About Mangalagiri and The Presiding Deity Lord Narasimha Swamy

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MANGALAGIRI

Introduction

MANGALAGIRI is situated on the Bezwada-Guntur road and is about 8 miles by road

from Vijayawada. On the top of the Mangalagiri hill there is a famous temple

called the Panakala Nrusimhaswamy temple, which has been attracting pilgrims

from a very long time, and from all parts of the country. The nearest railway

station is Mangalagiri on the Guntur Vijayawada line but to visit the temple,

the better course would be to get down either at Vijayawada or at Guntur and

take bus connections.

 

 

MANGALAGIRI

There are three choultries of this temple in addition to a loacal fund choultry,

a Madhava choultry, a vysya choultry and a Brahman choultry. The pilgrims are

given all facilities for comfortable stay here.

The Lord that is worshipped here is Lord Narayana in Narasimha Swamy

incarnation. The peculiarity in this temple is that jaggery water, or what is

locally known as Panaka, is given as an offering to the Lord. The jaggery water

is actually poured into the mouth of the Lord, and Lord Narayana shows that he

has fully satisfied himself, when half of water is thrown back as a prasada to

the devotees.

 

MANGALAGIRI

While the jaggery water is being poured into the mouth of the Lord a gurgling

sound is clearly audible as if the Lord is actually drinking it, and the sound

becomes shriller and shriller, as and when the Lord is drinking, till at last

the sound stops, and the balance of the jaggery water is thrown out. This

phenomenon happens not once in a day, but once for every pilgrim who visits the

temple. In addition, in spite of the fact that so much of jaggery and jaggery

water is thrown out, there is not a single ant that is seen near the bill. It is

on account of this special characteristic that the temple has acquired the name

of Panakala Nrusimhaswamy temple.

 

MANGALAGIRI

The history of this famous shrine is recorded in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana,

which is one of our ancient Puranas. Mangalagiri hill means an auspicious hill,

and it is a part of the Eastern Ghats. This place is one of the eight important

Mahakshetras of India, which was meant by the Lord to be taken as His own abode,

for the redemption of humanity from sin. The origin of this temple with its

presiding deity known as Panakala Nrusimhaswamy is traced to the Krithayuga. The

temple is situated midway on the side of a hill.

The mountain itself is in the shape of an elephant as seen from a distance. Even

to day the hill presents the appearance of a reclining elephant.

 

MANGALAGIRI

The Sthalapurana and the legend of the temple are as follows:

Pariyatra, who was an ancient king, had a son called Hrusva Sringi who was born

with a number of bodily deformities. Hrusva Sringi, in order to cure himself of

his bodily deformities, went on a long pilgrimage and finally came to the hill

of Mangalagiri and stayed there for three years doing tapascharya. All the Devas

advised him to continue at Mangalagiri and do penance to the Lord. King

Pariyatra was not very happy at this intense tapascharya of his son, and

therefore came to the hill in order to dissuade him from taking to the rigors of

penance, and waited to take him away to his own kingdom. Hrusva Sringi, not

being in a position to decline his father's overtures, assumed the shape of an

elephant and became the mountain Mangalagiri, so that his body might serve as

the abode of Lard Narasimha in his Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy akara. Since the

intense devotion of a Bhakta who offered his own body as an abode of the Lord is

immortalized here. Mangalagiri is said to be a very holy mountain.

 

MANGALAGIRI

Later on Lord Vishnu in the aspect of Lakshmi Narasimha killed the great demon

called Namuchi with his Chakra and installed himself on this hill.. The popular

legend is that the offerings to this Lord were, honey in Kitayuga, ghee in

Dwaparayuga, milk in Tretayuga, and Panaka or jaggery water in this Kaliyuga.

This offering of Panaka is made even now, by pouring the offering into the mouth

of the Lord with a Sankha or a conch and only half of the quantity is accepted

by the Lord while the rest is left to the devotee as prasada. The mountain

Mangalagiri itself appears in an elephant's shape and the t6mple is situated

just at the mouth. The two peculiarities of the temple are that the offering of

jaggery water is made, and that too directly into the mouth of the Lord, and

secondly that there is no other idol in the temple except that of Lord

Narasimhaswamy, whose face alone is sculptured in the hill itself.

 

There is another legend that, in the Tretayuga, Lord Rama could not get

liberation in spite of strict observance of the Dharma and therefore he was

advised to visit this temple to get Mukti. That is why this hill is also called

the Totadri. In the Kitayuga, when the ocean Ksheerodadhi was being churned by

the Mandara hill, Sri MahaIakshmi came out of it. The Devas constructed a

Pushkarani by bringing the waters from all the ancient and holy rivers of the

land, and Sri MahaIakshmi after a bath in this holy Pushkarani offered herself

to Lord Narayana as his beloved consort. This Pushkarani is said to exist in

Mangalagiri and hence it is even now called as Lakshmi Pushkarani.

