Car Festival, Arulmigu Narasimha Swamy Temple , Namakkal.

Car Festival, Arulmigu Narasimha Swamy Temple , Namakkal The Arulmigu Narasimha Swamy Temple is located in the district of Namakkal, Tamil Nadu. Every year, during the Tamil month of Panguni(March and April), the main deity of the temple, Lord Narasimha, is taken in procession around the temple. The temple was built in the eighth century in the Dravidian architectural style. The rock cut architecture of the temple with pillared halls provides access to the sanctum (Garpagraha). The sanctum sanctorum has a dark backdrop and is carved out of rock with three sculptured cells, two pillars, and a verandah. The Asana murthi, or seated idol of Lord Narasimha, is kept in the main sanctum for darshan. Two more sanctums are located within the temple premises. In these sanctuaries, Namagiri Thayar and Sri Lakshmi Narayana are worshipped. A separate temple is constructed for the goddess Namagiri Lakshmi, also known as Namagiri Thayar. History and significance According to Treta Yuga (the second of the four yugas), during the period of the Ramayana, Lord Hanuman brought the Saligramam, in which Lord Narasimha vanished after defeating Hiranyakashipu. The devoted disciple of Sri Rama placed the Saligrama in the palm of Goddess Mahalakshmi and then began to offer his daily prayers to Lord Narasimha. Later, Lord Hanuman discovered that the Saligrama went missing from Mahalakshmi's hands.  The goddess told him that, as it was too heavy for her to bear, she cast it into the ground, where it eventually turned into the Saligrama mountain. Lord Hanuman was mesmerised by a sparkling light radiating from the mountain and learned that it was none other than Lord Maha Vishnu giving the goddess and Hanuman darshan in his Narasimha avatar. Lord Narasimha Swamy instructed Hanuman to stay and face the Saligrama hill while bestowing his blessings on people in a towering, royal standing position without a roof as he brought the Saligrama and helped build this sacred place (gopuram). Lord Narasimha Swamy identified the location as "Nama Giri" and referred to the goddess as "Namagiri Thayar" because goddess Maha Lakshmi performed penance in this location by reciting "Om Namo Narayana," and the sacred hill was created after she placed the Saligrama on the ground. Traditionally, the devotees pay a visit to the "Namagiri Thayar Sannidhi" before entering the Arulmigu Narasimha Swamy Sannidhi. The principal deity, Lord Narasimha, is carried in procession to the sanctum of Lord Namagiri, his consort, each year during the “Thiru Veedhi Ula” (Car festival), which is observed in the month of Panguni, to shower blessings on the devotees jointly.