This
Sri Lakshmi Narasimhar temple is on the base of the hill of Mangalagiri. This
temple is considered one of the 8 maha kshetras of Narasimhar Temples in
India and one of the Pancha Narasimha kshetras of Andhra Pradesh.
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Moolavar : Sri
Lakshmi Narasimhar
Thayar : Sri Rajyalakshmi
Some of the salient features of this temple are…
The temple faces east with an 11-tier Rajagopuram. There
are two 5-tier Rajagopuram on the North
and south sides also. Dwajasthamba, balipeedam, and Garudan are after the Rajagopuram.
Dwarapalakas are on both sides of the entrance to the sanctum sanctorum.
Moolavar Narasimhar is in a sitting posture with Maha Lakshmi sitting on
his left lap. The koshtas are empty without images.
Thayar Lakshmi is in a separate temple facing east. In the sanctum sanctorum, Thayar is in a sitting posture with abhaya varada hastam.
In the praharam, Ramar with Sita and Lakshmana, Garudan,
Nagars, and vahana mandapam.
ARCHITECTURE
The temple was built in Dravidian architecture, consisting
of sanctum sanctorum, antarala, ardha mandapam, and maha mandapam. The sanctum
sanctorum is on a pada bandha adhistanam with jagathy, kumudam, and pattikai. The
bitti starts with vedikai. The pilasters are Brahma kantha pilasters with
kalasam, kudam, lotus petals mandi, palakai, and pushpa pothyal. Panjaras are
between koshtas. The prastaram consists of valapi, kapotam, and viyyalavari. The
temple was built with stone from adhistanam to prastaram. The superstructure
vimanam above Bhumi Desam was built with bricks. The vimanam is two tiers
without any sculptures. The sigaram is of the vesara style.
Mukha mandapa yazhi pillars
The east side of Rajagopuram measures 153 ft. tall and 49 feet
wide with 11 tiers, and gates facing east and west. There are no stucco images
on the Gopuram. This great and imposing tower makes the central shrine short. After constructing the Rajagopuram, it was leaning towards one direction,
ie, towards Kancheepuram. Architects suggested digging a tank opposite the
tower. After digging the tank, it is said that the tower became straight.
HISTORY AND INSCRIPTIONS
During the Vijayanagara rule, in 1512 CE, the Sri Krishna Chaitanya temple was built. In 1594 CE, Gollanda Sultan Senapati Qutb Ali visited this temple.
As per the sasanam (the inscription is at the starting
point of the steps leading to Panaka Narasimha Swamy temple on the Hill. It
mentions the Krishna devaraya’s minister Thimmarasu), on 23rd June
1515 CE, the Vijayanaga king Krishna Devaraya won the Kondaveeti kingdom and
installed a Jaya Sthambam. The Sasanam mentions the 19 donations made by the Amaravathi
governor Nadendla Thimma. The sasanam further mentions that in 1516, they
constructed one mantapam and nine khumbhas. The present 11-storey tower had 3 storeys at that time. It said that Thimma constructed those 3-storeys. The
present mandapam is constructed by Thimma. The sasanam also mentions that this town is donated to Lord Narasimha Swamy. The places which are donated to the Lord are called Deva Bhoomi (God's land), or Devasthana Gramam (village of
temple). During the rule of the Vijayanagara kings, Mangalagiri was a Deva Bhoomi.
The east side of Rajagopuram was built/ completed by
Srirajavasireddy Venkatadrinaidu Bahadur Mannesultan, a Jamindar for
Mangalagiri from 1788 to 1817 CE. Raja Vasireddy Venkatadri Naidu constructed the
east side 11-tier Rajagopuram in 1807 – 09 CE
Srirajavasireddy Venkatadrinaidu Bahadur Mannesultan, who built the east side of Rajagopuram.
Inscription in the temple
The stone inscription in the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy
temple has historical importance. In 1558, when Sadasiva Rayalu ruled the Vijayanagara Kingdom, this inscription was laid by the then-Kondaveeti Governor
Timmarajaiah. At that time, a feudatory of the Kingdom was Tirumala Raju. He
happens to be the maternal uncle of Timmarajaiah. This Inscription has 143
lines and contains the donations given by Timmarajaiah. The main theme of this
is donations. That's why this is called Dharma Sasanam.
As per the information available in the inscription, taxes
were quashed at Mangalagiri. Vijayanagar Samantha King Tirumala Raju donated
200 kunchams (10 kunchams = 1 acre) of land in 28 villages to the temple for
charity. He donated lands in Namburu, Thalluru, Nallapadu, Medukonduru,
Veerambhatla Palem, Thadikonda, Pedakonduru, Godeparthi, Duggirala, Uppalapadu,
Vadlamanu, kunchenapalli, Kolanukonda, Atmakuru, Lam, Gorantla, Gollamudi,
Nidamarru, Kuragallu, Isavolu, and Sakhamuru. Papi Setti, the chief of the Chamber of
Commerce and Trade, was nominated as the Official Chief of Mangalagiri. This
inscription contains the names of three royal personalities, viz. Sadasiva Rayalu,
Tirumalaraju, and Timmarajaiah. It also contains the celebrations that they
held and the development of this temple. For the development of the temple, 5
types of Idols, 10 types of procession vehicles, and carts were made, a Pond was excavated,
and flower gardens were developed.