 

There is another temple at the foot of the hill, which traces its origin to the

time of Yudhishthira the eldest of the Pandavas. In Vijayawada itself, which is

eight miles from Mangalagiri, there is a hill called the Indrakila Parvata, in

which Arjuna is said to have done his tapascharya, in order to obtain Pasupatha

from Lord Siva. This hill Indrakila is said to be the scene of the Kiratarjuniya

where Lord Siva in the form of a hunter had a fight with Arjuna. Hence there is

legendary connection between Vijayawada and Mangalagiri which is very near and

the five Pandava brothers. Yudhishthira is said to be the founder of this

temple, and the deity here also is called Sri Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy.

The Kshetrapalaka of this place is Sri Anjaneya. It is stated that Anjaneya

wanted to follow Lord Rama to Vaikunta but the Lord advised him to stay at

Mangalagiri with his blessings so that he may remain forever in the world for

the Lokakalyana. Hence Sri Anjaneya is said to have taken his abode at this

place.

 

Lord Chaitanya has visited the temple in the year 1312 A.D. and the imprints of

his feet and a verse dedicated to his honor are still to be seen in the temple.

At the foot of the hill, there is also an inscription of the time of

Krishandevaraya of the Vijayanagar dynasty that had visited the temple. On the

eastern gate of the lower temple a beautiful gopura has been built over 170

years ago by Sri Vasireddi Venkatadri Nayudu, who was a famous figure in Andhra

ruling from Amaravati. The gopura has eleven stories with gates facing east and

west and is an excellent example of a solid construction with big proportions.

There is also an ancient ratha or car belonging to the temple, with ornamental

woodcarvings depicting the scenes from the great national epics of Bharata,

Bhagavata and Ramayana.

 

The important festivals of this temple are the Brahmotsavam which lasts for

twelve days in March and the other usual festivals like the Vaikunta Ekadashi

day, Sriramanavami, Hanuman Jayanthi, Narasimha Jayanthi etc. The temple with

its imposing gopuram in the south and the sacred Lord Narasimhaswamy at the top

is still attracting pilgrims in large numbers. It is one of the most sacred

spots in Andhra and is noted both for its sanctity as well as for its historical

importance.

 

Mangalagiri is in Andhra Pradesh in India. Mangalagiri situated on the

Vijayawada-Guntur road, 8 miles to the south-east Vijayawada and 13 miles to the

North-East of Guntur. It is a railway station on the Hubli-Masulipatnam line.

Mangalagiri means 'The auspicious hill'. The picturesque hill was visited by the

great Sri Krishna Deva Raya.

 

'Near the foot of the stone flight of steps is a stone pillar, with Telugu

inscriptions on all sides, recording grants of villages, it is dated A.D.1520

and mentions the capture of Kondavidu by Timmarasu, general of Krishna Deva

Raya, in 1515'. Another stone near the temple of Garudalvar has inscriptions on

four sidesm recording grants in the reign of Sadasiva Raya of Vijayanagar

A.D.1538. These dates are noteworthy, because at that period Sultan Quli Shah

held Kondapalli and was making frequent attacks on Kondavidu, So it is curious

to see how the Hindus continued to endow temples and record the endowments by

public inscriptions even in sight of Mussulman (Muslim) fortress and almost in

the track of Mussulman armies. The lofty gopuram in the temple at the foot of

the hill is said to have been erected by one of Krishna Deva Raya's courtiers.

Another account attributes it to the Hindu agent at Masulipatnam of the Dutch

East India company and a third story is that it was erected in its

present form at the end of last century by Vasireddi Venkatadri Naidu'

 

The place was under the control of Golkonda Nawabs for a longer period. It was

plundered by in 1780 by Hyder Ali but could not be conquered. In 1816 a gang of

Pindaries again looted the place. It slowly recovered from these two attacks

during the time of Vasireddy Venkatadri Naidu who ruled the place from

Amaravathi. There is a big koneru(tank) in the center of the place which went to

dry in 1882. As many as 9,840 guns and 44 bullets which might have been related

to pindaries have been found here after the pindaries looted this place. This

place is one of the 8 important Mahakshetrams (sacred places) in India. The

eight places where Lord Vishnu manifested himself are (1) Sri Rangam (2)

Srimushnam (3) Naimisam (4) Pushkaram (5) Salagamdri (6) Thothadri (7)

Narayanasramam (8) Venkatadri. According to sayings, Thotadri is the present

Mangalagiri.

