Sthala purana
On the Simhachalam hill the Lord is worshipped as Varaha Narasimha, a single form joining the boar and the man-lion avatars. Tradition holds that Prahlada himself first built the temple after he was saved.
Through the year the deity is covered in sandalwood paste and looks like a linga. Only on Chandanotsavam, the day of Akshaya Tritiya, is the paste removed and the true form (nija rupa) shown to devotees. The temple's stonework is in the Kalinga style.
Festivals
- Chandanotsavam (nija rupa darshan) on Akshaya Tritiya
- Kalyanotsavam
- Narasimha Jayanti
- Giri Pradakshina on Ashadha Purnima