During the Vijayanagar kingdom, Mangalagiri was the
headquarters of a group of villages in Kondaveedu state. Sadasiva Rayalu ruled the Vijayanagara kingdom from 1542 to 1569 CE. Timmaraju was a nephew of Tirumala
Rayalu. He was the governor of Kondaveedu and a devotee of Lord Narasimha Swamy.
He donated so much to fetch Punyam to his maternal uncle. He authored Parama
Yogi Vilasamu and dedicated it to Lord Narasimha Swamy. Tirumala Rayalu was a
feudatory of the Vijayanagara kingdom. He was the maternal uncle of Timmaraju, who inscribed this inscription.
Tirumala Rayalu also happens to be one of the sons-in-law
of Sri Krishna Deva Rayalu, a famous ruler of the Vijayanagara kingdom. After the
defeat in the historic Tallikota war, Tirumala Rayalu fled to Penugonda Fort along
with King Sadasiva Rayalu, carrying huge wealth on hundreds of elephants.
He acted as Regent for some time and became king in 1569 CE by killing Sadasiva
Rayalu. Vasu Charitra, one of the famous five Kavyas in Telugu literature, was
dedicated to Tirumala Rayalu, and he was a great warrior and litterateur.
In the Vijayanagara kingdom, the famous merchants are
called Settis. They were appointed to collect the taxes. For Mangalagiri
town, Papisetti was appointed as the officer. There were nearly 36 taxes at
that time, like land tax, Sales tax, town development tax, temple
development tax, etc.
Nirthannadhatri Smt. Kaivaram Balamba Garu also contributed to this temple, and her photo is hung on the east side Rajagopuram
passage.
Maharaja Sarfoji-II, the Maratha King of Thanjavur, gave a
gift of a Gold Shankha on 20-11-1820, to distribute Shankha Tirtha on Vaikunta
Ekadasi day.
Gold Shankha
Ref:
Inscription plaques are on the 4 sides
LEGENDS
Lakshmi Narasimhar's legend is associated with Bhakta
Prahalath's story. After killing Hiranyakasipu, Narasimha was very ferocious.
To make Narasimhar calm, Maha Lakshmi was asked to sit on the lap of
Narasimhar. After Maha Lakshmi sat on his lap, Narasimhar became calm. Hence, Narasimhar is
called Lakshmi Narasimhar.
Vaikuntha Ekadashi (Mukkoti) utsava is held in great
splendor for Sri Swami on Dhamaryanam, and on the day of Vaikunta Ekadashi, gives darshan to the devotees from the north door. On the day of
Vaikuntha Ekadashi, a gold conch shell presented to Sri Swami on 20-11-1820 by
Maharaja Sarfoji II of Thanjavur is offered to the devotees for that one day
Shankhutirtha.
In the month of Palguna, Vandu Shriswamy is celebrated
with great splendor, on the day of Palguna Shashti, the wedding son's festival,
and on the day of Palguna Saptami, flag-raising (ankuraarpanam) is held. It is
said in Sthalapurana that "Garudamudda" is blessed with childless
couples on Arojava. "Kalyana Mahatsavam" is celebrated on Palguna
Suddha Chaturdashi day. On Palguna full moon day, "Divyaradhotsavam"
of Sri Swami is held. This is what the Thiruvals of Mangalagiri are called.
This
temple is also associated with the Pancha Pandavas. Yudhishtira, the eldest of the
Pandavas, is said to be the founder of the chief image of this temple, and the
deity here is called Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy. It is believed that Arjuna
did penance on Shiva to get the Pasupata ashtra, on Indrakeeladri hill, near Mangalagiri hill.
It is believed that touching and worshiping the lizard bas-reliefs covered with brass plates will bring good fortune, similar to the Kanchipuram Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple. This is at Sri Rama and Sita's sannidhis mukha mandapa kodungai.
Lizards bas-reliefs
POOJAS AND CELEBRATIONS
Apart from regular poojas, special poojas are conducted on
Vaikunta Ekadasi, Ramanavami, Hanuman Jayanthi, Maha Shivaratri, Rathotsavam in March, Narasimhar Jayanthi, etc.
Various vahanas are used during celebrations
Temple Chariot
TEMPLE TIMINGS
The temple will be kept open between 05.00 hrs to 12.30
hrs, and 16.00 hrs to 20.30 hrs.
CONTACT DETAILS
The mobile number +919848419118 may be contacted for
further details.
HOW TO REACH
The place Mangalagiri is on the Guntur to Vijayawada highway, about 15 km from Vijayawada, 23 km from Guntur, and 14 km from the state
capital, Amaravati.
The nearest Railway Station and Junction is Vijayawada.
LOCATION OF THE TEMPLE: CLICK HERE
Dwarapalaka
Ambal (Ammavaru) Sannidhi
North side Rajagopuram
South side Rajagopuram
--- OM SHIVAYA NAMA---
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