 

There is an interesting legend to show as to how the mountain came into

existence. The mountain itself is in the form of an elephant. Pariyatra, an

ancient king had a son Hrasva Srungi visited all holy and sacred places to

regain normal bodily stature and finally visited this holy place of Mangalagiri

and stayed for three years performing penance. All the Devathas(Gods) advised

him to stay at Mangalagiri and continue to do penance in praise of Lord Vishnu.

The father of Hrasva Srungi came with his retinue to tack back his son to his

kingdom. But Hrasva Srungi took the shape of an elephant and to become the abode

of Lord Vishnu who is locally known as Panakala Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy.

 

The temple of Sri Panakala Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy is situated on the hill. On

the right side of the steps provided to reach the temple, there is a stone

inscription by Sri Krishnadeva Raya of Vijayanagar and a little further up, the

foot prints of Mahaprabhu Chaitanya are to be seen. Midway on the steps there is

a temple of Lord Panakala Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy there is only the face with the

mouth widely opened. A dhwajasthambham was rected in front of the temple in

1955. Behind the temple there is the temple of Sri Lakshmi, to the west of which

there is a tunnel which is believed to lead to Undavalli caves on the banks of

the Krishna. The stone inscription of the kings of Vijayanagar relate besides to

the conquest of Rayalu over Kondaplli etc., that Siddiraju Thimmarajayya Devara

granted a total of 200 kunchams (10 kunchams make one acre) land in 28 villages

of which Mangalagiri was one and gift of 40 kunchams by China Thirumalayya to

Ramanujakutam. The Lord that has established

himself on the hill is in the form of Narasimha (man-lion) which Lord Vishnu

assumed to kill Hiranyakasipa, a rakshasa father of Prahlada, a great devotee.

He is also called as Sudarsana Narsimhaswamy. The legend says that Namuchi, a

Rakshasa after great penance obtainde a boon from Brahma that he would not be

killed by anything that is either wet or dry. He began to harass Indra and the

Devathas. Encouraged and supported by Lord Vishnu, Indra commenced destroying

the army of Rakshasa Namuchi, who did in a cave in Sukshmakaram (small size)

giving up his sthulakaram (Physical manifestation). Indra dipped Sudarsanam, the

disc of Lord Vishnu in the foam of the ocean and sent it into the cave. Lord

Vishnu manifesting himself at the centre of the disc destroyed the Pranavayuvu

(life breath) of the Rakshasa with the fire of his exhalation. He thus got the

name of Sudarsana Narasimha. The blood that flowed from the body of the Rakshasa

seemed to have formed into a pool at the foot of the

hill which is known hill. The Devathas themselves were unable to withstand the

fire of the enger of the Lord and they prayed for appeasement. The Lord took

amrutam (nectar) and cooled down. It was in Krithayugam. The Lord said that he

would be satisfied with ghee in Threthayugam, with milk in Dwaparayugam and with

panakam(Jagery water) in Kaliyugam. Hence the Lord is called in Kaliyugam as

Panakala Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy.

 

There is another legend relating to this deity. In Thretayugam, Lord Rama could

not get liberation in spite of strict observance of the dharma and was advised

to visit this temple to attain mukthi(Salvation).

 

It is also believed that Lord Rama while departing for Vaikuntam after

completing his mission in that incarnation advised Anjaneya to stay at

Mangalagiri and after obtaining his blessings to remain in this world for ever.

Anjaneya took his adobe at Mangalagiri as Kshetrapalaka.The place thus came to

be known as Mukthyadri (the hill that grants Mukthi-salvation).

 

In Threthayugam, the second of the four yugas, people who enjoyed in heaven as a

result of their good deeds in the world felt most unhappy to return of their

good deads were completely exhausted as for the dictum, (when once the fruits of

good deeds are exhausted the soul has to come back to the world). They prayed

Indra, the Lord of heaven to save them from the impending fate. Indra advised

them to spend their time in the world at Mangalagiri to attain salvation again.

 

In Krithayugam, the first of the four yugas when the sinners were few,

Yamadharmaraja, the Lord of hell advised them to wash off their sins by doing

penance at Mangalagiri. Mangalagiri is in existence from the beginning of the

Universe with the names Anjanadri in Krithayugam, Thotadri in

Threthayugam,Mangaladri and Mukthyadri in Dwaparayugam and Mangalagiri in

Kaliyugam affording salvation to sinners also. In Krithayugam, Vaikhanasa

Maharsh worshipped the Lord and his idol is worshipped even today in the temple.

