Atharva Veda · Atharva Veda (Vaishnava Upanishad group) · 138 mantras
Nrisimha Tapaniya Upanishad
Nṛsiṁha-tāpanīyopaniṣad
Central theme: The esoteric meaning of Narasimha — Purva-tapaniya unpacks the 32-syllable Narasimha Anushtubh mantra, Uttara-tapaniya identifies Narasimha with the non-dual Brahman
The most authoritative Upanishadic source on the Narasimha tradition, split (like the Rama and Krishna Tapaniyas) into two halves. The Purva-tapaniya (5 prashnas) gives the ritual unfolding of the Mantra-raja — the 32-syllable Anushtubh-meter Narasimha mantra "Ugram Veeram Mahaa-Vishnum Jvalantam Sarvato Mukham Nrsimham Bheeshanam Bhadram Mrityu-mrityum Namaamy aham" — which is regarded by the Sri Vaishnava and Madhva sampradayas as the supreme tantric vidya. It explains each syllable as a bija, prescribes the yantra, and gives the dhyana mantra. The Uttara-tapaniya (9 prashnas) is pure Advaita: Narasimha is Pranava (Om), the man-lion form is the union of jivatma (lion = chit) and ishvara (man = sat), and the destruction of Hiranyakashipu is the destruction of the ahamkara (ego) of the seeker. Adi Shankara wrote a famous bhashya on this Upanishad.
Nrisimha Tapaniya Upanishad — Mantra-raja (also Bhagavata 5.18.8)
उग्रं वीरं महाविष्णुं ज्वलन्तं सर्वतोमुखम्। नृसिंहं भीषणं भद्रं मृत्युमृत्युं नमाम्यहम्॥
Ugraṁ vīraṁ mahā-viṣṇuṁ jvalantaṁ sarvato-mukham, nṛsiṁhaṁ bhīṣaṇaṁ bhadraṁ mṛtyu-mṛtyuṁ namāmy aham
I bow to Narasimha, the fierce, the heroic, the great Vishnu, blazing, with faces in every direction, terrible yet auspicious — the death of death itself.
The man-lion is the seeker himself: human reason united with the lion of pure consciousness tears the heart of the ego at twilight, on the threshold of all categories.