śrīlakṣmīnṛsiṃhārātrikā

An āratī to Lakṣmī-Narasiṃha in Sanskrit, opening on the standard jaya deva jaya deva and then doing something the form rarely attempts: it describes the moment of the appearance as sound. The pillar splits with a cracking roar, the host of gods stands terrified, Brahmā and the rest are left with their hair on end and their minds reeling; the peaks of the mountains shake with a low grinding noise, and the water of the seas and rivers is scalded. Only after the noise has been established does the hymn turn to the figure — the body adorned with gold and gems, splendid in battle. Placing the terror first and the ornament second is the reverse of the usual order, and it is what gives this āratī its character: it is sung to a god who has just arrived, not to one seated in a shrine.