Showing posts with label temples in andhra pradesh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label temples in andhra pradesh. Show all posts

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Mahanandi Temple ,Kurnool,India

Mahanandi Temple

  • Destination: Kurnool

Location

Mahanandi Temple is located at Mahanandi village near Nandyal town in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. The temple is also known as “Sri Mahanandiswara Swamy Temple”. It is surrounded by Nallamala Hills which range towards east and encircled by thick forests. This temple is one of the nine Nandi temples, which are referred to as Nava Nandis. Nandi denotes a bull that is the sacred vehicle of Lord Shiva. The other eight Nandi temples are situated within the range of 15 km radius from this temple. The presiding deity of the temple is Lord Shiva.

History of the Temple

According to a legend, there was a King named Nanda who was the ruler of Nandyal in ancient time. He thought of performing Abhishekam to Lord Shiva. His thought was taken care of and as a result, hundreds of cows were being brought from Gopavaram for this cause. The main supply to the king among all the cows was from the lone black cow. After few days, it was noticed that this cow was coming empty everyday and its milk production also get lessened. To see the main reason of it, the cowherd followed the cow one day and he hides beneath a bush. He was astonished to see the cow’s milk oozing out on anthill and saw Lord Krishna in the form of young child drinking that milk. The king was amazed after hearing this and to get glimpse of it, he followed the cow next day. As usual, the cow did the same routine. The king after witnessing this miracle was overjoyed and therefore, trampled upon some provisions. As a result, the child disappeared and the cow embossed the anthill in fright. Then, the king realises his mistake and asked Lord Shiva to forgive him. Pleased with the King’s devotion, Lord Shiva appeared in his dream and told him that the anthill will cool down and would become a Swayambhu Lingam at Mahanandi. The king started worshipping lord Shiva at this place and constructed the temple.
The imprints of the cow can be still seen on top of the anthill. The temple is ancient in much sense and dates back over 1500 years. It is said that Devashilpis, the architect of Gods, reconstructed this temple during 10th century. The temple is rebuilt and repaired several times over the centuries.

Construction of the Temple

The temple has a glorious architecture. It has a Nandi bull statue at the entrance and therefore this place is also known as Mahanandi Tirtha. You can see the Nandi from each and every part of the village as it is so huge. It is said that this is the world’s biggest Nandi statue. After passing the Nandi at the entrance, you will find two eternal pools with crystal clear water in them. By walking a little further, one will see the second prakara (temple compound) and then, 60 square feet large Pushkarani or Kalyani (Holy water tank) with a Mantapam (Pavilion like structure) at its centre. A small Shiva Linga is installed in this Mantapam.
This temple is known for its curative and miraculous powers found within this holy tank. The inlets and outlets of the tank are constructed in such a way that the depth of the water remains constant at 5 feet for the devotees to take a bath in. The interesting thing is that this holy water is cold during the summer and hot in winter naturally. The devotees can touch the Shiva Linga here, which is unusual as in other Shiva temples; devotees can’t touch the main deity.
If you want some peace and want to witness the nature exotica, do visit Mahanandi.

Best Time to Visit

October to March

Temple Timings

Temple remains open for pilgrims from 5:30AM to 9PM every day.

Transportation

By Air

Hyderabad Airport is the nearest one, 290 km away from the temple and has well connected flights to major cities of India and abroad.

By Rail

The nearest railway station is at Nandyal, which is just 20 km away and is well connected to major cities of India.

By Road

APSRTC operate regular buses that ply to Nandyal and Kurnool from major cities of the state. From there, you can go by a bus or taxi to Mahanandi.

Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple – Antarvedi, Andhra Pradesh,India

Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple – Antarvedi

  • Destination: East Godavari
Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple is located in the temple town of Antarvedi of Sakhinetipalle Mandal in the East Godavari district of the Andhra Pradesh. It is situated at the point where the Bay of Bengal and Vashista Godavari, a branch of the Godavari River, meet. The primary deity of this temple is Lord Narasimha, who resides here with his consort, Goddess Rajyalakshmi.
The temple was built between the 15th and 16th century. There is also a temple nearby that is dedicated to Lord Shiva that is older than Narasimha Swamy temple. The original idol of Lord Siva is believed to be installed by Lord Sri Rama 2500 years back.
In the 18th century, the trustees were Peddapuram Rajas. They were mainly responsible for constructing the temple. Mogaltur Raja’s are the traditional trustees of Antarvedi Temple from the early 19th century. Late Shri Raja Kalidindi Kumar Ramachandra Raja Bahadur also donated a lot to the temple. He was the former chairman of temple development and the supreme trustee of temple. Later, the present temple was renovated and built by Kopanathi Adi Narayana, a famous merchant who was also an overseas businessman.
The Lord and temple was given many precious jewels by former kings of the erstwhile provinces, nobles and even the East India Company. These jewels have been kept in a vault at the treasury department for the last 50 years. Through the great work and efforts of then local M.L.A. Sri Alluri Krishnam Raju and the temple authorities, the age old jewels of the god is being brought to Antarvedi and the idols of the Lord are being decorated with it during the Kalyanotsavam.
 
