005. It's the Prathyangira temple in Andhra Pradesh, under the auspices of Kurtalam Pitam, Tamilnadu, headed by His Holiness Sri Siddeshwarananda Bharathi Swamiji. There are two other temples of the Goddess in India, one at Manasa Sarovar beneath the mountain Kailash and one at Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu. Malaysia[edit]
In Central Malaysia, there is a temple called Sri Bala Prathyangira Temple in Kajang, Selangor.
