The ancient temple of
Sri Kurmanadha with its highly glorified past and peerless history in the North
Coastal District of Srikakulam is immensely popular among the Vaishnavaites of
Andhra Pradesh and the neighbouring state of Odisha. Situated just 3 km away from Bay of
Bengal in a remote village is visited by thousands of devotees for its
illustrious past. The temple is
dedicated to Sri Kurmanadha, the second dasa avatara or Kurma avatar (tortoise)
of Lord Vishnu. The temple looked after by the Simhachalam devasthanam has
several unique distinctions. The moolasthanam
(central piece) is considered to be saligrama
and referred to as Sri Kurmam by the puranas. The idol is a natural image not
sculptured and is of size of large tortoise. The head of the deity is in the
form of Kurma (tortoise) and is represented by Vishnu Namam and the tail is
represented by Saligrama gifted by Sri AdiShankaracharya. There is a shrine of
Yogananda Narasimha Deva in front of the temple.
Sri Kurmam temple as per
scriptures is encircled by panchalinga kshetras (five Shiva Temples) and Ashta
(8) Tirthas spread over 20 miles
circumference. The
temple is located in a triangular area between rivers Nagavali, Vamsadhara and Bay of Bengal and regarded as Kali yuga’s Vaikuntam. It is said that Balaraama on his south Indian pilgrimage
to this temple ordained that Sri Kurmam be the only Kurma Kshetra in this world
with no replicas be built for Kurmanadha anywhere. He dug the earth and
subsequently the river Nagavali originated and flows in its Western periphery
while Vamsadhara flows in its Northern periphery.
The five Shiva temples in its periphery are Sri Uma Rudra Koteswara temple in Srikakulam, Shiva temple in Kalingapatnam, one each
in Singapuram and Ippili villages and
the last one is located adjacent to the SriKurmanadha main temple. The ashta
tirthas are- Narada Tirtham, Sudha
kundham, Chakra Tirtham, Madhava Tirtham, Kautilya Tirtham, Vakra Tirtham,
Narasimha tirtham and Mahodadhi.
Mythological Connect
According to puranas
the temple existed few million years ago and the outer structures are
constructed many a time after dilapidation and the present structure is 700
years old. The references to the temple are available in Kurma, Vishnu, Padma and Brahmanda puranas. As per scriptures
Kurmaa avatar is considered as the second incarnation of the famous Dasha
Avataaras of Lord Shri Maha Vishnu. The 8th Skanda of Bhagavatam
refers to the classical legend of the Ksheera Sagara Madhanam where Lord
Vishnu reincarnated himself into kurmam
to aid the Devatas and Rakshasas during the cosmic churning of the Ocean of
milk to obtain nectar.
Another legend says that during Kruta Yuga a pious king Sweta Maharaja observed fierce penance for
many years. To fulfil the wish of the King, Lord Vishnu manifested (Swayambhu) in this place in Kurma avatar. Later Lord Brahma overlooked
the celestial rituals and consecrated the shrine with Gopala yantra.
According to the inscriptions on the temple dated back to
1281 the sacred place of Kurmakshetra was re-established by Sri Ramanujacharya
under the influence of Jagannatha Deva at Jagannatha Puri, Odisha. Later the
temple came under the influence of King of Vijayanagara. The diety was
worshipped by the Vaishnavas of Madhvacharya sampradaya. Oriya inscriptions
written by Sri Narahari Teertha a discipline of Sri Madhavacharya who later became
king of Kalinga was thought to have reconstructed the temple in Orissan style.
A popular legend about the second dhwajasthambha (flagpost)
prominently believes that Sri Ramanujacharya prayed for Lord Vishnu at this
temple in 11th century. The Deity facing East till then turned
towards west to bless the Acharya. Henceforth a second dhwajasthambha was installed as the diety was facing west since
then.
Unique Features of the
Temple
-
Unlike
in many other temples the deity is facing west direction and hence the temple
has two
Dhwajasthambas (flag posts) in east and west directions. As a rare
feature, devotees are permitted to enter the Garbha gruha (sanctum sanctorum) to have closer darshan of the
Lord.
-
It is one of the few temples where Abhisekham
is performed on daily basis like the Shiva Temples.
