Sri Rudram : The Unparallaled glory of Lord Raghav-simha (Rama-Narasimha), a vaishnavite Preview

                Prayers

I bow down to My eternal mother, The Great Goddess of the universe who is the very cause of all Causes, The daughter of king Janka, Mother Sītā. I Prostrate before the Lord of The universe, the undisputed supreme being of the universe, whose lotus feet is worshipped by All the Gods, The Lord of the raghus, Sri Rama. I seek the blessings of my elder brother, The Greatest amongst warriors, The annihilator of Lanka, the one who defeated Rāvana and is the Greatest devotee of Lord Rāma, Lord Hanūmān. May they bless me always.

               Introduction

Vedas are described as apaureshya. In the vedas, we see that ultimate principle is glorified with

different names describing his attributes and his paratva. When we take characteristics of

parabrahman described in vedas, we find that he has been described as the one with various

gunas like jagatkaranatva, mokshapradatva, etc. With proper examination of the shastras, it is

quite clear that only Sriman Narayana alone has all these characteristics. Sometimes supreme brahman is glorified with names of other deities. This however doesn't prove that those deities are supreme and glorified. That possibility is ruled out when it is said that these devatas work under the direction of brahman. It is actually the Purushottam brahman who is glorified by these names and who ultimately bears these names. In vedas, comes a section named sri rudram or rudra prashnam, which Is dedicated to param Brahma under the name "Rudra", which means one who makes us cry or the destroyer of diseases of samsara. It is actually supreme brahman whose worship is the conclusion of Vedant- that is narayana who shows the attributes as described in Rudram. Rudram praises the ugra form of Bhagwan as Narsimha. Bhagwan assumed this adbhuta roop when he heard the cry of his devotee and immediately came into protective mode to give pleasure to his devotee and tear apart the chest of hiranyakashipu. Hence sages as per their realization had darshan of this form and with great ecstasy, they glorified this auspicious form of bhagwan with sri rudram. Sripada vedant desikan says that narsimha is glorified in uttar bhag of vedas. The article shall be divided into following parts-

1.Scriptural evidences proving that all names of Shiva are of Narsimha

2.Explaining that how all these names are of Narsimha

3.. Explaining that why Parvati Pati also bears these names and how they are originally of

Narsimha

4.Explaining Rudram using Valmiki Ramayana and Bhagwat geeta

5. vaishnavs and Sri Rudram

6. Conclusion

Lord Narasimha-the beholder of all names

The Narasimha Tapniye Upanishad, which is an authentic ancient Vedic Upanishad quoted by Adi shankaracharya, Swami Vedant desikan etc, clearly says all names like Shankar, pashupati etc belong to God Narasimha (Narayana).

The names Virupaksha, Shankara (one who does Good to others), nilalohita (one who is Red and black), Umapati (Lord of fame), Pashupati (lord of creatures), pinaki (for those who have crossed sea of life and take stand on him) and Ishana (The supreme ruler). Not only this, The Narasimha tapniye Upanishad repeats Rudram 10.8 in it, which attributes the name 'Rudra' to Lord Narasimha :

devā ha vai prajāpatimabruvannatha kasmāducyata ugramiti । sa hovāca prajāpatiryasmātsva-mahimnā sarvāṃllokānsarvāndevānsarvānātmanaḥ sarvāṇi bhūtānyudgṛhṇātyajatraṃ sṛjati visṛjati vāsayatyudgrāhyata udgṛhyate ।
stuhi śrutaṃ gartasadaṃ yuvānaṃ mṛgaṃ na bhīmamupahatnumugram। mṛḍā jaritre rudra stavāno anyaṃ te asmannivapantu senāḥ tasmāducyata ugramiti ॥ (narasimha Tapniye Upanishad 2.1)

This is found in Sri Rudram, anuvaka 10th :

stuhi śrutaṃ gartasadaṃ yuvānaṃ mṛgaṃ na bhīmamupahatnumugram। mṛḍā jaritre rudra stavāno anyaṃ te asmannivapantu senāḥ (Sri Rudram 10.8)

