Lakshmi Narasimha Temple is a Vaishnavite temple and one of the eight sacred places of Lord Vishnu in India. It is also known for being one of the eight maha kshetras of Narasimha in India. The eight sacred temples are are (01) Sri Rangam, (02) Srimushnam, (03) Naimisam, (04) Pushkaram, (05) Salamandri, (06) Thothadri, (07) Narayanashrama, (08) Venkatadri. According to sayings, Thothadri is the present Mangalagiri. Besides, Gunja Narasimha Swamy Temple, Tirumakudal Narasipura and Guru Narasimha Temple, Saligrama are equally popular.
Located at the foot of the Auspicious Hill in Mangalagiri which is part of the Vijayawada part of Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, Indi, this famous temple is said to be one of the eight sacred places of Lord Vishnu in India and has been around since 2 BC, The temple complex comprises three temples one at the bottom of the hillock, the other two being Panakala Narasimha Temple on the hill and Gandala Narasimha Temple atop the small the top of the hill. The temple at the bottom has a tall gopuram - tower about 153 feet (47 m) and 4width 49 feet (15 m)
Legend has it is Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple – Diguva Sannidhi is accidentally discovered by Yudhishthira, the eldest Pandava brother. The temple's history is said to be recorded in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, one of the old Hindu religious scriptures. Vijayanagara rulers during their long reign took care of this temple as confirmed by an inscription from the time of Krishnadevaraya, who had visited the temple. This place was referred to as Mangala Nilayam during that period. The temple's tall eleven story gali gopuram was built by Vasireddy Venkatadri Nayudu, a local chieftain between 1807 to 1809zamindari patron and devotee of Narasimha.
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| gaping mouth with Narasimha image. murpriya blogspot.com |
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| Mangalagiri Narasimha Swamy temple, Andhra en.wikipedia |
About Panakala Narasimha temple on the hill which looks like an elephant, it is a simple temple with no god. God Narasimha is depicted in the form of a wide open mouth with no physical features like legs or hands, etc; none of his attributes either. With the wide open mouth in the center the surrounding place is covered with the metal image of the Hindu God Narasimha with a lion head with ferocious look. Pujas are offered to the deity till 3pm.
What is unique about the deity is the priest offers panakam ( a blend of water, country Jaggery, etc) to the deity through a conch - sangu to the 15 cm hole. One can hear a sort of gargling sound of panankam going down the opening deep in the hole. Sometime later, half of the panakam comes out through the hole. This panakam is offered to the deity as offering 0r prasadam. At this temple no one can find ants or flies, etc normally attracted by the sugary stuff.
At this temple Vaikunta Ekadashi festival takes every year. but it is a low key religious festival here with pujas starting very early in the moning. At the appropriate time Swarga vaasal Thirappa takes place and lots of devotees participate in this event with religious fervor. Equally famous here is the Mukotti Ekadasi festival which is conducted with equal enthusiasm.