There are five important spots of this holy abode namely the Sea, Sagar Sangam, Vasishta River, Raktakulya River and the Chakrateertham. It is believed that there will be no re-birth on taking a dip at this place and on offering charities here. Performing ceremonial formalities to the ancestors at this holy-shrine is identical to the ones done at Gaya and Ganges. People from very far off place, like Varanasi, also visit this place, especially to involve in Lord Narasimha’s Chariot procession in the month of Phalguna (January) and Dolepournami celebration in the month of Phalguna (March). During these celebrations, the Lord is worshipped with Panchamrita Abhishekam. This shrine blesses the pilgrims with Mukti, and so it is also called as the Mukti Kshetra. Antarvedi is also known as ‘Narasimhakshetra’. The great glory of this holy shrine is boundless.

Address

Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple
Ashramam Road,Antarvedi,
Dist. East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh

Details

b style=”font-size: 17px;”> Taluka: Sakhinetipalle Area: East Godavari
Website: www.antarvedisrilakshminarasimhaswamy.com
E-mail: antarveditemple@rediffmail.com Phone: 08862-259313
b style=”font-size: 17px;”> Timings: 5 AM- 10 PM (Open on All Days)

Fast Facts

State: Andhra Pradesh District: East Godavari
Languages: Telugu, English Weather: 16°C to 41°C (Max.)
Best Time to Visit: September-March
STD Code:08862 Pin Code: 533252

How to Reach

By Air

The nearest airport is at Vijayawada, 173 km away from the temple and is well connected to major cities of India. Other major airport nearby is at Visakhapatnam (267 km).

By Rail

The nearest railway station is at Rajahmundry, 93 km away and is well connected to major cities of India. It lies on Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam section of Howrah-Chennai rail route.

By Road

APSRTC and other private travels operate regular buses to Narsapur. After reaching there, you can take a ferry ride to Antarvedi. Also,there are also regular buses from Rajahmundry, Kakinada and Amalapuram which takes you to the Antardevi. The best way to reach here is by your own means of transport like car or private taxis.

Distance from Nearby Cities

Rajahmundry – 97 km
Kakinada – 109 km
Vijayawada – 184 km
Visakhapatnam – 263 km
Hyderabad – 470 km

Srisailam Temple, Kurnoo,India


Srisailam

  • Destination: Kurnool, Srisailam
Srisailam temple located in Srisailam, Kurnool District is about 250 kilometres away from Hyderabad. Lord Mallikarjuna is the prime deity of the temple. Hindus from all around India visit this temple every day. Most of the lord Shiva Devotees visits the temple frequently.
The temple is on the banks of Krishna River and the shrine of the god is on the flat top of Nallamalai Hills. This temple is considered as one of the oldest temples in India. People say that this temple exists from the ages. This holy mountain is also called with other names such as Siridhan, Srigiri, Sirigiri, Sriparvatha and Srinagam.
Lord Mallikarjuna Swamy shrine situated in srisaiam is one of the twelve Jyothirlingas and Bhramaramba Devi shrine located in srisailam is one amongst the eighteen Mahasakthis. It is fortunate for the devotees of both shiva and devi, as they can see Jyothirlingam and Mahasakthi at srisailam, only one of its kind.