This alone makes it clear that Rudram is a praise dedicated to Lord Narasimha. Further, the same upanishad also Dedicates the name mahesvara and mahadev to Lord narasimha.  Also, in This post, i have Given several other vedic references of Narasimha Being Beholder of all names. Do check it out. Coming to the Purans, the Narasimha Puran (Quoted by Sri adi shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya and Vedant desikan) does a similar thing and attributes all names to Lord narasimha :

1) mahadeva and Mahesvara 

2) sambhu

3) shankara

4) shiva

Even other purans attribute these names to Lord Narayana. Here are some examples from narada Puran :

śrīmannṛkesaritano jagadekabaṃndho śrīnīlakaṇṭha karuṇārṇave sāmarāja /
vahnīndutīvrakaranetra pinākapāṇe śītāṃśuśekhara rameśvara pāhi viṣṇo // (1.71.134)

Hence, Nilakantha and Pinaki are names of Lord Narayana. lord Narasimha being Prayed with "Om namah shivaya"

saṃspṛśan dakṣiṇaṃ bāhuṃ śarabhasya manuṃ japet / praṇavo hṛcchivāryanti mahate śarabhāya ca // NarP_1,71.112 //
vahnipriyānto mantrastu rakṣārthe samudāhṛtaḥ / athavā rāmamantrānte paraṃ kṣadvitayaṃ paṭhet //

"Touching the right arm, one shall perform japa of the Sharabha mantra  (do japa thus) the praNava (om), the self designated as “hrt” (nama), Sivāya, Mahate, Sarabhā. The mantra ends with “svaha”. It is declared to be for protection. Alternatively, after the end of the rAma mantra, repeat “kshaum” twice.
The mantra is “Om namaḥ śivāya mahate śarabhāya svāha”.

In the padma Puran, Lord Shiva himself addresses Narayana as Rudra and shiva :

acyutaḥ puruṣaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ śāśvataḥ śiva īśvaraḥ | nityaḥ sarvagataḥ sthāṇū rudrassākṣī prajāpatiḥ ||  (6.224.16)

The Brahmanda Puran says :

brahmāṇḍe ca -rujaṃ drāvayate yasmādrudrastasmājjanārdanarḥ /iśānādeva ceśāno mahādevo mahattvataḥ // pibanti ye narā nākaṃ muktāssaṃsārasāgarāt / tadādhāro yato viṣṇuḥ pinākīti tataḥ smṛtaḥ // śivaḥ sukhātmakatvena śarvaḥ. śaṃrodhanāddhariḥ / kṛtyātmakamimaṃ dehaṃ yato vaste pravartayan // kṛttivāsāstato devo viriñcaśca virecanāt / bṛṃhaṇādbrahmanāmāsāvaiśvaryādindra ucyate //

 ~Janardana (i.e., the redeemer, Vishnu) is called Rudra; for He cures the disease (of life). He is Ishana (the ruler) for He rules the lords of the world; He is Mahadeva; for He is great and splendid; He is known as Pinakin; for those that have crossed the sea of life and obtained release, take their stand on Him and drink in pure pleasure. He is Siva, for, He is absolutely blissful.
Hari is Sarva, for He closes (the gates of) happiness against (the wicked). The Lord is called Krittivasa, for He shelters or dwells in the body covered over with skin, to guide it in life. He is called Virincha; for He produces the world out of Himself; He is Brahma, for He is perfect and He is Indra (the wealthy), for He is the sole Lord. (brahmanda Puran, quoted by madhwacharya in Brahmasutra 1.3.3)

As per the Vaman puran, the Gods address Narayana as :

nīhśhreyasāratha sarveśām daivtānam maheśvaram trātā bhartā ca dātā ca śaranam bhav nah sadā || 27.6

The gods said- O Mahes'vara! Please, be a
defender, donor, survivor and shelter always for the supreme welfare of us.

