Ahobhilam also known as Ahobalam is located in the Allagadda mandal of Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located at a distance of 40 km from Nandyal and about 150 km from Kurnool, the district headquarters. There are two temple houses, lower Ahobilam and upper Ahobilam.
According to the legend, this is where Lord Narasimha blessed Prahlada and killed the demon Hiranyakashipu.
According to legends it is believed that when the Devas saw the manifestation of Lord Vishnu as half-lion, half-man, they shouted "Ahobala" (great strength) as well as "Ahobila" (great cave in which the current sanctum is). Hence, this place could be called either "Ahobalam" or "Ahobilam". The mention of this place is present in Brahmanda Purana. The place where Lord Narayana appeared from the stone pillar to kill Hiranyakashipa can be seen in this place. The name of this pillar is Ugra Sthambha, which is now referred as “Ukku SThambha” in Telugu, which incorrectly translates to iron pillar.
Ahobilam Nava Narasimha Temples (Lord Narasimha in nine forms are)
- Bhargava Narasimha Swamy
- Yogananda Narasimha Swamy
- Chatravata Narasimha Swamy
- Ahobila (Ugra) Narasimha Swamy
- Varaha Narasimha Swamy
- Malola Narasimha Swamy
- Jwala Narasimha Swamy
- Paavana Narasimha Swamy
- Karanja Narasimha Swamy
View Ahobilam (Divya Desam / Nava Narasimhar Temple) in a larger map
