2026 Narasimha Jayanti: Muhurat, Katha & Powerful Mantras

Narasimha Jayanti, also called Narsingh Chaturdashi, marks the appearance of Lord Narasimha — the half-man, half-lion avatara of Lord Vishnu. It is observed each year on the Shukla Paksha Chaturdashi of Vaishakha, the lunar day on which, according to the Bhagavata Purana, the Lord emerged from a palace pillar to uphold dharma and answer the devotion of the child Prahlada.

In 2026 the festival falls on Thursday, 30 April. Thursday is traditionally associated with Brihaspati and with Vishnu worship, so Vaishnava households treat a Jayanti that lands on this weekday with particular care. This guide sets out the 2026 tithi and muhurat, the classical katha, the home puja sequence, the fasting discipline, and the mantras most often recited on the day.

Timings shift slightly by longitude and latitude. Confirm the exact windows for your city on the daily panchang before you take sankalpa.

2026 Narasimha Jayanti date and muhurat

The principal observances of Narasimha Jayanti are fixed to the Chaturdashi tithi of Shukla Paksha in Vaishakha, with the main worship placed in the evening sandhya — the transitional hour at which tradition places the Lord’s appearance.

The evening window between roughly 4:17 PM and 6:56 PM is treated as the heart of the day because Puranic accounts place Narasimha’s appearance at sandhya kala — neither full day nor full night. Temple aratis and home pujas are therefore timed to this twilight span. For a month-wide view of tithis and festival dates, see the festival calendar.

The katha: Prahlada and the appearance of Narasimha

The narrative that the day commemorates is told at length in the seventh skandha of the Bhagavata Purana.

The asura king Hiranyakashipu obtained from Brahma a boon of extraordinary precision: he was not to be slain by man or beast, by day or by night, indoors or outdoors, on the earth or in the sky, or by any weapon. Armed with that protection he demanded worship of himself alone and punished any who named Vishnu.

His own son, the boy Prahlada, would not yield. Born with an unforced love for Vishnu, he continued to chant the Lord’s name through fire, poison, precipice and every other ordeal his father devised. At last Hiranyakashipu challenged him in the palace: where was this Vishnu? Prahlada answered that the Lord was present in every particle of creation — even in the pillar before them. The king struck the pillar with his mace.

It was sandhya. The Lord seated Hiranyakashipu upon his thighs — neither earth nor sky — at the threshold of the hall — neither inside nor outside — and tore him with bare claws, not a weapon. Every clause of the boon was honoured; dharma was restored; Prahlada’s faith was answered. That moment is what Narasimha Jayanti remembers each year.

Why the evening puja is central

Because the appearance is fixed in the tradition to sandhya kala, the sayana or evening puja is not a secondary rite. It is the liturgical centre of the day. Recitation of the Narasimha Stuti, the Narasimha Kavacham and selected passages from the Prahlada narrative are customarily placed in this window, followed by arati with a ghee lamp, tulsi and flowers.

Households that keep a night vigil (jagarana) continue bhajans and japa after arati; the vigil is praised in Vaishnava practice as meritorious, though it is not compulsory. Those who cannot remain awake complete the evening worship with care and rest with the mantra still on the tongue.

Puja vidhi for the home

The sequence below follows the common domestic pattern observed on Narsingh Chaturdashi. Adjust only the clock times to your local panchang.

• Day before (29 April). Take a single simple meal before sunset (prahar bhojan). Set aside grains, onion, garlic and non-vegetarian food, and form the intention to keep the vrat.
• Morning of 30 April. Rise before sunrise, bathe, and wear clean clothes — yellow or saffron is traditional for Vishnu worship.
• Sankalpa. In the madhyahna window (about 10:59 AM to 1:38 PM), take the formal vow before an image or murti of Lord Narasimha, ideally with Goddess Lakshmi. Offer water, flowers and tulsi while stating the resolve to observe the day.
• Altar. Arrange fresh flowers, tulsi leaves, chandana (sandal paste), kesar, fruits, panchameva, til, coconut and a ghee lamp. Sandal paste is especially associated with Narasimha worship in South Indian practice.
• Evening puja. Between 4:17 PM and 6:56 PM perform the main worship: Narasimha Stuti, Narasimha Kavacham, japa of the moola mantra, and arati. Where possible, read or hear the Prahlada episode from the Bhagavata Purana.
• Parana. Break the fast on 1 May after 5:41 AM, once Chaturdashi has ended and morning prayers have been offered.

Families who wish the rite performed in the classical homa form may join a Lakshmi Narasimha Homa conducted by the ashram priests and telecast live. Related observances for protection and obstruction are gathered under the protection homas catalogue.

Powerful Narasimha mantras for the day

Japa on Narasimha Jayanti is kept simple and steady. Three recitations are standard in household practice; chant them with clear pronunciation, using a mala of 108 if you have one. Guidance on posture, breath and counting is set out in the note on how to chant a mantra correctly.

Moola mantra

Traditionally recited 108 times during the evening puja as the basic invocation.

Ugra Narasimha mantra

This verse, drawn from the Narasimha tradition, is the stotra most often chosen for the Jayanti sandhya. Eleven or 108 repetitions are the usual counts.

Narasimha Gayatri

Chanted 108 times as a Gayatri addressed to the Lord. Many households also recite the Narasimha Ashtottara Shatanamavali — the 108 names beginning Om Narasimhaya Namah — either before or after the principal japa. The Narasimha Kavacham may be read in full or heard with attention; it is the classical protective stotra paired with this festival.

Fasting rules on Narasimha Jayanti

The vrat discipline resembles the Ekadashi pattern kept in many Vaishnava homes.

• One light meal only on the evening of 29 April.
• No grains, cereals or pulses through the fast day.
• Fruits, milk, nuts and other vrat-permitted foods may be taken if a full nirjala fast is not kept.
• Onion, garlic, alcohol and non-vegetarian food are set aside.
• Speech and temper are guarded; the fast is treated as a redirection of attention, not only of diet.
• Parana is taken on 1 May after 5:41 AM, once the Chaturdashi tithi has closed.

Questions devotees ask