Further, he has been called "ishana" :

dhyānayōgeśca yōgī ca gatīrmokśhō dhrītīha sūkham yōgānga tvam-iśānah sarvagastam namostute te 87.41

You are Dhyanayoga,3 Yogi, Gati,4 Moksa
(emancipation), patience (Dhrti), pleasure,
Yoganga, Isana and omniscient. I salute you.

The in the mahabharata, Lord krsna says :

"In the Rigveda, in the Yajurveda, in the Atharvans and the Samans, in the Puranas and the Upanishads, as also in the treatises on Astrology, O Arjuna, in the Sankhya scriptures, in the Yoga scriptures, and in the treatises also on the Science of Life, many are the names that have been mentioned by the great Rishis. Some of those names are derivable from my attributes and some of them relate to my acts. Do thou hear, with concentrated attention, O sinless one, what the import is of each off those names (in particular) that have reference to my acts. I shall recite them to you."  [Mahabharata, Shanti parva, Apaddharmanusasana Parva SECTION CCCXLII]

I.e all names in the all four vedas denote Lord Krsna (Narayana) only. Further in geeta 15.15 he says how he alone is to be known by all vedas. So without a second doubt, It is Him only who is the ultimate being of all vedas.  Also, it directly assigns several names Of Lord siva to NArayana :

Sambhu :

"And knowing, O son of the Kuru race, that that was a concourse (of incarnate) gods, Narada thought in his mind of Hari with eyes like lotus-petals. He knew that that creator himself of every object one, that exalted of all gods--Narayana--who had formerly commanded the celestials, saying,--'Be ye born on earth and slay one another and come back to heaven'--that slayer of all the enemies of the gods, that subjugator of all hostile towns, in order to fulfil his own promise, had been born in the Kshatriya order. And Narada knew that the exalted and holy Narayana, also called Sambhu the lord of the universe, having commanded all the celestials thus, had taken his birth in the race of Yadus and that foremost of all perpetuator of races, having sprung from the line of the Andhaka-Vrishnis on earth was graced with great good fortune and was shining like the moon herself among stars. Narada knew that Hari the grinder of foes, whose strength of arm was ever praised by all the celestials with Indra among them, was then living in the world in human form. Oh, the Self-Create will himself take away (from the earth) this vast concourse of Kshatriyas endued with so much strength. Such was the vision of Narada the omniscient who knew Hari or Narayana to be that Supreme Lord whom everybody worshipped with sacrifice." (Source)

Sarva :

"He is called Purusottama from Puru implying 'he that createth and preserveth' and so meaning 'he that destroyeth, the union signifying one that createth, preserveth, and destroyeth the universe'. He possesseth a knowledge of all things, and, therefore, is called Sarva, Krishna is always in Truth and Truth is always in him, and Govinda is Truth's Truth" (source)

Ishana :

"O descendant of the Pandu lineage! It is because of these deeds of Agni and Soma that I am known as Hrishikesha.I am Ishana, the granter of boons and the creator of the worlds. When I am invoked through prayers at a sacrifice, I accept theshare. Since my complexion is the best one of tawny, I am known as Hari." (Moksha dharma parva)

The mahabharata itself begins with Salutation to Lord Visnu who is Known as Ishana :

"Having bowed down to the primordial being Isana, to whom multitudes make offerings, and who is adored by the multitude; who is the true incorruptible one, Brahm, perceptible, imperceptible, eternal; who is both a non-existing and an existing-non-existing being; who is the universe and also distinct from the existing and non-existing universe; who is the creator of high and low; the ancient, exalted, inexhaustible one; who is Vishnu, beneficent and the beneficence itself, worthy of all preference, pure and immaculate; who is Hari, the ruler of the faculties, the guide of all things moveable and immoveable;" (Source)

Mahadeva and Mahesvara :

tatashchandrapratIkAShamagR^ihNAchCha~Nkhamuttamam |sahasrAraM cha tachchakraM chakraparvatasannibham ||(3-39-3 harivamsa PArva)

Then he took up the best conch, beautiful as the moon, as well as the chakra (wheel) having one thousand spokes, huge like a mountain.

mahAdevo mahAbuddhirmahAyogI maheshvaraH | paThyate yo.amaraiH sarvairguhyairnAmabhiravyayaH ||(3-39-4 harivamsa parva)

He is the Mahadeva.He is of great intellect. He is the great yogi, he is the Maheshwara. He is the one who does not have any decline, who is praised with names having secret meanings by those who do not die (deva-s).