 

There is at the foot of the hill another temple whose origin is traced to the

time of Yudhistira, the eldest of the pandavas. In Vijayawada itself, which is 8

miles from Mangalagiri there is a hill called Indrakeeladri in which Arjuna is

said to have done tapascharya (penance) in order to obtain the weapon Pasupata

from Lord Siva. Yudhistira is said to be the founder of this temple and the

deity here also is called Sri Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy. There seems to be some

legendary connection between Vijayawada and Mangalagiri. About 175 years back

Raja Vasireddy Venkatadri Naidu who has well known and who ruled from Amaravahi

as his capital constructed a stupendous gopuram (tower) on the eastern gate of

the lower temple of Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy. It is one of the highest gopurams in

South India and only one of its type in this part of India. It is 125ft. in

height with 11 storeys and gates facing east and west. This great and imposing

tower dewarfs the central shrine. The devoted patience

of thousands of skilled craftsmen and the labours of many more apprentices

which had gone into this great structure is a testimony to the religious fervour

which characterised the builder. Opposite to this eastern tower is the black

lake. Piligrims wash their feet here before entering the temple.

 

The Image of the Lord in the form of Narasimha (man-lion) and that of

LakshmiDevi to his left are of stone. The garland of the Lord with 108

saligramams is of special signigicance here. Daksjamavartha Sankam, a special

conch believed to be one that was used by Lord Krishna and resented by the

Maharaja of Tanjore is one more possession of significance of the Lord. There is

also an ancient ratha (temple car) belonging to the temple with ornamental wood

carvings depicting the scenes from the great epics of Bharata, Bhagavatha and

Ramayana. Thimmaraju Devaraju a military chieftain of the Vijayanagar rulers

improved this temple. He had constructed prakarams (compound walls), mandapas,

gopurams (towers), five images of Lord Bhairava, a festival chariot, ten

varieties of courts for annual ceremonies, flower gardensm lakes and tanks. He

had also installed utsava vigrahas in the temple (metal images intended for

being taken out in procession). To the morth of the temple there is a temple of

Sri Rajyalakshmi to the south that of Rama with Sita and Lakshmana and to the

west vahanasala (the store house for the vehicles of which the golden

garudavahanam, the silver Hanumanthavahanam and ponnavahanam are noteworthy).

The Lakshminarayana temple and the Anjaneya Mandiram in Pedda Bazar are the

other places of worship in the town.

 

Sri Panakala Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy Brahmothsavam is very important annual

festival. It is believed that the celebration was inaugurated by Dharmaraja at

the behest of Lord Krishna. Pradyumna, the son of Lord Krishna, reqested his

father to celebrate his birthday annualy for a sapthaham (seven days) from

Phalguna Suddha Sapthami. Lord Krishna entrusted this work to Dharmaraja, the

eldest of the pandavas who has the successor to the throne at Hasthinapura. At

present the festival is celebrated for 11 days commencing from phalguna sudda

shasti (february - march). The peculiarity is poured as an offering to the Lord

with a conch. The Jaggery water is actually poured into the mouth of the Lord, a

gargling sound is clearly audible as if the Lord is actually drinking it and the

sound becomes shriller and shriller as and when the Lord is drinking . The sound

will come to a stop after sometimes and the balance of the jaggery water is

thrown out. This phenomenon happens not once in a day but

is a recurring feature during the course of the day as and when devotees offer

panakam (jaggery water). It will be interesting to note that even a singkle ant

is not traceble near the Lord nor around the temple in spite of the offering of

so much jaggery water. As the offering of the panakam to the Lord is peculiar,

the Lord here is called panakala Narasimhaswamy. There is a legend about the

offering of the panakam (jaggery or sugar water) to the Lord. It is said that

the hill was once a volcano. Sugar or jaggery water, it is said, neutralises

sulphur compounds found in a volcano and prevents a volcanic eruption. It is an

ancient festival and widely known. It is under the management of the Hindu

Religions & charitable Endowments Board and there is an Executive Officer. The

temple has lands to an extent of nearly 400 acres yielding and annual income of

over sixty thousand rupees. A board of 5 trustees, two with hereditary rights,

has been constituted at presently the District Court

nearly a lakh of Hindu devotees from all over India congregate.

 

Pujaris are Vaikhanasa of Gowthamasa fotram. Prasadam is distributed to all.

Srirama Navami, Hanumajayanthi, Narasimhajayanthi and Vaikunta Ekadasi are

celebrated here on a large scale.

 

A fair is held in this connection for a week near the temple since times. About

1,00,000 people, local and from distant places, congregate, eatables, utensils,

lanterns, mirrors, combs, pictures, photos, ayurvedic medicines, clothes and

toys are sold.

 

There are choultries belonging to the temple there are also Pesakalapudi

Buchuvari choultry and Madhya choultry providing facilities for the piligrims.