-
The
place is referred to as Moksha Sthanam where last rites are
performed for the deceased in the Swetha Pushkarini present front of
the temple. The lake created by Sudarshana
Chakram. It is believed that Sri Mahaa Lakshmi the consort of Lord Vishnu
emanated from this lake and is adored under the name Sri Kurma Naayaki in
varada Mudra posture seated on Garuda Vaahana.
-
The
lake is believed to have cosmic cleansing powers. So when people drop the
asthikas (ashes) they will eventually metamorphose into Salagramaas (Divine
stones).
-
Even
mother Ganga is believed to take bath in this lake on Maagha Sudha Chaviti to cleanse her off the sins left by the
devotees.
-
The
Prasadam of the Lord is said to possess mystic powers. After taking the
prasadam the celestial dancer Tilottama
became devotional and renounced material things, King Subhaanga won war, devotee Vasu
Deva got cured of leprosy.
-
The
temple was visited by many great kings and Saints including Lava, Kusha,
Balaraama, Sage Durvasa, Adi Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya, Chaitanya Prabhu.
-
Sri
Kurmanadha bestows peace and bliss and is said to relieve Saturn (Sani doshas).
-
It is the second temple in town with Durga Mata in Vaishno Devi form, the
other one being the Vaishno Devi Mandir in Jammu and Kashmir.
-
The
temple is renowned for it rich architectural beauty. The intricate carvings of
Lord Vishnu and other deities vouch for mastery of the skilled artisans.
-
Stone
sculptures of the temple peak resonates the Gandharva Shilpa Kala style.
-
The
marvellous sculptures on the Eastern and Southern entrances adorned with 108
pillars where each pillar has a distinctly different carvings on it. Some of
the pillars are seen hanging from the roof without any support from bottom.
-
The
stones on the floor of the pradakshina mandapam
(circumambulatory passage) are believed to infuse magnetic energy into devotees
through as they walk along this stretch.
-
The
ancient sculptures are painted in vegetable colours and resemble those in Ajantha-
Ellora Caves.
-
A
KASI DWARAM or an underground tunnel to Varanasi is present in the North
eastern corner of the pradakshina mandapa
speaks of the ancient engineering skills. This tunnel is now closed as wild
animals and snakes are entering the temple.
Like many temples in South India, to protect the temple from
the onslaught of foreign invasion in 14th century locals applied
limestone mix on the entire temple complex to camouflage it as a hillock. The
solidified limestone peels are being removed even now and some are still
visible on temple walls till date.
Important festivals celebrated in the temple are dolotsavam
(phaluguna pournami or Holi), Kalyanotsavam
(Vaishaka Sudha Ekadasi), one day
annual Janmadinam-Jayanthi (Jyesta
Bahula Dwadasi and Mukkoti Ekadasi.
Another important attraction within the temple premises is
the tortoise park.
Activities of the
temple
Abhisekham performed upon paying Rs 100 nominal
price on behalf of devotees.
Akhanda Deeparadhana for Rs 51 for one day or Rs 1116 for
one day in year permanently
Nitya Bhoghum for the Lord for Rs 300 for one day
or Rs 3116 for one day in year permanently
Kalyanam for Rs 516 for one day or Rs 5116
for one day in year permanently
Other Attractions
Arasavilli Sun Temple
Sri Mukha Lingam Shiva Temple
Sri Venkateswara Temple-Narayana Tirumala
Kalingapatnam Beach
Accomodation
Andhra Pradesh Tourism and Development Corporation (APTDC)
offers comfortable accommodation in its Haritha Resorts at Visakhapatnam. Else suitable
accommodations can be availed at Srikakulam or at the Tirumala Tirupathi
Devasthanam Guest house in Srikurmam.
Tour Details
APTDC organises Non-AC coach one day tours that covers
Arasavalli Sun Temple, SriKurmam, Buddhist Monastery, Kalingapatnam Beach and
Srimukhalingam from Visakhapatnam.
Departure- 6:30 am Arrival- 8pm
Fare: Adult- Rs 800 and Child: Rs 640 (Fare includes
Breakfast, Lunch, Tea/Snacks).
How to reach
The temple is located
on the NH5 from Chennai to Kolkata.
By Road: 12 km from Srikakulam
110km from Visakhapatnam
- Andhra
Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) operates buses from
Srikakulam to the temple every 10 minutes and nonstop buses from Visakhapatnam
to Srikakulam buses run every 15 min.
By Rail:
Nearest Station is Srikakulam Road which is 12 km from the temple
By Air: It is 115 km from Visakhapatnam
airport.
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