History

History says that the way to srisailam was traced by Pulumavis Nasik in the first Century A.D. when Sathavahanas started ruling South India they found the exact way to srisailam.
The Sathavahanas, the Ikshavakus, the Pallavas, the Vishnukundis, the Chalukyas, the Kakatiyas, the Reedy Kings, the Vijayanagara Emperors and Chatrapathi Shivaji are the emperors who were devotees of God Mallikarjuna Swamy and also participated in the development of srisailam.
Prataparudra of Kakatiya Dynasty had involed in the development of Kshetram and granted Paraganas for its maintenance.12000 Golden Nanyas were spent by Ganapathideva for the maintenance of the temple.
The Reddy Kings had played the major role in the improvement of the temple. Prolaya Vema Reddy had constructed steps to Srisailam and Pathalaganga in the 14th century whereas Anavema Reddi constructed Veera Siromandapam for veerashiva devotees who had cut their hands, tongue, limbs with devotion to attain moksha, blessings and the realisation of the God and this type of sacrifices done by devotees is known as Veeracharam.
The Mukhamantapam of Swamy shrine and a Gopuram on Southern Side of the temple was constructed by Second Harihararaya of Vijayanagara Empire.
The Rajagopuram on Eastern side and Salumantapas on both sides of the temple were constructed by Sri Krishnadevaraya in15th Century. Gopuram on northern side was constructed by Chatrapathi Shivaji in the year 1667 A.D.

Better time to visit the Temple

February-March

Pooja Schedule

: Suprabhatha Seva and Viswarupa Darshanam: 5:00am

Mahamangala Harathi

: 6.00 am

Darshanam, Poojas etc

: 6.30amto 12.30 pm

Dooradarshnam

: 1.15pm to 3.30 pm

Susandhyam, Mahamangala Harathi

: 5.20pm to 5.45pm

Balkampet Yellamma temple Hyderabad,India

Balkampet Yellamma temple

  • Destination: Hyderabad
Balkampet Yellamma temple is located at Balkampet in Hyderabad. This temple is dedicated to goddess Yellamma, a traditional manifestation of Goddess Parvati or Shakti. It is known to be the one of the oldest and famous temples of Hyderabad and considered that it was being existed from 15th century and has got renovated form in the year 1919.
The presiding deity Yellamma in the temple means “the mother of all” lies 10 feet beneath the ground level (bhoogarbha swayambhu vigraham). The Yellamma Devi is considered as the Kaliyuga avatar of Goddess Chinnamastha Devi who is worshipped as one of the Dashamahavidya. But the popular legend says she is believed to be Renuka Devi, mother of Lord Parasurama. There is well in the temple and people believes that a person who takes a bath with the water of the well gets free from all the diseases and the water is considered as Theertham.
Different festivals are celebrated in the temple, among them the major festival is divine marriage ceremony of Goddess Yellamma. It is celebrated in Ashada masam. Bonalu in Ashada masam, Durga Navaratri during Dasara in Ashwayuja masam, and Vasantha Navaratri in Chaitra masam are also celebrated with lot of gusto.
The other shrines of gods also reside in the Balkampet Yellamma Temple Complex some of them are Addala Mantapam, Sri Ganesha Temple, Sri Pochamma Temple, Sri Nagadevata Temple, Sri Rajarajeshwari Devi Temple, etc. The temple committee is making arrangements to construct Pilgrims Bonalu Complex.

Hanuman Temple, Karmanghat, Hyderabad,India

Hanuman Temple, Karmanghat

  • Destination: Hyderabad
Karmanghat Hanuman Temple is located at Karmanghat in Hyderabad. It is one of the oldest temples of Hyderabad. It was constructed in the year 1143 AD (approximately). The temple is spread across 3 acres of land and is painted in the colour characteristic of Hanuman-vermillion. There’s a pond in the complex where devotees take a dip.
As per a legend, the Kakatiya king, Pratapudra II went for hunting into the forest and got lost; he heard the roar of a tiger. He looked a bit to hunt it, but could not find it. After some time, he heard the chant of ‘Sri Ram’. Thinking that who could be Ram devotee in this dense forest, he went into deeper and found an idol of Hanuman in a posture of meditation. He prostrated to the Lord and went back to his fort. The same night, Lord Rama appeared in his dream and said Pratapudra to construct a temple at the place he did found the idol. Then Pratarudra constructed a temple for Lord Hanuman who was in the posture of meditation. As the Lord Hanuman was in the posture of meditation and is called as ‘Dhyan Anjaneya Swami Temple’. Where ‘Dhyan’ means meditation and Anjaneya is another name for Hanuman. This temple is famous as Karmanghat because once the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb was on the spree of destroying Hindu temples across the country; few of his men come to destroy this temple also. Because of some mystical force, the men could not enter the temple. This news was said to Aurangzeb; he also came to the temple for destroying Dhyan Anjaneya Swami Mandir. He was also occurred with the same situation as his men and a voice came from inside of the complex which said that ‘If you want to enter the temple, you must make your heart stronger (kar-man-ghat)”. The crowbar is Aurangzeb’s hand slipped and he made a hasty retreat. That’s how the temple is now known as Karmanghat Hanuman Temple.
The temple is also hosted by many other shrines dedicated to Lord Rama, Ma Durga, Ma Saraswati, Jagannatha, Nageshwara, Lord Shiva, Vigneshwara, Venugopala Swamy, and the Navagrahas etc. Ma Durga is much revered as she is considered to be the Shakti, the mother of the Universe. The Navagrahas- the nine planets, are considered the controllers of man’s destiny and are sincerely worshipped. Lord Shiva also draws many followers here. Continuous worship of 40 days cures illnesses, they say. It is also said that ladies who pray to Dhyan Anjaneya are blessed with healthy children.

