We started from Hyderabad early in the morning to reach this temple situated some 140kms At Karnataka from Hyderabad.We were very happy with the atmosphere as the clouds just arrived and a cool air was giving a spiritual feeling.

This is the Entrance of the temple:
This was the entrance from where we go into the cave for having a darshan of the idol.
The temple authorities have fixed price sets abhishekam and darshan tickets.


According to the Sthala Purana (local legend), the story dates back to Sat yug. “Zharnaasur” was an eminent devotee of Lord Shiva. He created this scared cave and meditated here. (I recollected that, adjacent to the holy statue, in the cave, was a Shiva ling that was worshipped by the legendary Zharnaasur). But, as he was a demon by nature, he played nasty cramps with humans and was a cause of misery to many Vishanvas in the locality. To save the people from Zharnaasur, Ugra Narasimha Swamy (an incarnation of Lord Vishnu) took the charge and defeated Zharnaasur. Before killing him, Lord asked if he had any death wish. On this event, Zharnaasur requested Lord to settle at the cave forever and asked him to grant him a boon such that his name becomes immortal.

Accepting his solemn request Lord Narasimha proclaimed that Zharni would be suffixed before his name. He let a Zhaara (water fall) flow from the end of the cave and said that devotees would have his darshan only after crossing this Zhaara. From then on Zharni Narasimha came into being. Centuries passed, but water is continuously flowing out through the Zhaara.




This is how we feel inside the cave
There is another popular legend connected to the temple (more to do about the formation of zhaara). History had witnessed the destruction of many Hindu temples during the reign of Mughal Emperor, Aurangazeeb and it is said that he had planned to destroy this temple too. But when he, along with his army reached the entrance of the cave, the statue of Lord Narasimha moved backwards and turned around (showing it’s back) and water started gushing from beneath the feet of the holy statue. This obstructed the emperor’s militia from entering the cave. It is also believed that worship, here, is offered to Lord Narasimha’s “Back”. But the authenticity of these legends has either been buried under the sediments of time or is lost in the pages of history.


On coming out of the cave, we visited the holy “GowMukh” from where the fresh, crystal clear water flowing from inside the cave is sent out to a near by pond. Taking bath under the GowMukh is considered sacred.




Narashima Kavacham