276. Trip to Pancha-Narasimhar Kshetras – Part 3
Continuing from last time…
The hotel was providing complimentary breakfast from 8 to 9am. So, we thought we will visit the famous Kanaka Durga temple before breakfast and then continue with the rest of the journey. Reached the temple by 730am. Had a nice darshan. Since there was a crowd there, enquired about quick-darshan options. They had Rs 100, Rs 300 and Rs 500 option. Expected wait time being 30mintes, 5 minutes and 0 minutes. Opted for Rs 300 tickets for the three of us😊! There was no waiting time and we were able to get a good darshan. Paying extra Rs 200 per head would have just kept us some 5-6 feet nearer to the deity😊!
Reached hotel by 815am, had breakfast, checked-out of the hotel and then headed to the final Narasimhar temple in our itinerary – Mangalagiri (Panakala Narasimhar Swamy) temple, which was about 20-25 minutes away.
Sri Mangala Giri Narasimha is located in Vijayawada in Andra Pradesh. The Lakshmi Narasimha at the foot hills is called Bhogalarayadu Lakshmi Narasimha. This temple is said to be built by Dharmaraya and sage Shatananda who is Gautama Rishi’s grandson installed the diety in the temple.It is said that Narasimha incarnated here to kill a demon by name Namuchi. The Devas initially had offered Amrut to Narasimha and it is said that he took only 50% and returned the remaining back as prasada to devas. Since then in Treta yuga people worshipped with Ghee and in Dvapara Yuga with Milk and in Kaliyuga with Panaka (paanagam).
The temple uphill is called Panaka Narasimha and is open between 7am and 4pm. Beyond Panaka Narasimha is Jwala Narasimha and it is a custom that when one has a problem in life or fear or bad health and if they light a lamp on the top, it is said to give tremendous benefit.
Here too we had a nice darshan close to the deity. There was a crowd here and out turn came in about 10-15 minutes. They pour paanagam through the mouth of the deity and collect it from the back. This is then given as prasadams to devotees. We were told that we can take it in a bottle but we have to finish it by 8pm the same day as it will then get spoilt. We had 2-3 glasses there and came back.
Next, we headed to Amaravati Stupam to see the Buddha statue in a sitting position, about one and half hours away! The statue was nice. Below the statue is an auditorium, which was locked. Around the auditorium there are several carvings. You can see them in the video link given below.
Then we headed to Kotappakonda Sri Trikoteshwar Swamy temple, which was about 1.5-2 hours away! I had seen a photo of Sri Vishnu and Lakshmi goddess sitting on Adi Sesha. It seemed like a giant statue. When checked online, it was in Guntur. So, I thought that whenever I am in that region, this is a place that I must see. While making the itinerary, I ensured that this temple was covered. And, wow, what a place! They have not advertised about this, so there was not much of a crowd. We reached the place at around 130pm and decided to have lunch. I saw that there are footsteps leading up the hill and thought maybe we will skip this if we need to climb😊!
While having lunch at a nearby hotel, I asked about how to visit the temple. My key aim was to see the Lord Vishnu statue. I came to know that there is another way for car to go to the temple, some half a kilometer ahead and I can also see the Lord Vishnu statue while going up the hill to reach the temple. And the temple would open at 3pm.
After 3pm, we started our journey to the temple. On the way, there were so many huge statues of different gods and goddesses. You can see the entire lot in the video link below. By 4pm the temple shutters were still not open. When I checked google maps, it showed it will take me 6 hours to reach home. Waited for some 15 minutes more, but still there was no sign of temple opening. My main aim was to see the statues, which got fulfilled. We then decided to skip seeing the deity (Shiva) and left for Hyderabad. In between, had break for snacks somewhere and dinner near Ramoji Film City. By 1030pm, we were back home.
Overall, we kept to the original itinerary. Except on the first day, when I had planned to visit 3 temples by lunch time, when we could only do 2, rest of the journey was as per the plan. Luckily, this time, I did not doze off while driving😊!!
Trip Summary
for 1st Day
330am to
730pm
Home – Wadapally
– 215kms
Wadapally –
Kethavaram – 75.4kms
Kethavaram –
Mattapally – 58kms
Mattapally –
Vedadri – 73.6kms
Vedadri – Vijayawada Hotel – 76.1kms
Total – 498.1kms😊
Trip Summary for 2nd Day
715am to
1030pm
Vijayawada Hotel
– Kanaka Durga Temple – 4.4kms
Kanaka Durga
Temple – Vijayawada Hotel – 4.4 kms
Vijayawada Hotel
– Panakala Narasimhar Temple – 13.6kms
Panakala
Narasimhar Temple – Amaravati Stupam – 42kms
Amaravati Stupam
– Kotappakonda Sri Trikoteshwara Swamy Temple – 75.7kms
Kotappakonda – Home – 305kms
Total - 445.1kms
A small video on
our trip can be accessed here – https://youtu.be/LrQdmLeLN4k
Aarti to Narasimhar Swamy (https://youtu.be/bi_d01q1m6U) and Chenchu Lakshmi goddess (https://youtu.be/oQ3eLg2namQ) at Kethavaram temple.
Cheers till next time😊!!
Comments
Post a Comment