Distance to Karamanghat Hanuman Temple:

16 Kilometres from Secunderabad Railway Station (60-70 min drive)
9 Kilometres from MGBS Bus Stop, Hyderabad ( 30-40 min drive)

Public Transport to Karmanghat Hanuman Temple:

Buses from Secunderabad – 90L2, 8A-158M-104R, 40-277, 40-104R, 104J, etc.
Buses from MGBS Bus Stop, Hyderabad – 72L-104A, 104A, 72V-104R, 1Y-277, 1Y-104R, 203A, 104R, 277

Temple Timings:

Daily 6:00 AM to 12:00PM and 4:00 to 8:00PM.
On Tuesdays and Saturdays – 5:30 AM to 1.00 PM and 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Nearby Tourist Attractions:

Kosagundla Lakshmi Narashimaswamy Temple
Ashta Lakshmi Temple

Ashta Lakshmi Temple

Ashta Lakshmi Temple

  • Destination: Hyderabad
Ashta Lakshmi Temple is located at Kothapet in Hyderabad. This temple is most winsome and unique pilgrimages of Hindu religion. The prime diety of the temple is Lakshmi Devi in 8 splendid forms known as Adilakshmi, AishwaryaLakshmi, SanatanLaksmi, DhanyaLakshmi, Gajalakshmi, Vijaylakshmi, Varalakshmi, Dhana Laksmi.
The temple was constructed in the year 1996 April by Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam. The architects who designed the temple are Padmashri S M Ganapati Sthapati, M Mathiyalagan Sthapathi. This temple has the style of south Indian architecture adopted from the temple of Chennai. There are about 134 vigrahams in the temple. Cement and soil are used for the construction of the temple. All the eight Lakshmis in the temple are decorated using different golden ornaments like Kasula Peru necklace and so, which looks awesome. The goddess of wealth ‘Devi Lakshmi’ is carved magnificently out of lifeless stone in order to shower the boon of prosperity, bliss, happiness and salvation upon their reverend devotees. When we look at temple in the nights from far evokes the image of a bright bride draping milky light all over it. It is feast for the eyes of every visitor.
Devotees visit this place regularly and on the special days Varalaxmi Puja and Diwali there will be heavy crowd of devotees to offer special prayers in Ashta Lakshmi Temple. This temple has become one of tourist places of Hyderabad.

Timing:

6.00am-12.00pm
5.00pm-9.00pm
6.00am-1.00pm(Friday)
5.00pm-10.00pm
6.00am-1.00pm(Sunday)
5.00 pm – 9.00 pm

Jagannath Temple

Jagannath Temple

  • Destination: Hyderabad
Jagannath Temple located near Banjara hills Road no.12 in Hyderabad. It was constructed by the Oriya community in the present and latest style for the god Jagannath, where Jagannath means “lord of Universe” known to be Hindu god Lord Krishna one of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu. People say that the temple looks same as the Jagannath Temple of Puri in Orissa.
Speaking about the architecture of the temple, “Shikhara” at the top of the temple is in the height of 70 feet. The whole temple is built with the sand stone that is specially bought from Orissa which made the temple red colour. About 600 tonnes of sand stones and 60 stone carvers used for the construction of the temple. Shrines of other gods such as Lakshmi, along with Shiva, Ganesh, Hanuman and Navagrahas are hosted in this temple. The temple is also a place where we see Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra the siblings of Lord Krishna. There are different arts on the walls of the temple which attracts the devotees as well as visitors and tourists to the temple and has become one of the tourist attractions of Hyderabad.

Timings and other details of Temple:

Morning: 6:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Evening: 5:00 p .m- 9:00 p.m.
No entry fee is required.

Yadagirigutta Temple

Yadagirigutta Temple

  • Destination: Nalgonda

Location

Yadagirigutta Temple, also known as Sri Lakshmi narasimha Temple is the holy abode of Lord Narasimha, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. It is located on the hillock at Yadagirigutta village in the Nalgonda district of Telangana. It is situated at a distance of around 60 km from Hyderabad, the capital city of Telangana.