 Further, in Bhagwat geeta 5.29. 9.11 and 10.3, Lord Krsna calls himself "Mahesvara". So as we can see, Be it Vedas, epics or Purans, all of them Attribute the names like shiva, mahadeva, bhava etc to Lord Narayana. 

Narayana, the deity of atharvashira Upanishad as per the Mahabharata :

"Thou art the Equine head. Thou art the first three mantras of the Rig Veda. Thou art the protector of the several orders of men (viz., Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras). Thou art the five fires (beginning with Garhapatya). Thou art He who has thrice ignited the sacrificial fire called Nachi. 1 Thou art the refuge of the six limbs (viz., the Vedas). 2 Thou art the foremost of those Brahmanas that are employed in singing the Samans in sacrifices and other religious rites. Thou art Pragjyotish, and thou art he who sings the first Saman. 3 Thou art the observer of those vows that depend upon the Vedas and that are observed by singers of Samanas. Thou art the embodiment of the Upanishad, called by the name of Atharvasiras. Thou art he who is the topic of the five foremost of scriptures." (Source)

Explaining how the names denote narasimha

The rig veda mentions supreme being is only one, and he bears all the names as yo devānāṃ

nāmadhā eka eva taṃ sampraśnambhuvanā yantyanyā || ~ Rv 10.82.3 So no doubt that these names are also for Hari only.

There are two types of statements where it appears that different devas are praised

i) where the words Indra, Rudra, Soma, etc. are used to describe the Supreme Being,

ii) where the characteristics of the devata are clearly identifiable with the statement that the

particular devata is the paramatma

In the former case, it should be noted that the words Indra, Rudra/Siva, Agni etc. are not

interpreted as the popular devatas bearing that name, but in an etymological manner (i.e.,

as adjectives). Moreover, the Supreme Being bears all these names. In the second case, the

identification of an inferior devata with the Supreme is through shariratma bhava (body-soul relationship). Hence when for example, Indra declares in the Pratardhana vidya – I am to be worshipped, it means that the antaryamin of Indra, Sriman Narayana, is Supreme and is to

be worshipped.

If we observe Sri Rudram, then we see the former case here. The devata of rudra

prashnam is glorified with following names. Let us understand how they describe Hari-

1) Bhagavan – The one possessing 6 gunams.

2)Vishvesvara– Indicates his akhilaeyapratyanIkatvam (devoid of defects) and

samastha kalyAna gunatmakam.

3) mahadeva – He who performs the act of creation, using Brahma, Siva, etc who are

insignificant when compared to him.

4)Tryambaka– Having three eyes (Narasimha) or having Three moms (Rama) or the one who is known by Three vedas. 

5) Tripurantak – He who performed Tripura Samhara(Vishnu, he became the Tip of the arrow which destroyed tripura). The 3 cities mean sattva, rajas and tamas, so he is the destroyer of these 3 gunas for the jiva. There are many

other esoteric meanings. 

6) Trikalagnikala– The three agni-s refer to Brahma, Rudra and Indra, the 3 lords. “agni”

means “agranayati” – to lead and thus implies these 3 devas. “kala” – he draws them

into himself during pralaya and thus is the protector of these three lords who protect

and guide others.

7) kalagnirudra – He destroys the universe at the time of pralaya like kalagnni for the

sake of protecting the jivas. This is a reference to Sankarshana.

8) nilakanth– Having Bluish necks (Rama, krsna)

9 mrtyunjaya – He triumphs over samsara for his devotees. 8) Sarveshvara – In this

way (as above), he is the Lord of all, being the supreme protector.

9) Sadashiv– During this pralaya, everything subject to karma is destroyed. Only he

remains, as he is apahatapapama (no karmas can touch him) and hence, the eternally

auspicious one (sadashivam). The upanishadic statement `siva eva kevalam' must be

remembered.

