Lapped in the lushgreen
Nallamalla hills of Kurnool district and located at an altitude of 3000ft the temple
of Nava Narasimha Swamy rightly satisfies the satiety of nature lovers and
ardent devotees as well.
It is the place where Lord
Vishnu reincarnated in Narasimha Avatar (Human with lion head) to save
Prahalada by killing his father Hiranyakasipu. Goddess Mahalakshmi incarnated
as Senju Lakshmi among the Senju tribals of the hills and married the Lord. The deity is referred to as Nava Narasimha
as God is worshipped in 9 different forms in separate temples located in 8Km
periphery.
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While
some temples can be easily accessed others are in thick forests and can be
reached by trekking with the help of local tourist guides.
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The
temples are built by Vijayanagara Kings around 16th century while
inscriptions of 8th century indicating the involvement of Chalukyas
are also found.
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At
the foot hills is the temple of Prahalada Varada Vardhan which houses the Utsava vigrahas of all the nine temples.
The sacred ranges of Nallamalla hills are believed to be personified Adisesha whose
head is Tirumala middle portion Ahobilam and tail portion is Srisailam.
Sri Ahobilam Mutt is
one the foremost Sri Vaishnava religious institutions in India. The utsava moorthy of the Malola Narasimha Swamy one the nine
shrines in Ahobilam is the presiding deity of Sri Ahobilam Mutt.
Mythological Connect
Puranas indicate that Devas saw the manifestation of Lord
Vishnu as half-lion and half-man and shouted as Ahobala (great strength) as well as Ahobila (a huge cave where the current sanctum is present). It is
the place where Lord Vishnu appeared from the Stone pillar or Ugra stambha to
slay Hiranyakasipu and hence this place is called Ahobilam.
Another sthala purana says that Garuda performed intense
penance to have vision of Lord Vishnu in the Narasimha avata. Thereafter Lord
Narasimha took nine different forms in the hills.
Remnants and relics of the palace of Hiranyakasipu are found
in this location. The pillar from which Lord arose is marked by its base stone
and can be accessed after a vertical climb of the hill. It is believed that the
hill has split into two under the impact of the shattering of the pillar from
which Lord arose. The idol in the lower Ahobilam is said to be installed by
Lord Venkateswara of Tirumala before his wedding.
Another popular legend about Chenchu Lakshmi says that devas
worried about the fierce form (ugra roopa) of Lord after slaying of the demon
urged Goddess to pacify him. She subsequently took the form of a tribal girl,
Chenchu Lakshmi. On seeing her Lord asked her to marry him. After conducting
several tests to Lord, she agreed to marry Lord.
Temple Premises
The whole complex of temples is divided into Lower (diguva) Ahobilam and Upper (eguva) Ahobilam. The lower Ahobilam has
a single shrine of Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy connected by road. The Sthalapurana
of Ahobilam gives an account of the nine shrines of the Lord
- Bhargava Narasimha Swamy: situated 2 km from lower
Ahobilam near the sacred pond of Akshaya tirtham where Bhargava Rama
performed penance. Worshipping God after a dip in the lake is said to
bestow blessings.
- Yogananda Narasimha Swamy: the place is ideal for
meditation and Prahlada is believed to have obtained prosperity after
meditating upon Lord at this place.
- Chatravatha Narasimha Swamy: Astrological planet Ketu is
said to have worshipped Lord and said to have gained all comforts.
Students willing to study arts seek blessings from this Lord.
- Ahobila Narasimha Swamy: is the earliest of all temples
located in the upper Ahobilam and 8km from lower Ahobilam. The idol
depicts the fierce aspect (Ugra Narasimha) of the Lord is the presiding
deity of the place and considered as Swayambhu (self-manifest).
- Krodakara (Varaha) Narasimha
Swamy: Just
one kilometre away from the main temple of Ahobila Narasimha Swamy. The
statue is inside a small rock cut formation facing perennial stream of
water.