There will be free feeding in the name of Balamba Annasatram.

 

The legend about the origin of the Balamba Annasatram is that Balamba was born

in Mangalagiri in the Devulapalli family and married Kaivarm Subbanna. She lead

the cojugal life for a very short period and later renounced the world and

became a devotee of Lord Narasimha had became a yogini and commenced penance in

a cave of the Mangalagiri hills. One day a shepherd ran to the pujari of the

temple with the news that he saw a five year old boy in the lap of Balamba in

the valley. The archaka and the leader of the place followed the shepherd to the

spot. As soon as they reached the place they saw to their amazement the boy

disappearing from Balamba. The shephered recounted to the other the conversation

between the boy about the parents etc., the boy told her that he was parentless

and that he came to her for food. When she pointed out her own helplessness to

feed him in that valley, he asked her to go home where she would feed crores of

people. Hearing this conversation all the people

that came there went to Balamba prostrated before her and took her home.

 

Commenced feeding the poor. Many persons offered bags of grain and other food

commodities. Balamba fed thousands of poor persons every day. One day while

thousands were taking their food in an open place, the sky became cloudy and it

was thought that it would rain. Balamba prayed Lord Narasimha and stopped the

rain till the dinner was over. Another day about hundred hungry people came at

an untimely hour and requested her to serve them food immediately. The food in

the kitchen was only sufficient only for ten but with fill faith in the Lord,

she invited all the hundred and asked the servants to serve them food. The food

was quite sufficient to serve all. One day a group of five revealed to Balamba

after taking food in the annasatram (choultry) that they were sages doing

penance in the Mangalagiri hills and that she would get salvation after

completing her mission in this world and disappeared. From that time onwards the

food she served proved an efficatious prasadam to the suffering

humanity, restoring sight to the blind, relieving the possessed and curing

several incurable diseases. In pleasant memory of Balamba annadanam is continued

annually during the period of Brahmothsavam by the residents of the place.

 

Ksheera vruksham (the milk tree) on the Mangalagiri hill is of great attraction

particularly to the woman. The legend goes to say that king Sasibandi in the

course of his pilgrimage met Narasimha swamy temple and when enquired, told him

that he was tried of worldly pleasures and was on pilgrimage to holy place. The

queen grew furious and cursed Narada to become a Ksheera vruksham on the hill

within the easy reach of devotees, blessing women at its very sight, with

property and children and washing off the sins they committed out of ignorance

or oversight for having ill-advised her husband to desert her and take to

penance. Narada took this not as a curse but as a boon as it meant service to

humanity, blessed the queen with happy life with her husband and a thousand

children. Even today the milk tree is on the Mangalagiri hill and throughout the

year thousands of women visit and worship the tree for begetting children.

 

There is a legend connected with the making of the procession idols of the

temple. A repated goldsmith was appointed to make the procession images of the

Lord. In spite of all his skill and care, the panchalohas (five metals) melted

together in a huge crucible and smeared over the images to form a brilliant

coating, the metals used to separate themselves and this bitter disappointment

continued day after day. He began the process of burning one day after praying

for the Lord's grace and heared a voice that success in his work required human

sacrifice. Just then his son rushed to him and requested the father for water to

quench his great thirst. He lifted his affectionate son and threw him into the

molten mixture of the five metals and the body disappeared in no time. The

amalgam was cast and beautiful icons of the Lord were then completed. After

completing the work, the goldsmith thought about his son and called out in agony

come my son and I will give you water to quench your

thirst. It is believed that the body jumped out of the image and stood before

his father.

 

There are several such legends proving the power and grace of the Lord of

Mangalagiri

 

Mangalagiri Temple

 

Significance

The unique feature of this temple, is that the deity accepts only half the

quantity of Panakam (Jaggery dissolved in water) offered by devotees. It has a

very tall gopura.

 

Deity worshipped

Lord Narasimha

 

Festivals celebrated

Sri Panakala Lakshmi Narsimha Swamy Brahmotsavam, Sri Rama Navami, Hanuman

Jayanthi, Lakshmi Narasimha Jayanthi and Vaikuntha Ekadasi.

 

How to Reach

Mangalagiri in Guntur district is situated at a distance of 13 kms from

Vijayawada and 21 kms. from Guntur. Mangalagiri is well connected by Rail & Road

and there are frequent buses from Vijayawada and Guntur. Private transport is

also available from Vijayawada and Guntur.

 

Executive Officer, Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swami Temple, Mangalagiri:

08645-232945.

 

The hill temple of Mangalagiri enshrines Pankala Narasimha and is located at an

easily accessible distance from Vijayawada. The three well known Narasimha

shrines in Andhra Pradesh are Ahobilam, Simhachalam and Mangalagiri. Mangalagiri

has two temples, one at the foothills dedicated to Lakshmi Narasimha and the

other on the Mangalagiri hill dedicated to Pankala Narasimha.