10) Sriman mahadev – In this way, united with Lakshmi (sriman), he is mahadeva ie,

superior to all gods Also.

"umapati" means lord of fame or glory. Further, Narsimha is Ishana because he rules the world..He is Maheshwar means great Lord. Even krishna called Himself as maheshwar in the shloka of gita "mama bhuta maheshwaram". He is umapati because he is lord of great splendour. Same goes for ambikapati. Hari is sarva because he closes the gates of happiness against the wicked. He is Mahadeva because is Lord of brahma, rudra and other devas.  he is called as nilalohita in narsimha tapaniya upanishad. To add more, bhagwan is blue complexioned so that includes his neck also. The brahman of rudram is called Kapardin. Kapardin means one who matted locks. Even Shri Rama is called as "jatadhar" means one with matted locks in ayodhya khanda of valmiki ramayan. He is ugra in his narsimha form (ugram veeram mahavishnu). Lord Vishnu

indeed is kala because krishna called himself as kalo'smi in bhagvad gita. He is tripurari

because he destroys three cities of samsara corresponding to sattva, rajas and tamas. Alsonobody denied that bhagwan is sitikanth. It can denote Hayagriva perumal! (As he has a white throat).. So all these names primarily denote narsimha! So to summarize, above meanings can be derived for Rudram.

Explaining certain Rudram mantras from Ramayana

The Ramayana is well known as the Avatar of Vedas (Sri Agastya samhita) and as said by Maharishi Valmiki in VR 1.4.6, valmiki Ramayana is meant to Explain the meaning and support the vedas. So Ramayana is actually the essence of all Vedas, as said in Balkandam sarga 5th also. Let us see some Examples from Sri Rudram :

Namo hiranyabahave senanye (Sri Rudram Anuvaka-2)  ~"Salutations to Lord Rudra with the golden arms, the leader of Armies".

nama uchchairghoshhayakrandayate pattinam pataye namo (Sri Rudram Anuvaka-2)           ~"Salutations to Him of the fearsome war cry, who causes His enemies to weep. To the leader of the foot-soldiers, salutations".

namo rathebhyah rathapatibhyashcha vo namo namah senabhyah senanibhyashcha vo namo (Sri Rudram Anuvaka-4)   ~"Salutations to you who are in the form of chariots and those who own them. Salutations to you in the form of armies and the leaders of such armies".

Namo bhavaya cha rudraya cha
namah sharvaya cha pashupataye cha " (Sri Rudram Anuvaka-4)   ~"Salutations to Him who is the source of all and to Him who is the destroyer of all. Salutations to the destroyer and to the protector of all beings in bondage.

pratyaN^janaastishhThati saJNchukochaantakaale sa.nsR^ijya vishvaa bhuvanaani gopaaH " (Sve. Upa 3.02)

"He dwells as the inner Self of every living being. After having created all the worlds, He, their Protector, takes them back into Himself at the end of time".

the valmiki Ramayana 6.117 repeats the essence of the above mantras from rudram and svetasvatara upanishad :

enaaniirgraamaNiishcha tvaM tvaM buddhi stvaM kShamaa damaH prabhavashchaapyayashcha tvamupendro madhusuudanaH " (VR 6-117-16)

"You are the leader of the army and the village headman. You are the intellect. You are the endurance and the subduer of the senses. You are the origin and the dissolution of all, Upendra the Divine Dwarf and (the younger brother of Indra) as also the destroyer Madhu, the demon."

all the above Mantras of Rudram and svetasvatara has been summarised in the Valmiki Ramayana. 

Namo hiranyabahave senanye dishan cha pataye namo namo vrikshebhyo harikeshebhyah pashunam pataye namo" (sri Rudram, Anuvaka-2)  ~"Salutations to Lord Rudra with the golden arms, the leader of hosts, to the Lord of the all directions (quarters), salutations. Salutations to the trees tufted with green leaves; salutations to the Lord of the cattle".