History of the Temple

In Treta yugam, there lived a sage named Yadarishi. He was the son of great sage Rishyasrunga and Santa Devi. It is said that he did penance inside a cave on this hill between Bhongir and Raigiri with the blessings of Lord Anjaneya to please Lord Narasimha. Seeing his great devotion, Lord Narasimha appeared in front of him in five different forms as Jwala, Ugra, Gandabherunda, Yogananda and Lakshminarasimha. They later turned themselves into finely sculpted forms and worshipped now as Pancha Narasimha Kshetram. The Puranas and traditional accounts related to this shrine are widely popular among the devotees. There is also a mention about the origin of the temple in Skanda Purana.
According to one more legend, it is said that Lord Vishnu, mesmerized by Yadarishi’s penance, sent Sri Anjaneya to take Rishi to the holy spot. It is at this spot; Lord Narasimha appeared in front of him in the form of Lakshmi narasimha. The spot can be still seen at the foot of Yadagiri hillock, which is just 500 metres from the temple. Sage Yadarishi worshipped Lord for many years on this hillock. After the sage attained moksha, number of tribals came here to worship the Lord. But not being very learned, these devotees began to indulge in improper worship. As a result, Sri Lakshmi narasimha moved into the hills. The tribal devotees searched their Lord for many years but couldn’t find him.
Many years later, Lord appeared in the dream of a devoted lady of the tribe and directed him to the cave and revealed himself to all showing his five majestic avatars. The puja vidhanam (Puja procedure) was set by Late Sri Vangeepuram Narasimha charyulu who served as Sthanacharya of this temple. Lord Narasimha is also called as “Vaidya Narasimha” among his devotees as he cures many chronic diseases and makes one immune to the influence of bad planets, witchcraft and black magic. A mandala (40 day) pradakshina is performed by many devotees to please the Lord to get cured of chronic diseases.

Construction of the Temple

As soon as you enter the Simhadwaram of the Temple, you will see Hanuman temple on the right side. There is a horizontal rock gap of about 10 inches width and 60 square feet in area exactly below the Hanuman image. This horizontal narrow cave is believed to be the spot where the Lord manifested himself as “Gandhabherunda”, one of the Swarupas of Lord Narasimha. A big hall is there towards the left side, where the devotees generally sit. The front pillar of the temple is a constructed sculpture whereas the rear pillars exhibits the actual shrine of the God, the ‘Garbha Gudi’, a natural cave of about 30 feet length and 12 feet width cut into a hill. At the top of the Sikharam of Sanctum Sanctorum of this temple, is the golden Sudarshana Chakra (about 3 ft x 3 ft) of Lord Vishnu. The weapon is a symbol by which this temple is identified from as far as 5 km. The cave is formed under a huge rock and passage is of just 5 feet in height. Thus, the very natural formation of the cave itself makes one bow involuntarily to the Lord. Special Pujas are performed at Peetha, which is on the left side of the passage. There are also the actual images of the Lord at the end of the cave. One can see the two rocks forming a vertical cup of about one foot between them. On one of the rock, we can see the image in the shape of a serpent head. This is said to be the one more Swarupa of Lord Narasimha known as “Jwala Narasimha”.
It is also said that the divine serpent still moves about the image. On the opposite rock, there is another image of a figure seated in intense meditation and this is believed to be the image of Yogananda Narasimha, the third Swarupa of Lord Narasimha.
The idols of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Narasimha are made in silver and kept at the original ‘Vigraha’ for worship. The superstructure of the temple has its base on the huge rock which forms the cave.

Best Time to Visit

October to March
The annual Brahmothsavam is celebrated in the month of February or March every year. Thousands of pilgrims flock here during this 11 days long festival.

Temple Timings

The temple remains open for public from 4 AM to 9:30 PM every day.

Official Website

For more details about the temple, visit www.yadagiriguttasrilakshminarasimhaswamy.org .

Transportation

By Air

Hyderabad Airport is the nearest one, 83 km away from the temple and is well connected to major cities of India and abroad.

By Rail

The nearest railway station is at Bhongir, which is just 12 km away. It lies on the Kazipet-Secunderabad rail route.

By Road

There are regular buses from Hyderabad and Nalgonda to Yadagirigutta. There are wide stone steps to climb up and down the hill. There is also a good motorable road to the top of the hill from down below.