 

Pankala (Paanakam in tamil) - a solution of jaggery (unrefined sugar) in water,

is the offering made to the presiding deity Narasimha. This offering is actually

poured into the mouth of the rock cut image of the deity. It is believed that

exactly half the amount of the liquid poured, is regurgitated by the image. Also

interestingly, despite the liberal use of sugar (unrefined), there are no ants

in the temple premises. It should be noted that the only shrine in this temple

is that of Narasimha.

 

The Mangalagiri hill is in the shape of an elephant. Legend has it that a

certain prince by name Hrusva Sringi was born with a number of bodily

deformities dedicated himself to a life of prayer, assuming a form of a huge

elephant, at the mouth of which Narasimha took abode.

 

The temple tank is known as the Lakshmi Pushkarini. Legend has it that this

pushkarini was created by the Gods, combining the waters from several holy

rivers of the land, and that Mahalakshmi (who came out of the milky ocean when

it was churned by the gods and the asuras), bathed in this pushkarini and

married Vishnu thereafter.

 

Legend has it that Rama offered worship to Narasimha here.

 

The temple at the foothills of Mangalagiri - dedicated to Lakshmi Narasimha,

has an imposing 11 storeyed raja gopuram built by a local chieftain.

Inscriptions indicate that the Vijayanagar monarch Krishna Deva Raya visited

this temple. This temple celebrates it's annual festival in March.

 

Legend has it that this temple was founded by the Pandava prince Yuddhishtra. It

is to be noted that the Indrakila hill in Vijayawada is associated through the

Kiratarjuniya legend with Arjuna. It is to be noted that that legend has it that

that the Mallikarjuna temple at Vijayawada was installed by Yuddhishtra and that

the Vijayeswara temple there was installed by Arjuna.

 

Mangalagiri---a unique shrine

 

No foe can cast me down,

No fear can make me flee,

No sorrow fill my life with ill;

Thy love surroundeth me.

 

Warm as the glowing sun,

So shines Thy love on me;

It wraps me round with kindly care,

It draws me unto Thee.

 

So sang the poet on the glory of God's love and care. Lord Narayana who

manifested Himself on Mangala-Giri (the auspicious hill) in the present Guntur

district in His Narasimha aspect, continues to stay there in answer to the

prayers of the people to show His loving care for them.

 

Lord Vishnu's fourth incarnation Narasimha was designed to free the world from

the depredations of the demon king Hiranyakasipu who, like his brother

Hiranyaksha, had obtained from Brahma the boon of immunity from attacks by

human, beast and god. He also had Brahma's assurance that he could be killed

neither by day nor by night, neither inside nor outside of his house. But the

demon was, however, killed outside the conditions of Brahma's boon due to

Vishnu's Maaya and Prahlada's greatness of his devotion. The Varaha and

Narasimha Avataras are sometimes represented in a composite figure, Vaikunta.

 

Brahma Vaivarta Purana, one of the ancient Puranas, contains the history of this

sacred shrine, which is part of the Eastern Ghats. Mangalagiri is one of the

eight very great shrines in India, the origin of which is traced to Kritayuga.

The presiding deity is Panakala Narasimha Swamy. He drinks pots of Panaka

(jaggery mixed water) daily offered by devotees as Naivedya. When the jaggery

water is poured into the mouth of the Lord with a conch (Shankha), a gurgling

sound is audible as if the Lord were drinking it. After sometime the voice

becomes shrill before it subsides and the Panaka is vomited indicating that the

Lord is satisfied. The rest of the Panaka is given to the devotees as Prasadam.

This happens hundreds of times daily for every pilgrim who offers it. Hence the

name Panakala Narasimha Swamy.

 

It may be noted here that in spite of pouring hundreds of pots of Panaka worth

several tonnes of jaggery daily, not a single ant or fly is seen anywhere near

the shrine, which enhances the sanctity of the shrine.

 

According to the tradition, honey was offered to the Lord in Kritayuga, milk in

Tretayuga, ghee in Dwaparayuga and Panaka (jaggery water) in Kaliyuga.

 

Legend has it that Pariyatra, a king in the hoary past, had a son named Hrusva

Sringi with several congenital physical deformities. To cure himself of his

deformities he undertook a pilgrimage visiting several holy shrines. Finally he

reached Mangalagiri, where he did penance for three years to the Lord with

single-minded devotion. But his father, King Pariyatra, was much against his son

undergoing so much strain. He dissuaded him from continuing his severe penance.