Yo rudro agnau yo apsu ya oshhadhishhu
Yo rudro vishva bhuvanaaavivesha
tasmai rudraya namo astu" (YajurVeda 5:5:9-i & Taittiriya Samhita 5.5.9.3)
"The Rudra in the fire, in the waters, in the plants, the Rudra that hath entered all beings, to that Rudra be homage".

Sri Rudram Anuvaka 5, 6, 7, state in very detail about Lord Rudra's presence in waters, mountains etc. The valmiki Ramayana again repeats the mantras of Rudram as essence :

dṛśyase sarvabhūteṣu goṣu ca brāhmaṇeṣu ca || 6-117-21 dikṣu sarvāsu gagane parvateṣu nadīṣu ca | ~ "You appear in all created beings in the cattle and in brahmanas. You exist in all quarters, in the sky, in mountains and in rivers."

Here is another example :

yAmishuM girishanta haste bibharshyastavE | shivAM giritra tAm kuru mA himsI: purushaM jagath || ~"O Girishanta (Creator of GirishA), O Giritra (Lord, who is propounded in the VedAntA), shoot that auspicious arrow you hold in your hand (to destroy the obstacles to my knowledge of Brahman). Do not cause injury to the JivAtmA who is migrating in the samsAra." (sri Rudram)

and the Valmiki Ramayana says :

tairna tatsparshanam pApam saheyam pApakarmabhiH || amoghaH kriyatAm rAma tatra teShu sharottamaH | (2-22-33)

"I am not able to bear that touch of those wicked people, the evil doers. O rAmA, Let this excellent arrow (that is never rendered in vain) be released over them there."

Here's another :

brahma vidbhiḥ mahā bhāgaiḥ brāhmaṇaiḥ upaśobhitam | tat dṛṣṭvā rāghavaḥ śrīmān tāpasa āśrama maṇḍalam || abhyagacchat mahātejā vijyam kṛtvā mahad dhanuḥ | (3.1.9)

That glorious and great resplendent Rama on seeing those precincts of hermitage that is graced with Brahmans who are highly fortunate as they have received the grace of the Lord, who are the knowers of the Veda, neared it, unstringing the bowstring of his great bow.

Compare this with the following mantra from Sri Rudram :

Pramuncha Dhanvanastvamubhayorārthinayorjyām | yāsćha tē hasta ishavah Parā tā Bhagavo vapa|| (10) avatatya Dhanusthvagum sahasrāksha satēshudhe |Nisīrya salyAnam mukhā śhivo nah sumanā bhava || (11) vijyam dhanuh kapardinō vishalyō bāñavān.h uta |(12)

Collective meaning: RudrA! Please untie the bowstring from both ends of your bow. Also, lay down your arrow. (10) You, who have a thousand eyes, ie, you are omniscient (sahasrAkshan) and bear a hundred quivers, ie, you are omnipotent (satEshudhE), must loosen the bowstring and blunt the tips of your arrows, thus becoming peaceful (ie, confer auspiciousness) to us. (11) May the bow of Kapardin be without its' bowstring. (12)

The Rudram says :

yā te rudra shivā tanūragōrāpāpakāshinI|
thayā nasthanuvā shantamayā girishanthābhichākasIhi||

"O Rudra (the destroyer of the disease of samsAra), the creator of Girisha, shine out to us with the body of Yours that is most agreeable on account of causing happiness (shantamayā), and which is auspicious (śhivam), which is not terrible (aghor) and which is of the nature of burning all sins (apāpakāśini)."

The same is repeated by Bhagwat geeta :

arjuna uvācha dṛiṣhṭvedaṁ mānuṣhaṁ rūpaṁ tava saumyaṁ janārdana
idānīm asmi saṁvṛittaḥ sa-chetāḥ prakṛitiṁ gataḥ

"Having beheld this pleasing and unique form of Yours, human in configuration, endowed with grace, tenderness, beauty etc., the excellence of which is infinite, I have now become composed, and I am restored to my normal nature."(Bhagwat geeta 11.51)

This much is enough to explain that indeed Rudram is a praise to Raghava-narasimha.