- Karanja Narasimha Swamy: The idol of the deity here
wields a bow and is installed under the Karanja tree. As per a legend,
Lord Hanuman meditated here and when Lord Narasimha appeared, he refused
to recognise his God in any other form other than Rama. As per his wish
the Lord then appeared with Rama’s weapon, bow and arrow.
- Malola Narasimha Swamy: It is 2km from main temple on
Upper Ahobilam and the Lord manifests himself in a soumya (graceful) form with his consort Lakshmi. Malola means
beloved to Lakshmi, the utsavamoorthy
appeared in the dreams of first
Jeeyar of Ahobila Matt, Srimath Advan Satakopa Jeeyar.
- Jwala Narasimha Swamy: This temple is toughest to
reach of all the Narasimha temples. A small red water pond named “ Raktha
Gunda Theertam” can be seen on the way to temple the place where Lord
Narasimha washed his hands after slaying Hiranyakasipu.
- Paavana Narasimha Swamy: This is most peaceful of all
Nava Narasimha Swamy deities and referred to as Kshetra Ratna (jewel
among kshetras) or Pamuleti Narasimha
Swamy. It is believed that Lord liberates devotees of all sins of past
life and present life.
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Legends
say that Navagrahas attained power after worshipping all the deities of
Lord Narasimha and people suffering from malefic effects of any planet get some
reprieve by worshipping the Lord.
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Besides
these shrines other two important places to visit are the Ugra stambham- a hill cleft from which Lord is believed to
have emerged and Prahlada Mettu- a small shrine located situated in a cave
between the Ugra stambham and Upper Ahobilam.
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The
temple of Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy in
the lower Ahobilam clearly reflects the architectural style of the Vijayanagara
kings with a Mukha mandapam used as Kalyana Mandapam of Narasimha Swamy, Rangamandapam with numerous intricately
carved sculptures and the sanctum sanctorum housing the idols of Prahlada Varada, Pavana Narasimha and
processional idol of ten-handed Jwala
Narasimha with Sreedevi and Bhoodevi
on either side. There are small shrines of Lakshmi,
Andal and Azhwars.
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Another
significant construction within the temple premises is Jayastambham erected to commemorate the victory of SriKrishnadevaraya. Temple inscriptions
suggest that Kakatiya Kings too immensely contributed towards the maintenance
and construction of these temples.
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The
temple at the Upper Ahobilam also
called Ahobileshwar is 8 km from
Lower Ahobilam. The shrine is located on a steep hill and the motorable road
ends at a narrow passage near Bhavanasiri
River after travelling for 5km from Lower Ahobilam.
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The
temple can be reached by trekking upon the hill or by well laid out steps for 2
km. The Lord here appears fierce or Ugra
called the Ahobilam Narasimha is a
Swayambhu. The streams of Bhavanasiri flow close to the temple and merges with
river Krishna. The gopuram of the temple
is adorned with beautiful sculptures.
Major festivals celebrated in the temple include the Brahmotsavas
(ceremonies performed by the Lord Brahma) in the Phalguna month, Gramotsavas (village ceremonies) celebrated
every month on the day of Swati Nakshatra,
the birth star of the Lord where Thirumanjan Seva (service) is performed
with 108 kalashas.
Accomodation
Abhohilam Mutt maintains a Malola Guest House where accommodation
can be availed. Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) Haritha
Hotel at Ahobilam has air-conditioned and standard rooms with good dining
facilities for the tourists visiting the temple.
Package Tours of APTDC
APTDC operates Chennai- Srisailam tour every day that covers
Mahanandi, Srisailam and Ahobilam. Departure: 10 pm (Friday) and Arrival: 5 am
(Monday).
Fare: Adult-Rs 2500, Child-Rs 2000. Fare includes accommodation,
ropeway and boating.
How to reach
By Road: The nearest temple to Ahobilam is
Allagadda 26 km away.
65 km from Nandyal
110 km from Cuddapah
120 km from Kurnool
By Rail: Ahobilam is inaccessible by rail.
Nearest railway stations are Nandyal (on Bangalore-Visakhapatnam route) and
Cuddapah (on Mumbai-Chennai route)
By Air: Nearest Airport is Bengaluru
airport 175 km away.
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