However, Hrusva Sringi was steadfast in his devotion to the Lord, but was afraid

to say 'no' to his father. So, with the power of his penance he assumed the

shape of an elephant and formed into a big mountain called Mangalagiri so as to

make his body an abode of Lord Narasimha. Ever since his body has been

immortalised in the shape of a holy mountain called Mangalagiri.

 

At a later date Lord Vishnu, in His aspect of Lakshmi Narasimha, killed a much

dreaded demon called Namuchi and installed Himself on Mangalagiri, which appears

like an elephant in an angle. The temple is situated at the mouth of the

elephant-shaped mountain. There is no other idol in the temple except that of

Lord Narasimha Swamy. Only the face of the Lord is sculptured in the hill

itself.

 

There is another temple of Lakshmi Narasimha at the foot of the mountain, the

origin of which was traced back to Yudhishtira, the eldest of the Pandavas.

Mangalagiri temple was said to be visited by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Adi Shankara,

and Ramanuja Charya who all sang in praise of the Lord.

 

According to another legend, Lord Srirama in the Tretayuga was advised to visit

Mangalagiri to gain Mukti as he could not get liberated in spite of strict

observance of Dharma. This shrine is also hallowed by the existence of Lakshmi

Pushkarini built for the ceremonial bath of Sri Maha Lakshmi before going to

Vaikunta as the Consort of Sri Maha Vishnu.

 

Sri Anjaneya Swamy is said to be guarding this shrine. It is popularly believed

that Anjaneya Swamy wanted to follow Lord Rama to Vaikunta at the end of His

Avatara; but the Lord advised him to stay at Mangalagiri for ever on the earth

protecting the righteous from evil forces.

 

At the foothill there is an inscription belonging to the time of Krishna

Devaraya, of the Vijayanagara dynasty, who visited the shrine.

 

On the eastern gate of the lower temple there is a " Gali Gopuram " of dizzy

height built over 170 years ago by Sri Vasireddy Venkatadri Nayudu, who ruled

from Amaravati. The " Gali Gopuram " has eleven storeys with openings facing east

and west. It is a marvellous example of a solid awe-inspiring construction.

There is also an ancient " Ratha " (temple car) with exquisite carvings depicting

scenes from Maha Bharata, Bhagavata and Ramayana. The 12-day Brahmotsavam in

March and Vaikunta Ekadasi are the main festivals, besides Srirama Navami,

Hanuman Jayanti, Narasimha Jayanti and the like.

 

Mangalagiri is situated in Guntur district on the Vijayawada-Guntur road and is

about 8 miles from Vijayawada after crossing the Krishna Barrage. The nearest

railway station is Mangalagiri on the Gintur-Vijayawada line. However, it would

be convenient to visit the shrine going by bus to Mangalagiri either from

Vijayawada or Guntur. Besides a few temple choultries, there are a Panchayat

choultry, a Vaisya choultry, a Madhva choulltry and a Brahmin choultry.

(http://www.niharonline.com/culture/cul_shrines.php)

 

Mangalagiri

 

Mangalagiri means 'The auspicious hill'. This place is one of the 8 important

Mahakshetrams (sacred places) in India. The eight places where Lord Vishnu

manifested himself are (1) Sri Rangam (2) Srimushnam (3) Naimisam (4) Pushkaram

(5) Salagamdri (6) Thothadri (7) Narayanasramam (8) Venkatadri. According to

sayings, Thotadri is the present Mangalagiri.

 

There is an interesting legend to show as to how the mountain came into

existence. The mountain itself is in the form of an elephant. Pariyatra, an

ancient king had a son named Hrasva Srungi who was crippled. He visited many

holy and sacred places to regain his normal body stature and finally visited

Mangalagiri and stayed for three years performing penance. All the

Devathas(Gods) advised him to stay at Mangalagiri and continue to do penance in

praise of Lord Vishnu. The father came with his retinue to take his son back to

his kingdom. But Hrasva Srungi took the shape of an elephant and then turned

into the hill so that he could become the abode of Lord Vishnu.

 

The temple of Sri Panakala Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy is situated on this elephant

shaped hill. On the right side of the steps provided to reach the temple, there

is a stone inscription by Sri Krishnadeva Raya of Vijayanagar and a little

further up, the foot prints of Mahaprabhu Chaitanya are to be seen. Midway on

the steps there is a temple of Lord Panakala Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy there is

only the face with the mouth widely opened. the tradition is to offer water

mixed with sugar to Narasimha by pouring it in his mouth. It is supposed to make

a gurgling sound and will take in whatever amount you are offering. Then 1/2 of

what you poured in will flow back out for you as prasadam! In spite of all the

sugar water there are no ants in the temple.