How does Lord siva bears all these names?

One may wonder that if these names are originally of Narsimha or Hari, then why does

Lord siva bears these names. So the answer to this question is that Narsimha is upasya

murthy of Kailashpati lord siva And hence Shiva named himself after all names of Narsimha. Let

me explain in simple language. This can be easily explained with an example

of a baby boy. Suppose a baby boy is born on Hanuman jayanti. His parents will say, "He is born on God Anjenaya's birthday, so we will name him Anjaneya". Thus, this boy is named Anjaneya. But he does not become Lord Hanuman, nor is he the Hanuman mentioned in the Ramayana. Similarly, lord Shiva is a

devotee of Narasimha/Sankarshana. lord Shiva has 3 eyes, so he named himself "Tryambaka", after Narasimha who has 3 eyes. lord Shiva obtained a boon to become the presiding deity of animals, so he called himself "Pashupati" after Narasimha who is called Pashupati And so on.

It is not just Shiva. The names of Brahma, Indra, Shiva, Vayu, Agni, etc and even rishis like

Pulastya, Suka, Parashara, Vashishta, Vishwamitra, etc are all names of Brahman, sriman Narayana. There is no name that is not his; but there are also many names that are ONLY his and no-one else's as well. So having said this, let’s explain further with pramanas.

According to Padma Tantra and Vishnu dhamottar Puran., Lord Narsimha is Lord

Sankarshan himself. Vishnu dharmottar Puran is again a satvik and ancient Puran which

has also been quoted by shankaracharya by name in his Vishnu sahasranama bhashya. And same Vishnu dharmottar Puran 3.78.5 mentions -haris sankarsanamsena narasimha-vapur dharah that Lord Narsimha is manifestation of Sankarshan. Same is again repeated in Vishnu Puran. According to Srimad Bhagavatam 5.17.16- Shiva always meditates on Sankarshan in his Samadhi. Bhagavatamn has been accepted and

commented by vaidkas of advaita, vishishtadvaita and dvaita. Bhagavatam 5.17.16 explicitly says that lord Shiva meditates on Sankarshan :

भवानीनाथ: स्त्रीगणार्बुदसह र्बु स्ररवै रुध्यमानो भगवतश्चतर्मूु र्तेर्मू र्मर्ते हाप र्म रुुषस्य तरुीयांतामसींमर्तिंर्तिंप्रकृतिमात्मन: सङ्कर्षणसं र्ष ज्ञामात्मसमाधिरूपेण सन्निधाप्यतदै भिगणनृ ्भव उप-धावति ॥

१६ ॥

"In Ilāvṛta-varṣa, Śiva is always encircled by ten billion maidservants of Goddess Durgā, who

minister to him. The quadruple expansion of the Supreme Lord is composed of Vāsudeva,

Pradyumna, Aniruddha and Saṅkarṣaṇa. Saṅkarṣaṇa, the fourth expansion, is certainly

transcendental, but because His activities of destruction in the material world are in the mode of ignorance, He is known as tāmasī, the Lord’s form in the mode of ignorance. Lord Śiva

knows that Saṅkarṣaṇa is the original cause of his own existence, and thus he always

meditates upon Him in trance by chanting the following mantra."

Since, Sankarshan is Narasimha Swamy himself , that's why Lord Shiva is meditation on

Narsimha who is his own cause. If This is further substantiated by Garuda Puran chapter

231 of achaar khand that Shiva mediates on Lord Narsimha. Here is our pramana from

garuda puran-ityeva

"Even thus being addressed by Shankara, the ferocious Matrikas paid no heed to his

counsels and began to devour the universe with all its inmates, both mobile and

immobile. The god Shiva meditated upon the form of Nrishinha while the Matrikas were

engaged in devouring the universe. The endless and originless Shiva contemplated a form

which inspired terror in the hearts of all creatures. The manes on his neck stood up erect

on their ends. His dreadful teeth were illuminated with the lurid light of his

lightning-tongue, which fearfully lolled out. His was a voice which resembled the roar of

the seven oceans, agitated by the tornado of universal dissolution. He pulled aside the

