The Fifty-one murtis of Nrsimha
Kannan Kumaraswamy
In the uttarāmnāya panca-kālikā krama followed at the level of sāmrājya medhā, the six deities worshiped are:
1. siddhi karālī - bharatopāsitā guhyakālī
2. siddhi mahākarālī - rāmopāsitā guhyakālī which is kIlitA and hence modified by cyavana
3. siddhilakṣmī navākṣarī
4. mahāniruddha-sarasvatī
5. mahākālopāsitā kāmakalākālī
6. siddhikapālinī - hiranyakopāsitā siddhikālī
In the case of all of them, worship of nṛsiṃha is of special significance. The Lord is invoked in numerous forms during japa, balidāna, āvaraṇa vidhi, nyāsa etc. Fifty-one mūrtis of nṛsiṃha are invoked with their śaktis and these nṛsiṃha mithunas are invoked as surrounding the centrally placed uttarāmnāyeśī guhyakālī who further attains laya within the āmnāyanāyikā - samayakubjikā.
It is to be noted that nṛsiṃha here is not invoked as an avatāra of viṣnu but as a form taken by mahābhairava. It is narrated that when parāmbā assumed the form of sahasrānanā siddhikarālī, Lord śiva could not approach her due to her immense ferocity. The Great Goddess then made śiva assume the mighty form of nṛsiṃha (man-lion) and take the place as her consort. She further assumed fifty-one forms starting with vidyutkeśī and mahābhairava also assumed fifty-one nṛsiṃha forms to serve as consort to each of those goddesses.
In bimbāmbikā krama followed by our maṇḍalī, nṛsiṃha represents the kāraṇa guru and his mantrarāja is used to worship svacchanda-bhairava. In eleven and a half verses, bhagavatī bimbāmbikā establishes abheda between mantrarāja nṛsiṃha and svacchanda bhairava. Thus, in the context of śrīkrama tantra, nṛsiṃha is saccitparamānandabhairava.
The fifty-one mūrtis of nṛsiṃha invoked are:
1 jvālāmālī nṛsiṃha - vidyutkeśī
2 karāla nṛsiṃha - kālarātri
3 bhīma nṛsiṃha - ulkāmukhī
4 aparājita nṛsiṃha - piṅgajaṭā
5 kṣobhaṇa nṛsiṃha - kuṇḍodarī
6 sṛṣṭi nṛsiṃha - pretāsanā
7 sthiti nṛsiṃha - kapālakuṇḍalā
8 kalpānta nṛsiṃha - caṇḍacāmuṇḍā
9 ananta nṛsiṃha - dhūmāvatī
10 virūpa nṛsiṃha - śuṣkodarī
11 vajrāyudha nṛsiṃha - jvālākulā
12 parāpa nṛsiṃha - anjanaprabhā
13 pradhvamsana nṛsiṃha - vajravārāhī
14 viśvamardana nṛsiṃha - kālamardinī
15 ugra nṛsiṃha - nāgahāriṇī
16 bhadra nṛsiṃha - ghoranādā
17 mṛtyu nṛsiṃha - karālinī
18 sahasrabhuja nṛsiṃha - muṇḍacarcikā
19 vidyujihva nṛsiṃha - śmaśānacāriṇī
20 ghoradaṃṣṭra nṛsiṃha - śavavāhinī
21 mahākālāgni nṛsiṃha - raktapāyinī
22 meghanāda nṛsiṃha - caṇḍaghaṇṭā
23 vikaṭa nṛsiṃha - aṭṭāṭṭahāsinī
24 piṅgasaṭa nṛsiṃha - kaṅkālinī
25 pradīpta nṛsiṃha - bhūtonmādinī
26 viśvarūpa nṛsiṃha - paiśācinī
27 vidyuddaśana nṛsiṃha - vikaṭadaṃṣṭrā
28 vidāra nṛsiṃha - meghamālā
29 vikrama nṛsiṃha - pitṛcūḍā
30 pracaṇḍa nṛsiṃha - bheruṇḍaruṇḍā
31 sarvatomukha nṛsiṃha - phetkāriṇī
32 vajra nṛsiṃha - piciṇḍināsā
33 divya nṛsiṃha - hūṃhūṅkāranādinī
34 bhoga nṛsiṃha - kolānanā
35 mokṣa nṛsiṃha - niranjanī
36 lakṣmī nṛsiṃha - bhramarāmbikā
37 vidrāvaṇa nṛsiṃha - mūlatāṭaṅkinī
38 kālacakra nṛsiṃha - śūlacaṇḍikā
39 kṛtānta nṛsiṃha - kaṭāṅkaṭā
40 taptahāṭaka nṛsiṃha - kukkuṭī
41 bhrāmaka nṛsiṃha - pukkaśī
42 raudra nṛsiṃha - viśvabhanjikā
43 viśvāntaka nṛsiṃha - śaṃkhiṇī
44 bhayaṅkara nṛsiṃha - nīlāmbarī
45 pratapta nṛsiṃha - kālasaṃkarṣiṇī
46 vijaya nṛsiṃha - kuṇapabhojinī
47 tejomaya nṛsiṃha - daityavidhvamsinī
48 jvālājaṭāla nṛsiṃha - vidārisṛkkiṇī
49 kharanakhara nṛsiṃha - kṣetrapālinī
50 nādadāruṇa nṛsiṃha - kulakuṭṭinī
51 nirvāṇa nṛsiṃha - paramānandadāyinī