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Andhra Pradesh Panakala Narasimha Swamy Temple
Location | Guntur,AndhraPradesh |
Built by | SriChannapragadaBalaramaDasu |
Built in | 1890 |
Also known as | NarasimhaSwamyTemple |
Primary deity | LordNarayana |
Attraction | Offeringofarchakas |
Panakala Narasimha Swamy temple is a beautiful temple located in Mangalagiri. It is considered to be one of the eight sacred places or Mahakshetrams in India. This temple is situated on the top of a hill and on the right side stairs are provided for reaching to the temple. There is a stone which has inscriptions by Sri Krishnadeva Raya of Vijayanagar and moving further one would find foot prints of Mahaprabhu Chaitanaya. In this beautiful temple, devotees would find only the face of Lord Panakala Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy with its mouth wide open. Jaggery water is to be taken by the devotees to the temple and it is poured in the mouth of Lord’s mouth. It makes a gurgling sound as if the lord is drinking it in real and this sound becomes shriller and shriller and stops when the mouth is full. The water is thrown back at the devotees from the mouth of the Lord which is considered to be auspicious by the devotees.
Also behind this temple, there is also a temple of Sri Lakshmi and to the west is a tunnel which is believed leads to Undavali caves and banks of river Krishna.
History
This temple is situated in Mangalagiri which means “The Holy Hill”. In this temple, it is believed that god is self existent and no statue of god would be found in this temple except for a mouth of god which is opened up to 15 cms. Panakam which means Jaggery water is offered to god and there is a legend behind this offering. It is believed that where the temple stands, there was a volcano and sugar or Jaggery water neutralizes compounds of Sulphur found in the volcanic eruptions.
Architecture
The Panakala Narasimha Swamy Temple is a beautiful temple situated on the hill Mangalagiri. It is known as the highest gopurams of South India. The height of this temple is 153 ft and it is 49 ft wide. Narasimha Swamy Temple has 11 storeys and gates are facing east and west. There are imposing towers in this temple which dwarf the central shrine of this place of worship.
How To Reach
By Road
Mangalagiri is situated on the National Highway number 5 which connects Chennai and Kolkata. There are services of auto rickshaw and taxi also available which makes it easy to reach this destination.
By Rail
The devotees can also reach the destination by rail. The South Central Railway Station is located in the Guntur Vijayawada section of Guntur division.
Local Transportation
There is a service of bus running to reach Mangalagiri from Guntur, Tenali or Vijayawada.
Important Shrines
In this temple, no shrines or statues of god would be found, except for the mouth of the lord which is opened up to 15 cms. In the mouth of the lord Jaggery water is poured until it is full. Sound of gurgling can be heard as if the god is drinking the water in real. Once the mouth is full, the water is thrown out of the mouth on the pilgrims which is considered to be very auspicious.
Significance Of The Temple
The significance of this temple is the offering of archakas to god. Also the offering of Jaggery water to god is known as Panakala and due to this the temple got its name as Panakala Narasimha Swamy temple.
Timings And Other Important Information
This temple is open only till noon as it is believed that Devta’s perform Pooja in the night hours. Visiting the temple early in the morning would help the devotees in getting good darshan and blessings from god.
Jaggery water should be brought by the devotees which would be offered to god.
Accomodation
Hotel Berm Park
This is an exciting place to stay and is only 1.1 km away from the Mangalagiri hill where the Panakala Narasimha Swamy Temple is situated.
Address: Bhavani Puram, Opp Nelam Theatre, Vijayawada
Tips to devotees
Devotees are advised to bring along Jaggery water which would be offered to god. Drinking and smoking is not permitted.
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