 

This temple is one of the original temples for the manifestation of Vishnu in

the Narasimha form; a lion's head with a man's body. here he is known as

Sudarsana Narsimhaswamy. The legend says that Namuchi, a Rakshasa (demon) after

great penance obtainde a boon from Brahma that he would not be killed by

anything that is either wet or dry. Feeling invincible, he began to harass Indra

and the other gods.

 

Encouraged and supported by Lord Vishnu, Indra began to destroy the army of

Rakshasa Namuchi. Namuchi shrunk himself into a tiny size and hid in a cave. To

combat him, Indra dipped Sudarshana Chakra, the disc-weapon of Lord Vishnu in

the foam of the ocean (thus makign it wet) and hurled it into the cave. Lord

Vishnu manifesting himself at the centre of the disc destroyed the Pranavayuvu

(life breath) of the Rakshasa with the fire of his exhalation (thus making it

both wet and dry). He thus got the name of Sudarsana Narasimha.

 

The gods were unable to withstand the fire of Narasimha's anger and they prayed

for him to chill out! The Lord took amritam (nectar) and cooled down. Lord

Narasimha said that he would be satisfied with ghee in Thretha-yuga, with milk

in Dwapara-yuga and with panakam(sugar water) in Kali-yuga. Hence Lord Narasimha

is called in Kaliyugam; Panakala Lakshmi Narasimha-swamy.

 

There is another legend relating to this deity. In Thretayugam, Lord Rama could

not get liberation in spite of strict observance of the dharma and was advised

to visit this temple to attain enlightenment. Then, Lord Rama while departing

for Vaikuntam (heaven) after completing his mission in that incarnation advised

Anjaneya (Hannuman) to stay at Mangalagiri. Anjaneya took his adobe at

Mangalagiri as Kshetrapalaka.The place thus came to be known as Mukthyadri (the

hill that grants Mukthi-salvation).

 

Ksheera vruksham (the milk tree) on the Mangalagiri hill is of great attraction

particularly to the woman. The legend goes to say that King Sasibandi in the

course of his pilgrimage met the Sage Narada in the Narasimha swamy temple and

when enquired, told him that he was tried of worldly pleasures and was on

pilgrimage to holy place. Narada encouraged him to renounce the world and seek

liberation. When the queen found out what had happened and particularly Narada's

role in the events; she grew furious and cursed Narada to become a Ksheera

vruksham on the hill within the easy reach of devotees, blessing women at its

very sight, with property and children and washing off the sins they committed

out of ignorance or oversight. This for having ill-advised her husband to desert

her and take to life as a wandering sanyasin. Narada took this not as a curse

but as a boon as it meant service to humanity, so he blessed the queen with

happy life with her husband and a thousand children. Even

today the milk tree is on the Mangalagiri hill and throughout the year

thousands of women visit and worship the tree for begetting children. As we have

a number of people in the yagya-group desirous of children we are going to pay a

special visit here.

(http://www.puja.net/Pages/YagyaGroup/Pages/Events/IndiaTrip0802/Mangalagiri.htm\

)

 

Lakshmi Narasimha Temple at Mangalagiri

 

The Lakshmi Narasimha temple dates back to the Reddi chiefs of the 14th century.

There are four entrance gopuras leading to the temple. The main shrine in the

middle of the compound is on a raised terrace facing eastwards. There is a small

Garuda shrine in the front. Mangalagiri has a hill with a cave, which attracts

crowds for its sanctity. At the foot of the steps, leading up the hill, is a

column with inscriptions giving an account of the capture of the Kondavidu fort

by the Vijaynagara Empire. This column is called the victory pillar.

 

How to reach:

 

By Road: Mangalagiri is 13 km south of Vijaywada on NH 5. Local transportation

is available from Vijayawada.

 

By Rail:Nearest railhead is Vijayawada.

 

By Air: Nearest airport is at Vijayawada.

 

(http://www.andhraupdate.com/mangalagiri.htm and the main site is

http://www.andhraupdate.com/temples.htm)

 

Visit the following site to know about the accomodation at different places,

price, etc. Hope you find it useful. The site opens to show you the accomodation

at Hyderabad and look at the beginning of the page to know and click on the

places where you need accomodation for.

http://www.aptourism.com/overview/html/accommodation/acommodation.htm

 

Visit the following site to know more about Andhra Pradesh, the different places

worth visiting in Andhra Pradesh (be it historical, religious, funfilled, Hill

stations etc.) and how to get there, Accomodation, Sightseeing, Package tours

etc. http://www.aptourism.com/

 

If you want to know and go by Package tours to different places, visit the

following site. http://www.aptourism.com/overview/html/tours/tours.htm

 

Sandeep