corners of his lips with the tips of his finger-nails, which were hard as thunder-bolts. His

eyes had a glow, which resembled that of the summits of the mount Meru reflecting back

the splendour of the rising sun. His body was like the summit of the Himalayas,

illuminated with the reflected blaze of his diabolical teeth. The manes on his neck were

burning, like the tongues of fire, with rage. He wore a crown of gold on his head and bracelets of gems round his wrists. Girdles composed of chains of gold decorated his

waist, and the whole expanse of universe was illumined with the glow of his complexion,

which was like the colour of a blue lotus. Ringlets of hairs grew on his body, and he wore

a garland of beautiful and multi-coloured flowers. The god, thus meditated upon by

Shankara, instantly appeared before him in this form, and Shankara propitiated this

dreadful vision of Nrisinhaankara said:—Salutation unto thee, the lord of the

universe. Thou hast assumed the form of Narasinha and bearest the entrails of the

demon king on thy finger-nails. Obeisance to thee, the lotus-naveled one, whose

complexion illumines the whole expanse of the universe. Obeisance to thee, the

beautiful one, effulgent as a million suns, and whose voice is like the roar of the

universal ocean of dissolution. I make obeisance to thee, who art dreaded by

thousands of the lords of death, who bearest the strength of thousand Indras in thy

limbs, whose riches exceed those of thousands of Kuveras, who art composed of

the essence of thousands of Varunas, who art effulgent with the effulgence of

thousands of moons, who art mightier than thousands of planets and thousands of

Rudras, art hymnised by thousands of Brahmas and meditated upon by thousands

of Rudras, and looked up to by thousands of Indras, and dost snap the chords of

thousands of rebirths and unfetter the chains of thousands of bondage; dreadful as

thousands of winds thou dost compassion to thousands of Indras."

      Rudram and Vaishnavas

SrīvaīshNavās recite the Sri Rudram :

1.As a part of veda parayana gosti who chant the whole yajur veda or a major portion of it which contains Rudram

2.As a part of an occasion such as "shraadhham" or some similar ceremonies, where such mantras from Rudram is ordained by the dharmashastras to be utilized. Even here the antaryami of such dieties is addressed dedicating these rituals to srimannarayanan.

3.Namakam of Rudram is chanted during Sudarshana Yagam.

4.Rangaramanuja muni specifically mentioned Rudram by name when he commented on Svetasvatara Upanishad.

the vaishnav acharayas have given wonderful commentaries on Rudram like Thirukkudanthai Andavan of SrīvaīshNava Sampradaya commented on ShatarudrIyaM, Bannarjee Govindāchārya of Madhva VaīshNava Sampradaya also commented on Rudram. Even Ranga ramanuja COmmented on various Rudram and svetasvatara Mantras.

Rudram is recited by Madhva Vaishnavas while doing Thirumanjanam to Narasimha Salagrama. In Dharmasthala kshetra which is temple of Shiva,the priests are Madhvas who worship Narasimha Salagrama kept above on the Manjunatha Linga.

                Conclusion

from Vedas to epics and Purans, all of them have enough proofs of All names being Attributed to Lord Narasimha. The Mantras of Sri Rudram, svetasvatara upanishad and Kaivalya Upanishad can be well explained by the Ramayana and The Mahabharata. All the Three pioneers of Sanatan dharma i.e adi shankaracharaya, Swami Ramanujacharya and Sri MAdhwacharya in one sound Proclaim that the solo supreme being of Vedas is none other than Narayana alone. So without a second Thought, The Vedic Hyms such as Sri Rudram and Vrtya suktam or the Upanishads like Svetasvatara and Kaivalya praise Lord Narayana only. 

tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sughandhiṃ puṣṭivardhanam | urvārukamivabandhanān mṛtyormukṣīya māmṛtāt ||

"we worship the Three eyed Narasimha (tryambaka), sweet augmenter of prosperity. As from its stem the cucumber, so may I be released from death, not reft of immortality." (Rig ved 7.59.12)

        ||Om namo Narayana||